More about books

Catherine Larner

Hello, I'm Catherine Larner, a freelance journalist, editor and presenter living in Suffolk. I contribute features, profiles, reviews, comment and analysis to regional and national magazines, newspapers and online. You can take a look at my published articles on my website here.

I also interview on stage for festivals, organisations and bookshops, 'in conversation' with novelists, historians, politicians and personalities.

Reading extensively and widely, I report on the books I've enjoyed in a weekly e-newsletter and on this site which now provides a resource of more than 800 titles. I hope you'll find it helpful in choosing books for yourself and for your friends and family.

Thank you for reading

 

My More About Books bookstore where books can be purchased online can be found here or from any 'buy this book online' link. If you buy books linked to this site, I earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops.

What's on

Running on Air
Saturday 23rd May, 7.30pm
at Riverside Theatre, Woodbridge
BBC newsreader and presenter, Sophie Raworth is also a keen distance runner. She will be speaking about her life and her passion for running in this special evening event.
read more

Recent Events

An afternoon with Elly Griffiths
Friday 13 February 2026
read my report
Rachel Parris in conversation
Tuesday 3 February 2026
Comedian, musician and Jane Austen fan, Rachel Parris has written 'A Pride and Prejudice novel'. She told us all about it in this special evening event.
read my report

Events Archive

Visit my archive pages for details of all events in recent years.

Book Groups

WOODBRIDGE

I've been hosting an open Book Group in Woodbridge for the past 17 years. We used to meet in the town's bookshop but are now gathering in a hall just off the Thoroughfare. Please ​​​​sign up for the weekly e-newsletter here to receive details. 

The Cafe With No Name
by Robert Seethaler
Described as 'an unforgettable novel about how we carry each other through good and bad times, and how even the most ordinary life is, in its own way, quite extraordinary'. What will we think?
Monday, 1 June 2026 - 8:00pm
Order this book online

 

ARCHIVE
Take a look at the titles discussed by the Woodbridge Book Group since our launch in 2007, here.

Readers recommendations
At the end of each year, members of the Woodbridge Book Group meet together to share their favourite titles and offer ideas for gifts for friends and family, and for new authors to try ourselves. For 2025 the titles that were mentioned are listed here.

Buying books

I've linked the reviews on my website so that you can purchase online if you wish (and I will receive a small commission for each purchase, with a further commission going to all independent bookshops). 

Click here for my page on bookshop.org and do consider using it whenever you wish to buy online. 

Book reviews

My recent recommendations

Here are the books I've been enjoying recently, both fiction and non-fiction titles.

Memorial Days
Geraldine Brooks
Recommended non-fiction
An incredible memoir from the novelist and journalist, Brooks about finding a way to grieve the sudden lost of her husband.
read my review
Publication date: 5th February 2026
Buy this book online
Boy B
Ruth Dugdall
A young man is released from prison with a new identity. His probation officer seeks to give him a new start, but does he deserve it?
read my review
Publication date: 21st May 2026
Buy this book online
About to Fall Apart
Ashley Hickson-Lovence
A powerful and cleverly written book about a man's life one weekend.
read my review
Publication date: 9th April 2026
Hardback edition
Buy this book online
Swimming Studies
Leanne Shapton
Recommended non-fiction
An inventive, mesmerising memoir about training as a competitive swimmer, and what that teaches for life for us all.
read my review
Publication date: 14th August 2025
Buy this book online
The Calamity Club
Kathryn Stockett
A big book about sisterhood, determination and resilience. A great read!
read my review
Publication date: 21st May 2026
Hardback edition
Buy this book online
Uncommon Ground
Patrick Galbraith
Recommended non-fiction
Countering the Right to Roam argument, this book stresses the value of engagement with nature rather than access.
read my review
Publication date: 23rd April 2026
Buy this book online
The Given World
Melissa Harrison
Looking at the changing lives and landscape of a rural community.
read my review
Publication date: 14th May 2026
Hardback edition
Buy this book online
The ferryman and his wife
Frode Grytten and translated by Alison McCullough
A charming story of a man looking back on his life and the relationships he made.
read my review
Publication date: 5th November 2025
Buy this book online

For more reviews click here

For children

These are my most recent recommendations for children. Click here to see listings by age.

Where are you Eddie?
by Michael Rosen and illustrated by Gill Smith
A beautiful personal story of coping with grief and how our loved ones live on in our memories.
read my review
Publication date: 12th March 2026
Hardback edition
Buy this book online
Absolutely Fine
by Emma Chichester Clark
Charming illustrations telling the story of a little girl who would rather be on her own, until she wouldn't.
read my review
Publication date: 26th March 2026
Buy this book online
The King Who Banned the Dark
by Emily Haworth-Booth
A fairy tale about appreciating the darkness and the light, with retro black and yellow illustrations.
read my review
Publication date: 4th October 2018
Buy this book online
The Blitz Sisters
by Judith Eagle
A fantastic story of three sisters living through the war, told from each of their perspectives in turn.
read my review
Publication date: 26th February 2026
Buy this book online
Some Places More Than Others
by Renée Watson
Amara wants to find out about her father's childhood in New York City, but he's reluctant to share it with her.
read my review
Publication date: 5th September 2019
Buy this book online
Twitch
by MG Leonard
A gripping adventure about a young birdwatcher who becomes a detective.
read my review
Publication date: 3rd June 2021
Buy this book online
Best of Both Worlds
by Kenneth Oppel
Xavier and his family have been captured and placed in a giant dome, with all they need to survive, separated from everything and everyone they know.
read my review
Publication date: 30th April 2025
Buy this book online
The Endless Sea
by Chi Thai and illustrated by Linh Dao
Simply told, this is a powerful message of a young child surviving a long sea crossing to find refuge in a country far from home.
read my review
Publication date: 6th March 2025
Hardback edition
Buy this book online

Look out for

These titles will soon be published but are not yet available in the shops. 

The Calamity Club
by Kathryn Stockett
A big book about sisterhood, determination and resilience. A great read!
read my review
Publication date: 21st May 2026
Order this book online
Boy B
by Ruth Dugdall
A young man is released from prison with a new identity. His probation officer seeks to give him a new start, but does he deserve it?
read my review
Publication date: 21st May 2026
Order this book online
This Dark Night
by Deborah Lutz
Recommended non-fiction
The first comprehensive biography of Emily Bronte in 20 years.
read my review
Publication date: 28th May 2026
Order this book online
Whistler
by Ann Patchett
Daphne is reunited with her stepfather Eddie and comes to understand the event which changed their lives.
read my review
Publication date: 2nd June 2026
Order this book online
Strike
by Mitch Johnson
Recommended for children
A football tale about chasing your dreams and standing up for what you believe is right.
read my review
Publication date: 4th June 2026
Order this book online
An Unlikely Visitor
by Joanna Cannon
Margaret has lived with a tragedy all her life. Now, with her husband Derek dying, she may finally find some answers.
read my review
Publication date: 4th June 2026
Order this book online
Mrs Dickens
by Emily Howes
Stepping into the life of Kate Hogarth and glimpsing the ebbs and flows of her long marriage to Charles Dickens.
read my review
Publication date: 11th June 2026
Order this book online
Bad Deeds
by Andrew Hunter Murray
A funny and clever murder mystery. What a treat!
read my review
Publication date: 11th June 2026
Order this book online
How to steal the future
by Christopher Edge
Recommended for children
A tense adventure with a clever and surprising twist.
read my review
Publication date: 2nd July 2026
Order this book online
The Tailor
by Tim Sullivan
Number eight in the series following the cases of DS George Cross. Brilliant!
read my review
Publication date: 16th July 2026
Order this book online
Sophie, Standing There
by Meg Mason
In the world of literary events, Sophie becomes smitten and rather obsessed with one particular author.
read my review
Publication date: 27th August 2026
Order this book online
Drawn to Nature
by Caroline Quentin
Recommended non-fiction
A rather lovely book where the actress Caroline Quentin shares her wonder in the natural world through words and illustration.
read my review
Publication date: 10th September 2026
Order this book online
The Housekeeper
by Rose Tremain
An imagining of how Daphne du Maurier may have been inspired to write 'Rebecca'.
Publication date: 17th September 2026
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The Dying Light
by Ann Cleeves
The fourth in the Two Rivers series with detective Matthew Venn.
read my review
Publication date: 8th October 2026
Order this book online

 

 

For my reviews on radio click here

News

Sunday 17 May 2026

The Top 100

There's been a big project at the 'Guardian' recently. Acknowledging 2026 as the National Year of Reading, and recognising the diminishing appeal of books due to screens and streaming, and dwindling attention spans, the paper has surveyed 170 novelists, critics and academics to draw up a list of the 100 best novels of all time.

The paper has been teasing the results over a period of days but the full article appeared in the magazine yesterday.

I may have said before how lists don't appeal to me. Happy enough to draw up my own lists for chores and work projects, and do so in abundance, but find shortlists, longlists and the books-you-must-read lists to be anxiety inducing. There's not enough time!