Hate Letter to Goodreads
(kidding!! but honestly, the goodreads interface frustrates my inner boomer and I much prefer a listicle format.)
My Top Book Recommends (part 1)
Currently Reading:
Ordinary Human Failings was given to me by my gorgeous friend and fellow bookworm Lottie. The story is set in a council estate in London, where a young girl suspected of murder comes up against a journalist trying to further his career through breaking the story. There are themes of class, violence and sex - but more than that it got me pondering our own agency in media portrayals. How people willingly debase themselves and play up to stereotypes for money and fame, knowing and not caring their character or narrative is being manipulated.
Top 3 Of 2024:
Green Dot is the epitome of the new sad girl lit category but with more bite. I gobbled this up in March and if you enjoy Fleabag and the eruption of novels about messy millennials struggling to adult, you probably will too. I like that Hera has a good relationship with her father, rejecting the typical storyline an affair is due to ‘Daddy issues’. She clings onto love for comfort, as a defiance to the bleakness of life and to plug the holes of sadness in her. Despite our nihilism, love can blind us all. Her emotional fragility and naive willingness to fight for love is rather familiar… Not giving up even when the truth is glaringly obvious. I can get so fixed to an outcome and refuse to give up on someone even when the ship has sailed, sunk and sits at the bottom of the ocean - you’ll find me searching for treasure in its ruins.
Rosewater, the debut book from Liv Little, founder of gal-dem, was utterly enjoyable. A raw, beautiful and often funny story following Elsie, a gay poet and barmaid living in South London, as she figures out the meaning of home and love. Dawoor writes it is a reminder that “self-knowledge is often arrived at in the company of others.” Most refreshingly the original sex scenes didn’t invoke a compulsion to eye-roll or cringe at performative cliches and I want to delve further in queer literature.
The List gripped me this summer and I still can’t stop tracing over parts of it in my head. Raising ethical and moral dilemmas in our post-MeToo world, where the power of social media can equally make and break you. Bringing home the disgustingly depressing truth that rape and sexual assault is most likely to be inflicted by the men ‘we’ know and/or trust. Consent is an increasing conversation in our society, but still fertile ground. I’ve been asking myself ‘is it my responsibility to report something, even though nothing will likely come of it?’ - not only to protect other women, but more so to force a man to rethink and confront their past.
3 Books I Recommend To Everyone:
I have been carrying this around with me since 2020, underlining and rereading the snippets of wisdom and beautiful descriptions of hope. Wintering from Katherine May invites recuperation and tending to ourselves, earnestly sharing her own experiences. A reminder that we cannot live in a permanent summer 365 days a year and it’s not a personal failure to have dark, fallow chapters, but instead a natural cycle of life (one that will repeat itself). She removes the fear and shame from withdrawing and “falling through the gaps in the mesh of the everyday world”.
The characters and storyline are developed so realistically I thought it was an autobiography. Sorrow and Bliss is a profound and hilarious read I urge everyone to read. Martha starts to unpick and reimagine her past in the aftermath of separating from husband Patrick, flitting between memories and the present day. Author Meg Mason sensitively writes on the nuances of chronic mental illness, cleverly referring to Martha’s illness as “—”. It touches on labels, the evolution of mental health awareness, mother-daughter dynamics and the complexity of knowing and trusting oneself. It is heavy whilst deeply funny (just like life can be).
Before I Go to Sleep is my toe-dipping into the psychological thriller genre. Chrissie has been in an accident leaving her with an Amnesia and can only retain memory for 24 hours. Written as her diary entries as she tries to piece her life back together before falling asleep and having to start again the next morning. If you liked Gone Girl and Girl on the Train you’ll be gripped by this unnerving story.
3 Books On My Wishlist:
The Secret History Donna Tart
The Fetishist Katherine Min
Strong Female Character Fern Brady
Book I’m Excited To Be Onscreen:
Cleopatra and Frankenstein is the debut novel from Coco Mellors, becoming the gorgeous girls aesthetic companion on Instagram. The book highlights how the deterioration of one relationship ripples out to friends and family and our interconnected nature. How we each carry our own emotional baggage and navigate life in the best way we can. As I navigate sober curious life, I was fascinated to learn that the author wrote this during her recovery journey. In Vogue she shares how she became lost in New York and lent on alcohol, socialising and work to feel good enough - “I was never a nobody – none of us are – but God, did I feel like one.”
