My Week in Books – 2nd August 2026

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On the blog last week

Monday – I published my review of Country People by Daniel Mason.

Tuesday – This week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic was Books I Was Excited For But Still Haven’t Read… plenty of scope there.

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. I also shared my review of The Draw of the Sea by Wyl Menmuir.

Thursday – I published my review of The Eagle & the Wolf by Gordon Doherty.

Friday – I shared my July 2026 Wrap Up.

Saturday – I joined other gardeners for #SixonSaturday sharing six things from my garden this week. I also participated in the monthly #6Degrees of Separation meme forging a book chain from Land by Maggie O’Farrell to Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz.

New on my shelves

A Shroud of Snow (Bradecote & Catchpoll #14) by Sarah Hawkswood (ARC, Allison & Busby)

December, 1145. Hamelin Isenmongere, a trader in iron and charcoal from Gloucester, is considered by many to be the most popular man in Worcester. Why then is he found on the quayside near his warehouse with his head beaten in?

As winter bites, Undersheriff Hugh Bradecote, Serjeant Catchpoll and Underserjeant Walkelin are on the trail of a killer. However, they must tread cautiously when the trail of evidence leads them back to Worcester Castle itself where William de Beauchamp is more concerned that they seek out a spy within its walls. It is up to the Sheriff’s men to discover whether the murder was an act of betryal by someone close to home, or one that casts a shadow over the fight for England’s crown.

Switzy by Emma Cline (Viking via NetGalley) Longlisted for the Booker Prize 2026

A private plane cuts through the winter night, somewhere over Greenland. David, a retired executive, sits back in his leather seat, playing solitaire on his phone. Click. Click. Drag. Click. The notebook in his jacket pocket is filled with familiar phrases, urgent reminders to himself, but he struggles to recognize his own handwriting.

A mystery, among many mysteries. The world, once so knowable, has been rendered inscrutable.

This is what David Cody, his assistant, asleep in the seat next to him, will shepherd him along the voyage. A stopover in London. Dinner with his adult daughter. A meeting in France with an old friend, estranged for decades.

His final destination is Zurich.

David glides through hotel rooms and airports and foreign cities, running out the clock on his mortal life. His grasp on the present slips away, and the past rushes the Sunday roasts of childhood. The stiff clothes meant only for church. A summer at a school friend’s house. The losses and missteps that punctuate a life.

As David’s arrival in Zurich looms, an exquisitely rendered portrait of an unravelling mind emerges, both darkly humorous and profoundly moving. Hypnotic and startlingly original, Switzy probes the depths of human consciousness, revealing what a man is left with when the accomplishments and compromises that have defined him, and the illusions he’s relied on, vanish.

What I’m currently reading

I’m reading Trials of the Heart by Stephen Wade and The Knife Maker of Venice by David Gilman from my NetGalley Shelf.

Look out for…

  • Book Review: Land by Maggie O’Farrell
  • Book Review: Little Spark by Jess Kidd

#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.

It’s now over a month since we had any rain here in Berkshire. I’m writing this on Thursday as I’m away for the weekend and, as of now, there is no rain in the forecast until at least next Tuesday. In addition there’s now a hosepipe ban in force in our area. Thank you, Thames Water. I’m sure I’m not the only one thinking about changes we might have to make if hot dry summers are here to stay.

On the bright side, our leaky old eyesore of a garage has finally been demolished and the space prepared so a lovely potting shed can take its place.

The garden is really suffering but I’ve managed to come up with these six:

One – I spotted this flower crab spider on the water mint in our pond doing horrible things to a bumble bee it had captured.

Two – The lower water level in the pond is revealing a large population of pond snails. I’m finding them surprisingly mesmerising to watch move around the pond. At the moment they’re mainly feeding on algae and other dead matter in the water although this one seems to have taken a liking to one of the pond plants.

Three – A lovely butter yellow nemesia standing up surprisingly well to the heat and smelling divine.

Four – Pennisetum doing its wavy thing.

Five – Herb fennel loving the sunny weather (unlike most other things in the garden)

Six – Another dahlia has started to flower despite the parched conditions in our south facing front garden. This one is ‘Bayou’.

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.