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whatsarahandlouread, Bath (2026)

02/10/2026

Sarah says: A new book from Jenny Chandler is always a treat and she has written another indispensable cookbook with The Capsule Kitchen. She introduced the book last night at Toppings Bath, explaining her method of cooking up a big batch of one of 12 core carbohydrates and using it in a myriad ways as the basis of meals for the rest of the week.

Evangelical about beans, grains and pulses, Jenny’s enthusiasm and expertise are palpable - in person and in the text of the book. The foods she champions are healthy, versatile and cheap but above all delicious and full of colour and variety.

We were spoilt with four delicious tasters made of Carlin peas (aka black badgers!) and Jenny gave out a wealth of general hints and tips.

A lovely evening and I’m now all fired up to start cooking more healthily without sacrificing enjoyment.

I’d recommend both the book and seeing Jenny, whether at a book event or one of her fantastic cookery classes. She really is the warmest and most knowledgeable and inspiring teacher. (I have worked with many cookery teachers in a past life and she is right up there at the top of the heap.)

Not an ad, I bought the book myself!

29/09/2026

Sarah says: Having to ration myself with these glorious reissues of six of Anita Brookners 24(!!!) novels. Hotel du Lac is still my favourite but Look At Me is excellent too. So precise, so restrained, so quietly devastating, she was an incredible, and inscrutable writer.
Very much looking forward to Hermione Lee’s biography of her, which I know will include fascinating analyses of these.
Thank you Penguin Books for these review copies. 😘

20/09/2026

Lou recommends - Daffodil Days by Helen Bain
A cleverly written, fascinating glimpse into the time Sylvia Plath spent in rural Devon in the early 1960s. It’s told through the eyes of local people who came into contact with her during that time. There’s the local GP who bandages up her thumb, the shop and the man who comes to show her how to use her new fangled washing machine. Each chapter introduces us to a new character and immerses us in their lives. The writing is so good that I felt transported to rural Devon and wanted to know more about everyone I met.
There’s an underlying sadness, intensified by the story moving backwards in time to Sylvia and Ted’s hopeful arrival in Devon, but there are moments of joy too. Bain beautifully evokes the interconnectness of the villagers’ lives and the rhythms of rural life.
I’m passing this on to Sarah straight away as I think she’ll love it too.

12/09/2026

OUT NOW (UK) Sarah says: A sleek and starkly beautiful character study, Cline has come of age as a writer with this extraordinary account of David’s last few days on earth. Justifiably long-listed for the Booker it is quite a feat of empathy. I can only add my voice to the clamour of praise for it.

David Hastings is embarking on the road trip of a lifetime. A successful American businessman, he is making a final trip to a euthanasia clinic in Zurich. On the way he has some appointments scheduled, a few loose ends to tie up. Thus begins a surprisingly heart-stopping journey into his increasingly confused mind, his reckoning with his past and the bureaucracy involved in the right to die.

For a book which is so philosophical, this was quite the rollercoaster to read.

When I say it reminded me of Samantha Harvey’s writing, it is a huge compliment, and possibly a foreshadowing of the Booker result…

Quite brilliant. Many thanks to NetGalley and Vintage Books Random House for the chance to read a review copy. Buy it from us at link in bio.

04/09/2026

ANN PATCHETT - Author Event Appreciation by Lou
I was lucky enough to see Ann Patchett speak in Bath earlier this week and what a joyful evening it was. One of the many fabulous stories she told was of seeing Dolly Parton speak at a dinner and realising that if Dolly had started a cult that evening, everyone there would have joined. I had the same feeling about the audience at this event. I’m certainly on for a cult based on storytelling, bookshop love, wonderful writing and an abundance of generosity and curiosity. Does anyone want to join me?
Ann started by talking about her new novel Whistler, which I can’t stop recommending. It’s a warm, compelling story of a woman unexpectedly bumping into her stepfather who she’d last seen when she was a child and they’d been involved in a traumatic accident. I’ll link to my full review in stories, but quick summary - it’s brilliant - one of my books of the year - go and read it right now!
And if you haven’t read her previous books read those too. I’d say start with Bel Canto if you like a thriller element or with Commonwealth if a layered family saga is more your thing, but I’d recommend them all.
Ann was in conversation with fellow author and her longtime friend Elizabeth McCracken which led to a wonderfully relaxed and wide ranging conversation. Ann tells a story in person as well as she does in writing. She talked about her inspirations and her writing process, gossiped about other authors, her travels, relationships and the time she crashed a wedding with author Patrick Ryan.
As well as being a brilliant author, Ann also owns a bookshop in Nashville and champions independent bookshops. Throughout the evening she was generously recommending other authors books, including Elizabeth Strout’s, Meg Mason’s and Emily St John Mandel’s. If you don’t already, follow Parnassus Books for lots more of her recommendations old and new.
Many thanks to Ann Patchett, Mr B's Emporium In Bath, UK, Bloomsbury Publishing and Elizabeth McCracken for a fascinating and inspiring evening. The best author event I’ve been to in a long time!

26/08/2026

OUT ON THURSDAY (UK) Sarah says: In Sophie, Meg Mason has created another exasperating but sympathetic character. This is recognisably by the same author as Sorrow and Bliss but successfully covers new ground. What should by rights be rather a bleak book is still an enjoyable read.

This time there is no obscure mental illness but Sophie is certainly unravelling. The mechanism by which Mason demonstrates her breakdown is an unhealthy obsession with an author (Sophie works as a tech on events, particularly book festivals). Mason shows how easily access to podcasts and social media can lead to a parasocial relationship and explores what happens when it brushes up against reality.

The style conveys Sophie’s inner monologue which generally works but occasionally requires some re-reading. Mason mines the humour in the publishing world, making in-jokes about authors and festivals and puncturing the self-satisfaction of some of her characters. She is also astute on workplace relationships and rivalries.

Meg Mason has carved out a niche as a compassionate observer of psychology, particularly of isolated, lonely women. I think this will be as polarising as Sorrow and Bliss was, not everyone will love it, but I do think Mason has matured as a writer and this is an impressive next step after the runaway success of Sorrow and Bliss.

Thanks to Bloomsbury Publishing and NetGalley for the proof copy. Buy it from us at link in bio.

23/08/2026

NEWISH PAPERBACKS - recommended by Lou
If, like me, you’re sometimes keen to read a book, decide to wait for the paperback and then forget about it - this is for you! A reminder of some of favourite recent reads.
🌟 The Correspondent by Virginia Evans - If you haven’t already read this, what are you waiting for? It’s as good as everyone says it is. Put it to the top of your TBR pile right away. You won’t regret it.
🌟 Wreck by Catherine Newman - A funny,
wry look at the joys and complexities of midlife as Rocky juggles caring for her elderly father and twenty-something children. A follow on to her previous novel Sandwich.
🌟 Waist Deep by Linda Maja Ernst - Five university friends reunite for a holiday in a lakeside cabin in Denmark. Sultry, atmospheric and with plenty of emotional drama.
🌟 When The Cranes Fly South by Liza Redzen - Deservedly popular, an intense, emotional read about the life of Bo, an elderly man, trying to cling on to his independence and his beloved dog. Have tissues at the ready!
⭐ Like Family by Erin White - A warm, joyful story of several intertwined families lives with their young children.
🌟 Universality Natasha Brown - both Sarah and I loved her debut Assembly and would strongly recommend. The writing in this is just as good as is the social commentary and but I didn’t find the plot as compelling.
⭐ Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche - The engrossing story of lives of four very different women, moving from Nigeria to the US, from their childhoods to their twenties and thirties. Intense and wide reaching. Fans will love it.
Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood - This has been out for a while but Sarah’s review of her new book of food writing, Hunger, reminded me of how much I loved this. A sparse, strange but mesmeric story of a women’s retreat to a remote religious community.
🌟 Heart the Lover by Lily King - Another one that’s been out for a while but that I can’t stop recommending. A women looks back from midlife on a complicated college love. Beautiful, evocative writing.

Do we share any favourites?

Swipe for another pile of new paperbacks that I can’t wait to read.

16/08/2026

REVIEW by Lou
Firstly, apologies for the terrible photo. I enjoyed it so much I lent it to a friend and this is the only photo I took. Thankfully Claire Daverley’s writing is much, much better than my photography!
If you enjoy a sharp, insightful 30s love story with great dialogue and a relatable plot, this might be just what you’re looking for.
After 10 years together Nora and Robin have just got engaged and are excitedly planning their wedding. However, when Nora’s childhood best friend and first love, Bren, turns up at the engagement party she starts to question her relationship with Robin and how she wants to live her life. Full of nostalgia, confusion, what ifs, intense conversations and relatable attempts by the three characters to work out how they feel, this was an entertaining read that quickly drew me in.
Cynic that I am, there were few times when I worried that it was going to get too cliched or melodramatic but Daverley cleverly pulls it back, plays with the tropes and surprises.
Generally this might be a bit more relatable for people in their 20s/30s than for a jaded 50 something but I really enjoyed it.
I’m off to read Claire Daverley’s previous novel, Talking At Night. I’ve heard good things and am hoping it’s as good as this one. Has anyone read it?

12/08/2026

Sarah says: Poetry as immediate and page-turning as a novel. Wright’s attempt to understand his past is documented by these poems, loosely strung together to create a compelling narrative.

His questions about his birth family add an extra layer and poignancy but so much of this is universal. It’s not just about adoption, it’s about all sorts of family: husbands, wives, children, grandparents, step-parents, siblings, above all love.

This book is so full of those moments of recognition, just a few words to sum up a feeling, to encapsulate all the emotions we struggle to pinpoint.

A wonderful, nostalgic, playful and uplifting book that I will return to again and again.

Luke Wright is on tour in the UK this year and I’d urge you to see him. He has a fantastic stage presence and a great repertoire from profoundly moving to hilarious (look up his Ode to the Premier Inn!)

Buy from us at link in bio.

07/08/2026

REVIEW by Lou - Can you tell I’m obsessed by Deborah Levy? I’ll always rush to read anything she writes.
If like me, you enjoyed Real Estate, the last of her three living autobiographies, and wanted to know what Deborah did next, this book might tell part of the story. It’s a fascinating account of her life of an author in Paris as she tries to write an essay on Gertrude Stein. Alongside details of Stein’s life and influence, the narrator describes her own life and friendships in Paris.
As with all of Levy’s books, this fizzes with clever ideas, challenges preconceptions, educates and entertains. It’s full of fascinating details about Stein’s life and relationships, with lots of great stories about Paris at the time, including her meetings with Picasso and Hemingway.
Alongside her research on Stein, the narrator describes her close friendships with
Eva and F***y as together they search for Eva’s lost cat, explore Paris and discuss their lives and their thoughts about Gertrude Stein.
A clever, thought provoking read that I really enjoyed and that made me want to run off to Paris right away. Anyone else keen?

Thanks to Women's Prize and Penguin Hamish Hamilton for the proof copy.

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