Love Untold: The joyful Sunday Times bestseller and Richard and Judy book club pick 2023

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In a series of 100 short and accessible essays, zoologist and science communicator Joanna Bagniewska introduces us to some of the strangest and most compelling creatures in the natural world. From jellyfish capable of reversing the ageing process to tarantulas that keep frogs as pets, by way of blood-spurting lizards and booby siblicide, it’s an illuminating compendium of some weird and wonderful creatures. As for Catrin she gets her heart broken by a local man and it is not over yet. Still, Catrin remains the great glue that keeps them all together in this well-crafted story.

As eight-year-olds, they had sworn an oath on a curly wrapper vowing to always be friends. A decade later, we see them about to celebrate graduating from their A levels and the start of their adult lives with a trip to several beautiful islands in Greece. Grace is said grandmother, about to turn ninety and living life to the full. Sea swims, visiting friends and embracing life in her own home. Still there are feuds that need to be solved and Grace suddenly feels that times is running out.

Ruth Jones writes with such warmth you can’t help but fall in love with the characters she creates. It’s always grounded, always real, always comforting, always ultimately full of love’ JAMES CORDEN It's a great read, refreshingly free of stereotypes, as we follow events in the lives of the four women in the run-up to Grace's ninetieth birthday. I loved the characters of Grace and Beca in particular. I did guess the Cissie reveal in advance, though. Elin Matthews (married to Greg) is Grace’s granddaughter. She is the Head Teacher of St Stephen’s High and mother to Beca. After she was cast in Saxondale as Steve Coogan’s wife, she teamed up with James and together they wrote and starred in Gavin and Stacey the Bafta Award-winning work. Rob Brydon her old friend for years who also worked as a comedian starred in the work.

Actor and author Ruth Jones’s third novel tells a story of conflict between four generations of Welsh women. Matriarch Grace has been estranged from daughter, Alys, for decades. Alys abandoned her own daughter, Elin, years before, and now Elin’s daughter, Beca, is facing emotional dilemmas too. Rich in warm, engaging characters and a judicious mix of humour and pathos for which Jones is renowned, it’s a compassionate, wise and life-affirming book. Grace Meredith is eighty-nine years old. Widowed in her thirties, left to bring up a teenage daughter, Alys, she ran a boarding house with her friends John, and his sister Cassie for years until Cassie and John's ill-health forced them to move to a home where she visits them every day. Despite her age Grace swims daily, either in the hideous swimming pool in her garden or wild swimming in the sea, and does yoga several times a week.Next granddaughter Elin. The most serious of the four. The prime and proper headteacher whose daughter fails all but two exams and a husband who runs to play hippie. The affair of Greg I find slightly daft. Due to how much I liked them as a partnership. Can they pretend it never happened? Even the ever serious can have the breakdown the biggest of one. Especially with her estranged mum. Sometimes hard to like making her evermore a brilliant character. Ruth Jones writes with such warmth you can't help but fall in love with the characters she creates. It's always grounded, always real, always comforting, always ultimately full of love' JAMES CORDEN She has three brothers and sisters and remembers that she loved participating in yearly theatre and musical productions in school. It was this that fostered her creative spirit during this time. This combination made for a BAFTA award-winning comedy that would soon become one of the biggest shows in the United Kingdom right behind Little Britain. For the first time Stacey, Gavin, and their friends go on a journey from Billericay to Barry. There’s a lot of warmth and comfort that comes with reading your work. Maybe I’m being biased because I’m Welsh…

Ruth Jones: Very proud! I’m looking forward to my mum reading it, as it’s dedicated to her. She received an advanced copy and must have read the dedication because she called me and said, “You give me so much joy too!” Grace doesn’t want a traditional celebration for her birthday, but her granddaughter Elin has other ideas. She’s determined that Grace’s big day will be celebrated, her own daughter, Becca is slightly mortified by her mother’s quest to party, much preferring to spend quality time with her great grandmother. Heartfelt, joyful, brave, utterly compelling, it is a giant tribute to the love between women. You leave this book feeling you have made new friends - Rachel Joyce Love Untold is the first book I’ve read by Ruth Jones, but after loving it I’ve added her others to my (ever-growing) list.Rich in warm, engaging characters and a judicious mix of humour and pathos... it's a compassionate, wise and life-affirming book * The Observer * I really enjoyed Love Untold one of our family book club books. I would not have read it out of choice but was very pleased I did. Over the years, Ruth has won many accolades and awards that include three BAFTA Cymru awards, the Ultimate Women of the Year Award by Cosmopolitan, and the British Comedy Award. Recommended Reads about Race, Racism, and Demarginalizing History - Necessary Non-fiction You Should Read for Life-changing Insights and Impact Grace is about to turn ninety and she doesn't want parties or presents or fuss. She just wants a quiet celebration: her daily swim in the sea and a cup of tea with granddaughter Elin and great-granddaughter Beca. More than anything, she wants to heal the family rift that's been breaking her heart for decades.