Enjoy Life
Winter books 2025
Curl up in front of the fire with these great new reads suggested by Simon Evans
A Girls Guide to Winning the War, by Annie Lyons (Review, £9.99) is the story of a young librarian who, with her brother serving at the front during the Second World War, gets a job at the Ministry of Information but finds herself in hot water when some of her innermost thoughts are inadvertently published. It’s a heart-warming novel of friendship and courage that also highlights the important role women played during the conflict…
A young woman seeks to save the ancestral home she was exiled from, and uncover its many secrets, in Val Wood’s novel Foster’s Mill (Penguin, £8.99), long-buried family secrets emerge in Adrienne Young’s engrossing A Sea of Unspoken Things (Quercus, £20), and, based on the remarkable story of Fredy Hirsch,
The Teacher of Auschwitz (Zaffre, £14.99) is a tale of extraordinary courage as a young, gay Jewish teacher seeks to teach children in the concentration camp the most important lesson of all, survival…
The Bookseller, by Tim Sullivan (Head of Zeus, £20) is the latest in the compelling George Cross series, following the unconventional detective as he enters the surprisingly murky world of the second-hand book trade, and Your Child Next (Orion, £9.99) is a twisty thriller in the mode of Harlan Coben from masters of the genre MJ Arlidge and Andy Masten…
Radicals, Rebels and Royals, by Martyn Routledge and Elspeth Wills (Pavilion, £16.99), is a fascinating trawl through history as filtered through the ultimate pub crawl, more than 70 hostelries with tales to tell of pirates, plots, sporting heroes and literary giants, featuring illustrations by Adam Forster…
DJ Simon Mayo has recently emerged as a crime writer of some renown, and Black Tag (Bantam Press, £16.99) is his latest, following crusading journalist Famie Madden as she investigates a mysterious, tragic fire at a fashionable West End gallery, and detective William Wisting is on the trail of an enemy within in Jorn Lier Horst’s The Traitor (Michael Joseph, £18.99) …
Two new titles in the excellent 33 1/3 series focus on important albums from artists who shared a common willingness to transgress acceptable boundaries and explore the limits of their artistry. Adele Bertel examines Sinead O’Connor’s 1994 album Universal Mother, which came hard on the heels of her controversial, very public, statements about child abuse in the Catholic church, focussing on how the record managed to combine rage with empathy and grief, as well as mourning the loss of innocence of Sinead’s beloved Ireland.
In Paris 1919 Mark Doyle looks at John Cale’s enduring 1973 album of the same name, his most commercial offering up to that point, but one also steeped in his Welsh cultural upbringing. Both books are priced at £9.99 and are published by Bloomsbury…
Murder On The Marlow Belle (HQ, £16.99) is the latest cosy crime novel from Death In Paradise creator Robert Thorogood, and the fourth in the Marlow Murder Club series. It finds amateur sleuths Judith, Suzie and Becks on the trail of a killer linked to the local amateur dramatic society where all is not as it seems. And in similar vein is The Last Word Is Death, by Faith Martin (HQ, £16.99) which sees unconventional amateur sleuths Arbie and Val teaming up again, this time to solve a murder at a swanky hotel. The apparent suicide of a neighbour arouses suspicions in hyper-sensitive Nancy, but no one seems to believe her, least of all boyfriend Felix, in Nicci French’s The Last Days of Kira Mullen (Simon and Schuster, £18.99), and DI Ryan Wilkins returns in A Voice In The Night (Quercus, £16.99), the fourth in the acclaimed series by Simon Mason. It finds Ryan and partner Ray having to prove themselves to a new DCS while investigating the death of an elderly gentleman…
Gone to Earth (Verve, £10.99) is the third and final instalment in Jane Jesmond’s series featuring daredevil climber Jan Shaw, which finds our heroine still reeling from the events of the previous book and finding herself, and her family, becoming the target of powerful, sinister people with links at the heart of the Glasgow police force…
Last but not least, the newly updated edition of Muir Gray and David Mostyn’s inspirational Sod Seventy! (Bloomsbury Sport, £14.99), is a must-have guide to life in the eighth decade and beyond, with plenty of tips on staying active and healthy, keeping the brain engaged – and navigating the labyrinthine bureaucracy of the NHS…
Other stories in Enjoy Life
Winter DVD's
Great Christmas Music Ideas
Christmas books - gift ideas
Autumn Reads
Summer 2024 Books
Summer DVDs
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Latest book reviews
May DVD Reviews
May's book reviews
May's CD reviews
That English Riviera Touch
April's DVD reviews
April's book reviews
April's CD reviews
March's DVD review
March book reviews
March's CD reviews
February's DVDs
February's books
Winter books
January's DVD releases
Christmas book reviews
November DVD reviews
November's Music Reviews
November book reviews
October's DVD reviews
October's New CD releases
October's book reviews
September's DVD Reviews
DVD selection for August 2023
September's book reviews
Latest music reviews August 2023
August Round up
August Paperback Reviews
August hardback book reviews
July 2023 Roundup
Pick of the paperbacks July 2023
July 23 Hardback book reviews
July 2023 DVD releases
July 2023 CD reviews
Pick of the paperbacks June 2023
June DVDs
Hardback book reviews - June 2023
Simon Evans CD Reviews for June 2023
Tesco Summer indoors and out
Book reviews
May 2023 paperback book reviews
May 2023 Hardback book reviews
May's DVD Selection
May's CD selection
Round up of April 2023's book reviews
April 2023 paperback reviews
April 2023 Hardback book reviews
More March 2023 must-reads
March - Pick of the paperbacks
March hardback recommendations
Afternoon Tea
March 2023 - DVD releases
March 2023 Music
February 2023 Books Round up
Pick of the paperbacks - February 2023
Book reviews February 2023
DVD recommendations
February's music reviews
Freedom on two wheels
Make do and mend
Foray into the Fens
Christmas reads
Tasty, healthy recipes by Joanne Wood
Keeping fit and healthy with the Green goddess Part 2
Keeping fit and healthy with the Green goddess Part 1
Finger-licking Good! Tasty Chicken recipes
Beauty: Say 'Allo 'Allo to an alluring look
British Library: Palace of the printed word
Look good and feel great with CBD
Interior design: Inspiration for outdoor spaces
Summer fun at Belvoir Castle
Finding Fitness Starts With Fashion
‘In Vogue’ Veg – Cavolo Nero Sales Grow by 14%
Eat Continental and live longer
A life-affirming book... about death
Get Sewing: Floral bespoke notebook cover
Find your family fortunes... for FREE!
Beauty: Get set for spring...
Spanish Recipes: Small is beautiful
The Vegan Revolution
Interior Design: Maximise your living space
Pets need a spring clean too
Visit Family Tree Live
MasterChef: Classic with a Twist
Get Sewing: Quilted pot-holder
Bob Dylan "Rock and Roll music wasn’t enough for me”
Plant Power Day: 7th March 2019
Interior Design: Less is more in minimalist home
A second chance at love
Interior Design: Great Gatsby Cabinet
The rise and rise of the birthday cake
Walking back to happiness
Baking With Veg
Totally Tina Tour
How to take care of your hair over-50
The nation's most popular cake recipes
Your views: Can you help?
Hail the grandparent aupairs
Beauty: Denise Welch "I love the shape I'm in at 60"
The Austerity Olympics
Healthy reasons to acquire a taste for olives
Grand Treats for Grandchildren
Declutter your home, and clear your mind
Scandi-style Mules for Swollen Feet
Beetroot and Walnut Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
In your garden: October
Dr Norman Croucher: The toughest summit of them all
Craft Corner: Sweet Easter Basket
Have your cake and eat your Easter egg too!
Interior Design: Moroccan inspired drawers
BR remembered... 70 years on
A gentleman's guide to spring fashion
Why antique jewellery is glittering
New Year, new beauty habits
Cliff Richard "I have a deeper faith now"
Do you remember? Oliver!
What we really look for in retirement living
Interior Design: Wedding bells on a budget
Counter culture: The revival of the board game
Jodie Whittaker: "Doctor Who is all about change"
85 year old Grandmother gains a PhD
Dame Eileen and a Crowning glory
Writing the story of you life
Why winter shouldn't stop you: don't wait until New Year
World' first 'wellness shed' stirs up mindfulness
Growing old is amazing
Don't miss out on the internet age
Prepare to feel ancient...
Hawks: Up close and personal
Studious retiree heads back to school
Garden Expert: Soaking up the sun
Emily Watson "I'ts such a gypsy life"
Here's to you Mrs Robinson
Brits Embracing 'Urban Birding'
Volunteering for Nature
The Secret to Younger Looking Eyes
Anti-ageing Options Part 2
Anti-ageing Options
End of the road for a pop icon
Reaching out to Dementia Sufferers: Sporting Memories Network
Are you ready for retirement?
Afternoon Tea Recipes
Surprisingly Good Wholegrain Recipes: Savoury
Staying safe in the Summer heat: Drowning prevention
Stardust Memories
Baking made easy
Cooking for one
The real cost of your wine