Reading Wales ’25 — looking for ideas of what to read?
Are you planning to join Reading Wales ’25 but haven’t yet decided what to read? Here are a few suggestions of authors and/or books to get you started. It’s not intended as a definitive guide, more as a jumping off point of books in various categories. Some of these titles are books I’ve read (with links to any available reviews); others are recommendations from friends and acquaintances.
Literary Fiction
Cynan Jones: The Cove and The Long Dry are fabulous lyrical novellas
Carys Davies: Her short novel West and the full length novel The Mission House are particular favourites.
Caryl Lewis: Drift is the first English language novel by this poet. Contains some mythical elements.
Cath Barton: her novella In The Sweep of The Bay explores a long marriage and a relationship where love has faded.
Sarah Gethin: Not Thomas was shortlisted for the The Guardian’s “Not the Booker prize” project in 2017.
Trezza Azzopardi : Her Booker shortlisted novel The Hiding Place evokes a time when the city of Cardiff was one of the oldest multi-racial communities in Britain.
Crime fiction/Thrillers
Chris Lloyd: The Unwanted Dead is the first book in a series set in France during the time of the Nazi occupation. It won the HWA Gold Crown Award for best historical novel of the year and was shortlisted for the CWA Historical Dagger Award for the best historical crime fiction.
Kate Hamer: Her debut novel The Girl in the Red Coat is a psychologically tense novel that calls to mind that darkly disturbing fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood.
Beverley Jones : Her novel Wilderness, published under the name of B.E Jones — was adapted for TV and became a highly rated series on Amazon Prime.
Historical Fiction
Alis Hawkins: Her Teifi Valley Coroner series is a meticulously researched series set in West Wales in the mid nineteenth century.
Welsh “classics”
The Mabinogian The big one in Welsh classic literature from Wales, this is a collection of tales written in the fourteenth century that evoke Celtic myths and legends.
Caradog Prichard: One Moonlit Night is a novel about a child growing up in a community beset by poverty and hardship. It sounds bleak but that is counterbalanced by joy and exhuberance. The Oxford Companion to the Literature of Wales called the book “one of the most impressive novels to be published in Wales since the Second World War.”
Dylan Thomas: A Child’s Christmas in Wales is one of Thomas’s most popular works for its nostalgic reminiscence of his boyhood in Swansea. You can get a flavour of the poetry in these extracts recorded by Michael Sheen. Even more popular and famous is his 1954 play for voices Under Milk Wood which invites the audience to listen to the dreams and innermost thoughts of people in a small (fictional) Welsh fishing town. Watch a film version starring Richard Burton here – just turn off the visuals and listen to his voice…..
You’ll find a more extensive list of classics here.
Non Fiction
Mike Parker: His memoir On the Red Hill — was highly commended in the 2020 Wainwright Prize for UK Nature Writing and won the non-fiction Wales Book of the Year Award. In his most recent book, All the Wide Border — Wales, England and The Places Between — he travels a route along the England–Wales border, examining the concept of borders, our fascination with them, our need for them, and our response to their power.
Poetry
Two names stand head and shoulders above the rest: Dylan Thomas and R.S Thomas.
Dylan Thomas: by the time he died he’d built a reputation (which he did little to correct) as a “roistering, drunken and doomed poet. As a poet his work is notable for its rhythmic, inventive use of words and imagery. “Do not go gentle into that good night,” “And death shall have no dominion” and “Fernhill” are among his best known works.
R S Thomas: While Dylan Thomas rejected any idea of “Welshness” in his poetry, his namesake was very much a Welsh poet. Ordained as an Anglican priest, he learned to speak and write in the Welsh language and became a fierce advocate of Welsh nationalism. Much of his work concerns the Welsh landscape and the hardships endured by the farming communities he encountered in his parish. His most famous poem is Welsh Landscape.
If you have a favourite that’s missing from my list, please leave a comment below.
Clear by Carys Davies: Review by Andrew Blackman
[…] Reading Wales Month lasts until the end of March, so there’s still plenty of time to read something and take part. I can definitely recommend Clear, but of course there are plenty of other good options too—you can find some ideas on Booker Talk. […]
Mary
Fascinating and inspiring list! Another Brenda Chamberlain title is Tide Race based on living on Bardsey Island. For poetry add Gillian Clarke (who did a double stint as National Poet of Wales) and the lyrical work of Christine Evans (from the Lleyn Peninsula). The Mabinogion can be a bit indigestible in some translations – a great way to get to grips with it is Matthew Francis The Mabinogi. Mwynhewch!
BookerTalk
I’ve struggled with the Mabinogion but I suspect that’s because I’m not a fan of myths/legends
Spell the Month in Books: March 2025 : BookerTalk
[…] a genre I don’t read so I’m going with my own topic once more. Since it’s ReadingWalesMonth I’m taking a very obvious path and spelling March using the titles of books by Welsh […]
curlygeek04
I’ll try to read something from Wales this month! Thanks for the suggestions.
My February Reading Wrap-Up – The Book Stop
[…] Asperger Syndrome by Kathleen Somers. March is also a reading month for books from Wales (at BookerTalk) and Ireland (at 746books), so I hope to read something for each of […]
Jane Teather
I read The Life of Rebecca Jones by Angharad Price a few years ago and loved it. Written originally in Welsh it is about Rebecca’s life on the family farm in the 1900s.
BookerTalk
That does sound interesting Jane. Where was the farm?
In which February flies past… #readindies | Kaggsy's Bookish Ramblings
[…] how many different reading events are on this month! First of all there is the Dewithon, hosted by BookerTalk, where we all read Welsh […]
StuckinaBook’s Weekend Miscellany – Stuck in a Book
[…] 3.) The blog post – March is Reading Wales month – get some suggestions over at Booker Talk. […]
Winding Up the Week #414 – Book Jotter
[…] festival. Are you wearing a daffodil in your lapel today? Maybe you are planning a post for Reading Wales, which is now underway. At the very least, you should have a generous slice of Bara Brith with your […]
John Davies
Pleased to see Carys Davies mentioned here, as I have enjoyed The Mission House and West in particular. But does she really count as a Welsh writer? She doesn’t seem to write about Wales at all, and lives in England … I agree with your recommendations for Mike Parker, Caradog Prichard, Cynan Jones – but surely your ‘classics’ should include Kate Roberts and Menna Gallie (among others)
Anyway, my plan for March is to read W.H. Davies’s Autobiography of a Super-tramp, which I’ve only dipped into before. I also have his Later Days and A Poet’s Pilgrimage on my shelves, so maybe I’ll look at them as well
BookerTalk
Delighted to hear you will be joining us next month John.
You raise a good question – who do we “count” as a Welsh author? I’ve run into the same issue with authors from many different countries and felt I was tying myself in knots trying to get a definitive answer. Do we count only people born in a country who continue to live there? Do we count only those who write about Wales, past or present? For the purposes of Wales Reading Month I’m taking a very relaxed and inclusive approach. Carys Davies “qualifies” for me because she was born and raised in Wales and describes herself as a welsh author.
I knew when I put this list together that I’d be overlooking some authors – fortunately there is a much longer version elsewhere on the blog which does include many, many more authors. Even then, I bet there are some omissions.
castlebooks
I love Carys Davies’ work but had similar thoughts myself about her inclusion. Carys now lives in Scotland. I think she was born in Llangollen to a Welsh dad and of course we have to move along wherever our parents’ work takes them. She doesn’t say much about her pre-adult years. I feel there is a quality to her work which qualifies her as a Welsh writer inherited from the great mid 20th century period of the short story writers. A deep sense of ‘hiraeth’ too. Agree with you, Feet in Chains by Kate Roberts for a taste of life in the old quarry worlds of Caernarfonshire.
Whispering Gums
As always I’d love to join you, but I think my backlog will defeat me. I will try instead to keep an eye on some of the posts as they come through.
BookerTalk
I’m more than happy for people to participate in whatever way they can manage. Comments are just as welcome as reviews!
The Cobbler's Apprentice [Book Review] #NetGalley #BookX #BookSky #BookBlogger #HistoricalFiction @BoldwoodBooks #readingwales25 - Reading Ladies
[…] linking to Karen @ Booker Talk today in anticipation of Reading Wales 25 (in March). I realize I’m jumping the gun a bit but […]
Carol
You’re going to think I’m your wackadoodle blogging friend because I wrote a blog review today and remembered the book was set in Wales! (In my defense I read it months ago). So, I guess I’m jumping the gun with “reading wales” 😂 I can’t wait til March to post the review because it’s already a few days overdue.
I’ll read and review those 3 novellas from your list in March and count them toward novellas in November.
BookerTalk
You call it jumping the gun but you could equally call it being very organised!
Carol
Quite by accident! 😂
Vishy
Wonderful recommendations! I loved Caradog Pritchard’s One Moonlit Night and Dylan Thomas’ A Child’s Christmas in Wales. Looking forward to Reading Wales ’25. Thanks so much for hosting 😊
BookerTalk
So glad to know you love both of these works Vishy
WordsAndPeace
For those who like scifi: The Prefect, by Alastair Reynolds (2007).
Yes, I’m joining this year, and am planning to read this one – ads for your event in my Sunday post tomorrow. Thanks for hosting!
BookerTalk
I’m so glad you could let us know about an option in a different genre – I don’t tend to read sci fi and neither it seems do my friends so I was a little adrift there
margaret21
Mission Hoiuse was the first Carys Davies I read. I’ve been her devoted reader ever since.
BookerTalk
She deserves a lot more recognition than she’s had so far.
margaret21
I think Clear has brought her out from under the radar. At last.
BookerTalk
Now I’m itching to get to that book
margaret21
👍
Carol
Great list of titles! 📚🙌
BookerTalk
Are you going to be able to join in Carol?
Carol
I have this list saved for inspiration! I already have noted those two novellas for Novellas in November!
Carol
Actually…3 novellas!