Reading - July 2026

Seasons in the Sun by Dominic Sandbrook (2012)

Another fantastic piece of recent history from Dominic Sandbrook.

The Boy Next Door by Josie Lloyd & Emlyn Rees (2001)

I came across Come Together, this real-life couple's first book together, when I was working in Edinburgh and frequenting bookshops rather more than was healthy for my bank balance. I really enjoyed it, so I bought this next book, read it at the time and then forgot about it for, blimey, twenty-five years. But it's a really sweet book about first love and if the ending is a little over-dramatic and unlikely, well that's fine, because it's fiction.

Death in the Dressing Room by Simon Brett (2025)

I first read Simon Brett's Charles Paris murder mysteries when I was in my teens and enjoyed the mix of theatrical setting and whodunnit. But even though the characters are different and there are plenty of nods to the modern world, this just seems a bit tired. I can't fault the author's productivity over the last five decades but if I hadn't known otherwise, I would have judged this to be a first novel by a novice writer. Not worth the time, sadly.

The Inimitable Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse (1923)

A superlative collection of stories, albeit perhaps a tiny bit repetitive. But you can forgive that when the writing is so endlessly entertaining.

You & Me and You & Me and You & Me by Josie Lloyd and Emlyn Rees (2026)

A sweet time-travelling romcom about rediscovering love and valuing what you have. I like the idea - I'm a sucker for a time loop or travelling plot - and I enjoyed the story very much, but the message is a bit predictable. What if an alternative reality that you change to is actually better?