June 2025 Reading Superlatives
Posted on 1st July, 2025
Category: Recommendations
June was a month in which I was really pleased to see that two of my favourite recent books won awards: the Women’s Prize for Fiction was given to Safekeep, and Greer’s Annie Bot won the Arthur C Clarke Award. Next month we have the Booker longlist. Even though I don’t imagine that I will have read any on that, I am always interested to see what gets selected.
Best Fantasy Book
I was much taken by Naomi Novik’s Buried Deep and Other Stories. Novik is perhaps best known for her brilliant dark academia Schoolmance trilogy, and I was delighted to find that Buried Deep includes a story set in this world. There are also a couple of stories connected to her Tremaraire series which made me think I should try these books as I was very taken with her depiction of dragons. The other stories in this collection are all interesting, and I liked the way in which they vary in length, subject matter and tone. I also much appreciated Novik’s brief discussions of why she wrote each story. At a time when the heat was making it hard to concentrate, I was grateful to have a stimulating collection like this one.
Best Classic Crime Novel
Joan Coggin’s Mystery at Orchard House is more of a social comedy than a whodunnit, though crimes are committed. I found it thoroughly enjoyable and liked Lady Lupin who is actually much more discerning than she appears to be. There are some good humorous moments, and shrewd comments about characters and conventions. This is a light-hearted and very entertaining story. If you would like to read a longer and more detailed review there is a very positive one given by the crime fiction blogger Kate Jackson at https://crossexaminingcrime.
Best Science Book
I was fascinated by Camilla Nord’s The Balanced Brain: The Science of Mental Health. Nord ‘leads the Mental Health Neuroscience Lab at the University of Cambridge’ so she is very well informed about all the latest research. This is not a dauntingly academic book, however, as she writes in a very accessible way. Her enthusiasm for the subject is engaging, and I enjoyed her humorous asides. She considers both how the brain constructs mental health, and how your mental health can be enhanced by using this knowledge. I hadn’t realised before quite how different people’s brains are, and how not everyone will respond in the same way to various treatments.
Most Entertaining History/Economics Book
David McWilliams’ Money: A Story of Humanity is a very readable discussion of the development of financial systems from ancient times onwards. He is an economist rather than a historian, which I think works well for this particular book. I liked the way in which he shows how money has affected social and cultural history, and his consideration of various topics such as trade and religion. I also appreciated the fact that the book goes up to modern times and discusses issues such as cryptocurrency. There is so much of interest in this book.
Best YA Novel
Luke Palmer’s Live (14+) shows how a year group is affected when a boy in year twelve dies in a car crash. It focuses on the experiences and feelings of his best friend George, but also looks at the perspectives of other characters which I felt added to its depth and interest. Grief is handled well, but importantly Palmer also shows how time helps to heal. For many of the characters music plays a vital role in this healing process. I thought the novel was excellent at depicting all kinds of relationships and showing their complexities.
Do ask if you want any more recommendations.
Happy Reading!
Frances
Please note that I have taken the idea of ‘superlatives’ from the excellent book blog Elle Thinks (https://ellethinks.wordpress.
(If you are interested in any of the books on this recommendations list, just give us an email and we’ll order them in for you!)