Books for Mum this Mother’s Day

Posted on March 17, 2023

Need a last minute gift idea for mum this Mother’s Day (March 19th)? Here are 6 books mums of all reading tastes will love.

Non-fiction

One Body by Catherine Simpson

Picked for this year’s World Book Night, One Body is Catherine Simpson’s candid, often funny meditation on her life’s journey so far in her body. From her childhood, teenage years and young adulthood through to motherhood and to her breast cancer diagnosis in mid-life, Catherine explores her experiences seeking unattainable standards for her body and absorbing misogynistic messages – until she finds contentment with the skin she’s in. One Body is perfect for mums of all ages, with extra nostalgia value for those who grew up in the 1960s and 70s.

Cold Fish Soup by Adam Farrer

NorthBound Book Award winner Adam Farrer gives a refreshing take on mental health, self-reinvention, and coming of age. But at the heart of his memoir is his relationship with his family – and particularly his burlesque-dancing mother, the glorious sun around which other family members orbit. Cold Fish Soup is tender and moving, and often hilarious. Cold Fish Soup cements Adam as one of the UK’s emerging writers to watch. Publishers Weekly described his writing as “echoing the canny writing of David Sedaris”, so if your mum loves Sedaris, introduce her to Farrer.

The Mahogany Pod by Jill Hopper

If your mum loves reading true romantic and family love stories, The Mahogany Pod will be her new favourite book. Jill Hopper’s poignant memoir describes her passionate relationship with Arif. Love blossomed when they shared a house on the island of Osney in Oxford, but shortly after they fell in love, Arif was given the devastating news that he only had a few months to live. Friends told Jill to walk away, but she was in too deep. Now, many years later, she revisits their romance and explores the lasting ripples through her life and family.

Fiction

The Posy Ring by Catherine Czerkawska

Intertwining two love stories 500 years apart, Catherine Czerkawska’s The Posy Ring is a must read for any historical romance fan. This beautiful novel is set on the fictional Hebridean island of Garve, where antiques seller Daisy Graham meets Cal Galbraith who has taken an interest in the house she recently inherited. In parallel with their story runs that of sixteenth-century cousins Mateo and Francisco, survivors from the ill-fated Spanish Armada who find safe passage to the island. There, one of them falls in love with the laird’s daughter. The precious gold posy (poesy) ring he gives her is found centuries later. Are its haunting engraved mottoes, un temps viendra and vous et nul autre, somehow significant now for Daisy and Cal?

How to Survive Everything by Ewan Morrison

Award-winner Ewan Morrison gives us a dystopian pandemic thriller like no other with How to Survive Everything. 15-year-old Haley and her little brother, Ben, are kidnapped by their pandemic-prepping father, who is convinced that the world is about to succumb to a deadly virus. Haley learns to deal with her new life in a secret prepper hideaway, as well as navigating her teens, crushes and her complicated relationships with both her parents. This novel is the perfect fast-paced book for thrill-seeking mums.

Castles from Cobwebs by J.A. Mensah

Rescued as a baby and raised by nuns, Imani grows up with an ever-increasing feeling of displacement. At nineteen, Imani answers a phone call that will change her life: she is summoned to Ghana after the death of her biological mother. What she discovers connects her to family and leads her to New York. Past, present, faith and reality are spun together in this enthralling literary debut from NorthBound Book Award winner J.A. Mensah, exploring belonging, displacement and discovering who you really are.