XXth Monthname 2025
10
Paperback May
Titles not to miss in May
Memoir
Will Smith selects the paperback titles to look out for in late spring – which include a meditation on motherhood from Kerri Andrews, RF Kuang’s literary journey into the underworld, a love story from John Patrick McHugh and a history of Britain by cycling enthusiast Graham Robb
History & politics Natural history Literary
Kerri Andrews Pathfinding: One Mother’s Journey from Wilderness to Freedom Elliott & Thompson, 14th, £10.99, 9781783968442
After the upheaval of becoming a mother and feeling that hillwalking was behind her, Andrews discovers stories of other mothers who have walked long distances. She gradually takes the hobby up again, travelling on foot across beaches, cities and back to the mountains, joined by women whose lives have also been reshaped by motherhood. Walks in the book span Glencoe, Loch Lomond, Melrose and Keswick. The publisher reports Andrews’ first book, Wanderers: A History of Women Walking, has sold more than 50,000 copies. Pathfinding was longlisted for the 2025 Highland Book Prize.
12
Omar El Akkad One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This Canongate Books, 21st, £10.99, 9781837264940
Novelist and journalist El Akkad’s first non-fiction book considers how rules, conventions and morals exist as long as they are “convenient to the preservation of power”, and how we might examine our own complicity in this. Building on the response to the global refugee crisis explored in his novel What Strange Paradise, El Akkad urges accountability while it is still possible. It is a hopeful read, too, observing those who have volunteered to do health work in Palestine and examining the healthy role dissent and protest play in national policy change. A 2025 National Book Award winner.
Monica Feria-Tinta A Barrister for the Earth Faber, 21st, £10.99, 9780571386376
London-based barrister Feria-Tinta draws from her work representing Indigenous peoples around the world who are facing uphill battles against governments and supranational corporations. These cases have led to environmental legal precedents enabling further arguments for the rights of the Earth itself. Recounting 10 such cases, Feria-Tinta draws attention to the Torres Strait Islanders and the matrilineal Wayuu women – but admits these wins are hollow if legal precedent does not lead to “a reimagining of the way we exist on this planet”.
Emily Itami Kakigori Summer Phoenix, 28th, £10.99, 9781474620314
Three half-English, half-Japanese sisters, Rei, Kiki and Ai, reunite for the summer in the Japanese seaside town where they grew up to mourn their mother and face the lives they have built without each other. Ai is a pop star who has been seen with a married man, leading to “bad visuals”, Kiki is a single mother and the eldest Rei works in finance in London. As they tentatively regroup, their bonds regrow through shared jokes, conversations and memories, making for an uplifting summer escape. “A lovely, tender-hearted tale,” said Elle.
Books
Paperback Preview
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68
