Rural British Reads | Book Recommendations

Books mentioned:
How Green Was My Valley by Richard Llewellyn
The Valley at the Centre of the World by Malachy Tallack
The Proof of Love by Catherine Hall
Midwinter by Fiona Melrose
All Among the Barley by Melissa Harrison
At Hawthorne Time by Melissa Harrison
Elmet by Fiona Mozley
English Animals by Laura Kaye
The Wolf Border by Sarah Hall
Night Waking by Sarah Moss
Tirzah and the Prince of Crows by Deborah Kay Davies
Swansong by Kerry Andrew
If you fancy it you can check out my patreon at: / mercysmusings
Follow me on Instagram at: mercysmusin...
Follow me on Twitter at: / mercysmusings
Follow me on Goodreads at: tiny.cc/xnyaay

[@v9382s]

we have insanely different reading tastes but i find it so therapeutic to sit and watch your videos, you have the loveliest voice and you’re so well spoken

[@opodobed]

Agree!

[@mariajesustovardedios4064]

Such a great video! Thanks for all the recommendations👏🏻 A year ago I bought How green was my valley, I must read it...

[@kaortega1120]

Loving these recommendations - Have added them to my TBR - Love your channel and have for awhile now xx

[@opodobed]

Great video! Your descriptions of books were beautiful, you've done them justice.

[@knjigoloznica]

I just discovered your channel and I am loving it! Thank you for the recommendations!

[@carrieamoreno]

Wow!! my TBR just ballooned 😂

[@renepierre9074]

Ugh I loved Swan Song sooo much! the writing was so incredible and the ending was so so perfect! I honestly didn't see many people talk about that book so I was excited to see it on your list!

[@teaspoones]

I love this theme so much and I am so excited to watch this video!!! Definitely finally need to buy How Green Was My Valley! (Maybe A Month in the Country could be a novel that you like too. It has a bit of nature writing and I grew quite attached to all the characters.)

[@katrinaandallthebooks7993]

You need to read The Overstory some beautiful images of trees throughout. Also Jon McGregor is full of beautiful writing, characters and not much plot

[@PeeweeM80]

katrina Thomas I loved The Overstory so much! Fantastic book on the power of trees set in America. Thoroughly recommend.

[@MatthewSciarappa]

I normally don’t go for nature writing, but your passion for Melissa Harrison excites me! 🙂

[@holistic7980]

I found this refreshing and beautifully done. Thanks.

[@SadieReadsAgain]

Basically just added these all to my Goodreads! Brilliant selection. I recently read Watch Me Disappear by Jill Dawson which had some lovely descriptions of the Fenlands.

[@CarolynsReadingRamblings]

Ok I really love the sound of Wolf Border so I need to see if my library has it 😄. Also Night Waking is what I want my first Sarah Moss read to be and it has been on my wishlist for at least 2-3 years so I really need to just buy it already haha. Wonderful video as always Mercedes😄

[@tomreadsthings7145]

This was utterly wonderful. I have such a passion for rural Britain and totally agree about writing around the British countryside...FAB

[@juliaschumacher3608]

Thank you for all of these beautiful recommendations! We're actually moving from Montreal to rural Southern France this summer - so the setting will be perfect for some of these books. (Btw, I rarely comment, I'm a rather silent follower of yours, but I always love your videos and the subjects you talk about. So thank you!)

[@bluebell3441]

Thank you ! Lovely recommendations.

[@Caperhere]

Nice to discover you. I’ve been trying to find character driven audiobooks written and read by UK authors, or even North American authors. Thank you for your descriptions and recommendations. I’ve read three novels by Sarah Winman, when God Was a Rabbit, Tin Man, and A Year of Marvellous Ways. I await her next one. Where the Crawdads Sing, by Delia Owens was also enjoyable. It is set in the marshes of the southern US.

[@lisabean141]

Spring has me in the mood for quiet nature-centric books, so how fitting that the first video I watched on your channel is this one! Tim Pears is an author I've discovered recently who writes really gorgeous descriptions of rural life. I've only read The Horseman and The Wanderers (first two in the West Country Trilogy) so far, but I'm eager to get to more of his work.

[@hayesharlan1592]

I realize Im pretty off topic but does anybody know of a good place to stream newly released movies online?

[@bostonmordechai3297]

@Hayes Harlan I dunno try flixportal. just google after it :) -boston

[@hayesharlan1592]

@Boston Mordechai Thanks, signed up and it seems like they got a lot of movies there :) I appreciate it!!

[@bostonmordechai3297]

@Hayes Harlan You are welcome :)

[@anitahayne8621]

I love recommendations. Thanks.

[@margo5306]

You've added a fair few to my tbr this time! The only one one I've read is English Animals and I flippin loved it 👍

[@samgriffiths4107]

Just discovered your channel. Simply amazing video. Wonderful person. I love your recommendations. I want to read them all right now!

[@MercysBookishMusings]

Thank you so much 🙂 I hope you enjoy them!

[@happy_reads]

I'm new here, I loved the video and also your hair ❤️❤️👏🏻

[@MaryAmongStories]

omg yes!! i needed this!!

[@deborahmeades4282]

Great idea for a video Mercedes. I love London but I sometimes think that every new book is based there. Thank you

[@evam6961]

I loved elmet and english animals💗 one of my fave books i read so far

[@susans.k.3025]

I’ve put all these in my TBR!

[@SavidgeReads]

I am going to have to get How Green Was My Valley, sounds amazing. So pleased to see Proof of Love in your selection. One of my all time favourites. I had such an emotional response to Midwinter, I think it’s brilliant. I guessed All Among the Barley might be in this selection. I really need to read it. Wild Border is another I need to get to. As is Tirzah, as is Swansong. Too many brilliant books. I was going to recommend Ben Myers. Ha. Have you read Cynan Jones? I think you’d like his writing. They can be quite rural beach rather than rural countryside but still. Also I think you’d really like a book called The Claude Glass.

[@oshrathalfon442]

Elmet is extraordinarily beautiful and brilliant, I am starting Hot Stew by her soon, wish more people were aware of this author. And Yes! The Wolf Board! God, what a brilliant book. I adore your videos. You have a major influence on my reading recently. Thank you 🎉

[@MercysBookishMusings]

Thank you so much 😊

[@louistomliinson]

I never knew i needed this video, but now i'm super excited to check these all out!! I've been wanting to read How green was my valley for so long based on your recommendation, but Im never able to find it in the US. On an unrelated note, do you know when/if you'll be continuing your Q&A videos? I know you posted one segment but I'd love to see more :)

[@Sureshotj]

It’s refreshing to find a booktuber with similar reading interests. I was about to recommend Sarah Hall, and then you brought out Wolf Border. Sarah is from my hometown. She’s an exciting writer. I really enjoyed Carhullan Army. In fact in recent times Penrith has felt eerily like the apocalyptic Penrith she creates so well in that book 😀

[@Sueradiohead]

I’ve just read the Outrun and absolutely loved it.

[@kaberroneill94]

A book that is not on this list is Lady of the Butterflies by Fiona Mountain. Takes place in the English countryside in 1695. A bit of history you have to know going in is that in the 17th century butterflies were believed to be the souls of the dead; so studying them equaled witchcraft and madness. The connection between butterflies and souls has to do with the fact that they transform from caterpillars into butterflies. Rebirth. It is a historical fiction account of Eleanor Glanville, who was a natural scientist. Very lush.

[@BellesBooksbyCarly]

Have you read To The River by Olivia Laing? I loved the way she seamlessly blends literary history and geography, memoir and beautiful descriptions of the the landscape

[@julieblackstock8650]

Love the Melissa Harrison books, she also wrote Clay. and of course The Stubborn Light of Things which I heartily recommend

[@chrisbookishcauldron6381]

A few of these I’ve been wanting to read for ages, and I keep waiting hoping they’ll get published in the US. But I think I just need to accept that’s not going to happen and order them from the UK. Totally agree with you about nightwaking. I’ve only read three Sarah Moss books, but my fave is a toss up between that one and ghostwall. I’ve never wanted to slap someone in a novel as much as I wanted to slap her obtuse husband. Ive had how green was my valley for quite a while and not read it yet. Sounds like I need to remedy that soon. Great video! Happy reading 😊😊

[@karlydolle7809]

You should definitely pick up Lanny by Max Porter if you haven't already. Absolutely incredible for nature writing, small villages, and has a phenomenal development and examination of characters.

[@juliaeskander5125]

Oh! The valley at the center of the world by Mallachy Tallack is my favorite book ! 🍀

[@shubiektywnie]

I think you should read “Kinder than solitude” by Li Yiyun, it’s character-centered, we’ll written and… I’d say heavy. You may like this book!

[@elelittle1474]

I loved this video and feel pretty similar about rural settings. Have you ever read any DH Lawrence?

[@JessicaReadsThings]

If there ever is such a thing as Mercedes Bingo, How Green Was My Valley must be on it. I'm going through videos I've missed over the last couple of months and when I saw the title of this one I would have bet my house on it being included. All of this to say - I really need to read it! (And I've just had an idea for a video re: bingo...)

[@williamstewart3058]

The Only one I could think of was Sunset Song by Lewis Grassic Gibbon . Its set in the Highlands in the 1910s or 20's .I read it at school about 1975 so cant remember too much about it

[@Drivelhead1807]

I think you’d really like God’s Own Country by Ross Raisin (seems to have also been published under the title Out Backwards). It’s a very dark story about a reclusive young sheep farmer in North Yorkshire. Really intense, with some fantastic depictions of the landscape.

[@artjournalstories7313]

I LOVED this video and added most of the books on my wish list. I will write more books if they come to my mind, but here are the ones I can recommend: The Death Of Mrs Westaway by Ruth Ware. It's a mystery, and I know you don't read loads of them. But this one is very slow, concerns family relationships. It starts in Brighton and goes on in a house in a country side place. So, I'm dropping it here if you'd like to check it out :) Jane Harper's Dry, Force Of Nature, Lost Man, all take place in rural areas (Australia), literary mysteries. Diane Satterfield's Once Upon A River is amazing. Evie Gaughan: The Story Collector. I'll tell you one that's set in Italy rurals in old times: Soul Of The Border by Matteo Righetto, this book was brilliant translated literary fiction. thanks for the video :)

[@Drivelhead1807]

Umut Rados Jane Harper is a great shout. I don’t usually think of genre fiction when searching for examples of good nature writing, but The Dry in particular was really evocative.

[@artjournalstories7313]

@@Drivelhead1807 I actually liked Force Of Nature even more, so if you haven't read it, I'd really recommend :)

[@2012funfamilytimes]

I am the same way in most respects. A plot can be a bit dull, slow, unimaginative, and characters can be slightly under developed, but if it is beautifully written and detailed I can get past the downfalls and enjoy the read. If i can get more of the combination of them all and it is beautifully written then I'm on cloud 9. Great picks btw. Found a few I've not read and will pick up now. :)

[@katiejlumsden]

Have you read any Jon McGregor? He writes about rural communities and landscape wonderfully.

[@buzzselous3757]

Did you know that Richard Llewellyn also wrote some spy novels? They're difficult to find, but they are out there.

[@davidprudence7531]

Pollard by Laura Beatty

[@kellykroger272]

Have you read any novels by Thomas Hardy?

[@naziabegumbegum6596]

Hey Guys.I am 13 years old.... I have just finished reading Harry potter series by Jk rowling I love British books. And I would love some recommendations from the ones who have same interest like me...

[@veronica.theswamphag]

I'm looking for books that are in settings like this but are fantasy/magical realism. Any like magical forests or farms and stuff like that! DO you have any recommendations for that??

[@VP-tg8kd]

Veronica Marie - Karla Brading was recommended to me for welsh history mixed with fantasy. Also Katherine Fisher - same sort of themes, also Wales. Both are children’s/teen authors though.

[@leighedwards5464]

As a Welshman living near where 'How Green Was My Valley' is set, I found the book very difficult to read. The main reason being that the location is highly idealised. I can confirm there is a sense of community here, but the dialect is so off on the page, I found it quite off-putting.

[@VP-tg8kd]

Leigh Edwards I’ve not tried it but am imagining something along the line of ‘Rape of the Fair Country’ or something by Dylan Thomas . I am Welsh too. I like books about rural life. My personal favourite would be ‘Cider with Rosie’ by Laurie Lee.

[@knittingtogether2916]

I love her accent. Could i know which part of England she comes from??

[@MercysBookishMusings]

I come from Suffolk. It's a couple of hours north of London 👍