PINTEREST
BLOGLOVIN
GOODREADS
Reconnect with the seasons in Britain and Ireland with this month-by-month guide to the world around us – including tide tables, sunrises and moon phases; wildlife and folklore; seasonal recipes and more.
The Almanac: A Seasonal Guide to 2026 gives you the tools and inspiration you need to celebrate, mark and appreciate each month of the year in your own particular way.
Divided into the 12 months, a set of tables each month gives it the feel and weight of a traditional almanac, providing practical information that gives access to the outdoors and the seasons, perfect for expeditions, woodland foraging and beach holidays. And it’s the ideal gift!
You will find yourself referring to The Almanac all year long, revisiting it again and again, and looking forward to the next edition as the year draws to a close.
PRAISE FOR THE ALMANAC:
‘Lia Leendertz’s classic almanac never fails to delight’ – The Herald
‘It’s a perfect Christmas present’ – Allan Jenkins, The Observer
‘The perfect companion to the seasons’ – India Knight
‘Indispensable’ – Sir Bob Geldof’
‘This book is your bible’ – The Independent
‘I love this gem of a book’ – Cerys Matthew
MY THOUGHTS
My thanks to Anne of Random Things Tours for the invite and to the publisher for the copy to review. This is published by Gaia, an imprint of Octopus Books and available in kindle and hardback formats (28 August 2025).
If you are interested in nature, tides and the solar system then this is a fantastic little hardback book containing so much information. I have a 2025 book and and have enjoyed following the seasons month by month.
The author explains that each year she chooses a different spot for sunrise and sunset times and this year Ashby-de-la-Zouch in Leicestershire was chosen as its position in the centre of the National Forest (and also at the heart of England) sits with the book’s theme.
This year’s theme is forests and trees and together with detailed monthly information about species and seasons, there are woodland themed folklore and fairy tales, a song for each month, sunrise and sunset times, the moon phases and useful gardening advice which can be either be aligned to the moon phases or just as a helpful task list. I love reading the folklore tales and some of the recipes are very tempting – one being Brown Sugar and Hazelnut Meringue with Poached Plums.
With built in month page tabs and a matching ribbon marker it really is a very informative and user-friendly book. Black and white illustrations are contained throughout and the endpapers are made up of a 2026 calendar. The quality of both the book itself and contents is excellent and it would make a super gift. I have to mention the covers, they are absolutely beautiful, and on this one the gold ferns and leaves really pop, the picture doesn’t do it justice.
Lia Leendertz’s reinvention of the traditional, rural almanac has become an annual must-have for readers keen to reconnect with the seasons, appreciate the outdoors, and discover ways to mark and celebrate each month. It is the ideal stocking filler, containing something for everyone. The 2025 edition is the eighth in her series and has the theme ‘ancient astronomy’, including a megalith of the month and ancient constellation stories from around the world. It is illustrated in beautiful bold woodcuts by artist Sarah Abrehart.
A Year of Feasts & Festivities: a celebration of the seasons is a collection of seasonal recipes drawn from Lia’s almanacs, featuring sweet treats for saints days, hearty meals for harvest time, semlor and dumplings, barmbrack and bonfire toffee apples. It is the second in her ‘celebration of the seasons’ series, following A Year in Story & Song, which is a collection of the stories and songs of the almanacs, featuring mischievous boggarts, saints and sailors, leprechauns and dragons, pilgrimages and charms, to add a little magic to your journey through each year.
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