Before the Coffee Gets Cold, Toshikazu Kawaguchi

A lovely little novel which could be read as a collection of short stories. All take place with the same cast of characters, collected together by chance and circumstance, in a cafe where it is possible to visit the past. Kawaguchi explores reasons for visiting the past, all the rules (like, the present will never change) make the novel solely about the emotional journey of the characters, rather than technicalities. It is lovely, and while based on regrets or longings it's uplifting; the take away is that you can always change the present, and most things can be solved by that.

A Month in the Country, J L Carr

A Month in the Country follows Tom Birkin who, just after WW1 is hired to help uncover a medieval painting in a church in rural Yorkshire. The story is told as Birkin is an old man, looking back on an idyllic few weeks. 

It is definitely romantic, written with nostalgia for youth and what might have been, but at the same time feels plausible and relateable. It is a complete tonic for the soul, beautifully written so you feel the healing summer.

Beast, Paul Kingsnorth

A brilliant, unexplained descent, we understand that the narrator had left his old life in the city to live in an abandoned farmhouse on the moor. He is lucid at first but then descends, describing weather and happenings that cannot possibly be. We have glimmers of his story but nothing is fully explained. A marvel. 

The Living Mountain, Nan Shepherd

Beautiful, poetic and deep description of and musing on the Cairngorms, though it applies to all wild and natural places. I feel I need to read it again to absorb all the ideas fully. It's quiet, truly timeless and an incredible product of a life truly well lived. I find Nan Shepherd herself fascinating and the story of her life comforting.