books – Page 176 – What Cathy Read Next…

The longlist for The Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction 2025 was announced earlier today. Congratulations to all the authors and publishers of the books on the longlist. It’s particularly great to see so many independent publishers represented.

As usual, the longlist provided some surprises with only three books I’ve read (all of which I tipped to appear on the list) and another in my TBR pile. I’ve heard of a couple of the others but haven’t got round to reading them. The rest are completely new to me – the authors and/or the books.

I’ve divided the twelve novels into three parts: those I’ve read and reviewed, those I own but have yet to read, and those that are now on my wishlist (if they weren’t already). Links from the titles will take you to my review or the book description on Goodreads.

Read and reviewed

The Heart in Winter by Kevin Barry (Canongate)
Clear by Carys Davies (Granta)
The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller (Sceptre)

Waiting to be read

The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden (Viking)

Now on my wishlist

The Catchers by Xan Brooks (Salt)
Mother Naked by Glen James Brown (Peninsula Press)
The Mare: A Novel by Angharad Hampshire (Northodox Press)
The Book of Days by Francesca Kay (Swift Press)
The First Friend by Malcolm Knox (Allen & Unwin)
Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon (Fig Tree)
A Sign of Her Own by Sarah Marsh (Tinder Press)
Munichs by David Peace (Faber)

I usually say I’ll try to read all the longlisted books before the shortlist is announced in April. I think that’s going to be a tall order this year so I may have to prioritise some of the shorter ones.

Have you read any of the books on the list? Are there any you’re planning to read?

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and now hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl.

The rules are simple:

Each Tuesday, Jana assigns a new topic. Create your own Top Ten list that fits that topic – putting your unique spin on it if you want.
Everyone is welcome to join but please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own Top Ten Tuesday post.
Add your name to the Linky widget on that day’s post so that everyone can check out other bloggers’ lists.
Or if you don’t have a blog, just post your answers as a comment.

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic is Books I Never Reviewed. I struggled with this one because I pretty much review every book I read. Therefore I’ve come up with my own topic based on the expectation the awful weather we’ve been having in the UK recently will end soon and I’ll be able to get out in the garden to pursue my other passion. Links from each title will take you to my review or the book description on Goodreads.