Author: whatcathyreadnext

My Week in Books – 10th May 2026

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On the blog last week

Tuesday – I went off-piste for this week’s Top Ten Tuesday, revisiting My Winter 2025/2026 To-Read List.

Wednesday – As always WWW Wednesday is a weekly opportunity to share what I’ve just read, what I’m currently reading and what I plan to read next… and to take a peek at what others are reading.

Thursday – I shared my sign-up post for the 20 Books of Summer 2026 reading challenge.

Saturday – I joined other gardeners for #SixonSaturday, sharing six things happening in my garden this week.

New on my shelves

The Newer World by Sebastian Barry (Viking via NetGalley)

“I knew as I made my way home that there was no home. All the old things…were gone forever.”

Born into bondage in Union-leaning northwestern Tennessee, Tennyson Bouguereau’s life revolves around his sister, Rosalee, his work in the Magan family’s tobacco fields, and keeping apart from his pro-Confederate neighbors.

In the wake of emancipation, when a gang of defeated soldiers descends on the farm—now also home to Irish immigrant Thomas McNulty; his companion, John Cole; and their adopted Lakota daughter, Winona—Tennyson commits a deadly act.

Tennyson will not now have the chance to till the ten acres Magan has given him and Rosalee as their own. Instead, he must leave everything he knows, and venture into the newer world.

Rose & Renzo by Carolyn O’Brien (Northodox Press)

Manchester, 1936.

Fascism looms in Europe, and Oswald Mosley’s Blackshirts are on the rise.

After the death of their father, two sisters arrive in Manchester’s vibrant ‘Little Italy’: creative misfit, Rose, and her much older sister, Ivy. Fearful of Rose’s impulsiveness, Ivy seeks to control her, forcing her to give up her cherished place at art school.

Frustrated and desperate to pursue her passion, Rose meets Renzo, a painter arrived from Europe. Their connection is instant and powerful. Yet as their feelings deepen, Renzo’s past in Mussolini’s Italy remains a mystery.

As Blackshirts march across the city, Rose is drawn to the fight against fascism, even as she’s compelled to face the devastating question: just which side is Renzo on?

What I’m currently reading

I’m reading Once the Deed is Done, shortlisted for the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction, and Bane of Bernicia (published on 4th June by Head of Zeus) from my NetGalley shelf

Look out for…

  • Book Review: Relative Failures by Matthew Sturgis
  • Book Review: Paper Sisters by Rachel Canwell
  • Book Review: Flashlight by Susan Choi
  • Book Review: Goodbye Chinatown by Kit Fan

#SixOnSaturday – Six things happening in my garden this week

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Six on Saturday is a weekly meme originally hosted by The Propagator but now in the tender care of Jim at Garden Ruminations.

My plea for rain last week went unanswered so it’s still watering cans and rapidly emptying water butts. On a more positive note, it’s been entertaining to watch a male and female blackbird flitting about the garden. I think they’re nesting in one of the hedges but haven’t quite worked out which one yet. Weeding is taking up a lot of time – they don’t seem to mind parched soil – but there’s one thing that won’t take up time this month because it’s No Mow May. Hooray! Here are my six:

One – The first flowers are opening on this rhododendron. No idea of the variety, it came with the house.

Two – What I think is an appealing combination of leaf colour and shape formed by a hardy geranium and a bronze-leaved heuchera nestled up against each other.

Three – Depending on your point of view this Dutch iris is either a bold or a garish yellow.

Four – The first climbing French bean has made an appearance, a week on from being sown. The variety is Cobra.

Five – Another attractive combination I think – apple mint growing alongside thyme in our gravel garden. The mint will win the battle eventually.

Six – What started life as two lily bulbs last year has become a plethora.

Do check out the posts of other participants by following the links in the comments section of Jim’s post. If you fancy taking part yourself but don’t know where to start, here’s the participant’s guide.