I was expecting good things from this book, and of course it delivered. It’s a memoir of sorts but with Jarvis Cocker, it was never going to be a straightforward story delivered from A to Z. Instead, we’re trawling through a loft and getting stories and insights into a life from the things found there. A fascinating way to find out about someone’s life… and it’s a fascinating life. Great stuff.

It’s taken me a while to get through this. I read a physical copy of this book and although that’s not my preferred format, it worked for this one. This is long and uncompromising, Bono has things to say and he’s going to say them in his own way and in his own time. He works through some difficult things, but always comes out the other side with a lesson learned.

I like Adam Rutherford’s style, he’s good at describing complicated scientific concepts well and that’s useful for this book which takes on the huge topic of eugenics. The book is in two halves, the first describing the history of eugenics and the different forms it has taken, and the second looking at the global impacts and where we are today, and where we might be going.

This is such a good book from the longest serving female Chinook crew member, chronicling how she got into the RAF, what life was like on the ground in warzones (and in the air, of course), and then the difficulties of returning to a civilian life. This is told as though you’re just sitting, chatting with a friend, finding out more about the life, but it’s eye-opening on what life is like for a female in a male-dominated world, and how difficult it is to come back from deployment to a ’normal’ life. The final chapters of the book are really harrowing but highlight something so important - the mental health of veterans.

I mostly read this because of the title - it’s a great pun and why not learn a bit about music and science along the way? It’s long been understood that music is inextricably tied in with maths, but here we see how it also fits in with music. Using the analogy of a universe-long piano, we learn about frequencies from low to high and everything in between, how they have helped and hindered, aided scientific discoveries and made beautiful music. It’s well written and although I can’t admit I took everything on board, it was approachable and readable at every stage.

I don’t think I can adequately describe how much I loved this. My knowledge of philosophy has only ever been ‘I think therefore I am’ and the trolley problem, and that’s even having watched and adored every series of The Good Place. But I remember listening to the podcast that accompanied the show and whenever creator Mike Shur was on, it was always fascinating. This book is basically an extension of those epiosdes.

I listened to the audiobook of this, ready by Gareth Southgate himself. It’s a book aimed at young people to help inspire and guide them, and give them some tips and tools to start goal-setting and really making progress in their lives & careers. But this advice works for anyone, and is dispensed in a really clear and concise way, with solid examples from Gareth’s own life experience to illustrate the points. Very good, I particularly enjoyed the short and long term goal setting section.

I’ve been on the Sarah Morgan festive book train for a couple of years, and enjoyed them. This one was another very good Christmas rom-com, with a family coming together with very different viewpoints and learning to forgive and respect each other’s choices. I liked the story, I liked that the big confusion of Lucy’s arrival was actually dealt with quite quickly and just set up everything that happened next rather than being a big plot point. I did think some of the dialogue was a bit clunky and it was a little bit drawn out in places, but these are minor complaints for another entertaining read.

Obviously I was going to read this as a massive Friends fan, and it was a very interesting memoir. I listened to the audiobook so Matthew Perry was telling his own story and what a difficult time he’s had. It’s unflinchingly honest, this book, so that Perry doesn’t always come across as the hero, sometimes not even a particularly nice person (what is his beef with Keanu, please?) but it’s an important story to share. Addiction is horrible and hard and can affect anyone, no matter how much money or privilege you have. He talks about his early upbringing, with understanding of the events that shaped some of his later problems, but without making excuses. His time on Friends is discussed, particularly the process of getting the role in the first place, how close the group became, and how they supported him through some of the tougher times. And, as the book title suggests, there’s a lot of women coming and going in Perry’s life… including Julia Roberts! Ultimately it’s a difficult read and I maybe wished for more tales from the set, but well-written, well-read and a fresh take on the struggles of addiction.

I love Lucy Worsley’s informative but relaxed style and so was interested to listen to the audiobook of this, her biography of the most infamous of female detective writers. It was great - absolutely fascinating, well researched, a balanced view that was favourable towards the author but with plenty of caveats along the way. It made me want to read Christie’s works, of which I have only enjoyed a few. Really well done and well read.