A monster sized book post here because I haven’t done an update since before Christmas! But here we go:
Daisy Jones & The Six - Taylor Jenkins Reid
★ ★ ★
This was a really enjoyable read, laid out like a interview as the members of rock band Daisy Jones & The Six recount their rise to fame, and subsequent break up. It felt hugely reminiscent of the stories behind Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumours” album. I did enjoy it and found it a nice light read, but the found myself rolling my eyes a lot at all the cliches in it.
I Who Have Never Known Men - Jacqueline Harpman
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Loved this book. A short dystopian novel about 39 women who live in captivity in a cage. I can’t say much without ruining a big part of the plot, but the way the book goes onto explore the women’s roles to one another and their journey of discovery. It was brilliant.
A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Straight up there as one of my favourite books EVER. I loved this. Yes, it’s bleak, but the it never seems unnecessary (like in A Little Life, for example). It follows the story of four characters in India who, through different circumstances, end up living together. Honestly I couldn’t put it down and haven’t stopped thinking about it since.
The Nickel Boys - Colson Whitehead
★ ★ ★ ★
I loved this and only didn’t give it 5 stars because I wanted more from it. It sort of drops you into the middle of the plot and then works backwards, but I had hoped for a little more depth from the experiences of the characters. Still, an amazing book all the same.
Motherwell - Deborah Orr
★ ★ ★ ★
A great memoir! Orr explores her relationship with her mother, Win, alongside her father and brother. I found the way she dissected how those relationships still have a huge impact on her in her adult life was really interested. It didn’t read like a therapy book in how your ‘inner child’ speaks, or how we are formed by our relationships with our parents - it managed to have that insight while still being very auto-biographical. I really enjoyed it.
Where The Crawdads Sing - Delia Smith
★ ★ ★ ★
Brilliant book and worth all the hype. A slow burning thriller set in the marshes of South Carolina. Smith spends so much time on the landscape, which is just what makes this story. We follow Kya, ‘Marsh Girl’, through her life as she navigates life alone on the marsh from a very young age. I loved her character so much. A really good read - one I would recommend very much for our collective headspace right now!
This Is Going To Hurt - Adam Kay
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
I don’t know why I put reading this off for so long. I laughed, I cried, I didn’t want it to end. It would be a very pertinent read for right now to gain even more respect for what the NHS does for us all. Incredible.
The English Patient - Michael Ondaatje
★ ★ ★ ★
I watched the film of this many moons ago and loved it, and as is often the case, the book is even better!
The Spy Who Came In From The Cold - John Le Carré
★ ★ ★
Got to the end of this and thought ‘wait, I think I something really clever just happened and I didn’t get it’. So yep, felt like most of it went over my head for some reason?!
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine - Gail Honeyman
★ ★
Didn’t enjoy. Was glad when I was over.
Lanny - Max Porter
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Brilliant little book!! The narrator in the book is Old Papa Toothwort, a mischievous spirit in a small village who lives off what the villagers are discussing, and becomes particularly interested in a young boy called Lanny. It took lots of twists I wasn’t expecting, and I loved it.
Christodora - Tim Murphy
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
LOVED this! Set around the Christodora building in East Village New York and one family who live in there as they live through the AIDs crisis in the 1980s. It’s just brilliant, I loved the characters, and didn’t want to leave them behind.
Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls - David Sedaris
★ ★
Not my fave of his! Some of the chapters felt super distasteful, and I wouldn’t say I am easily offended at all! Skip this one.
Girl, Woman, Other - Bernardine Evaristo
★ ★ ★ ★
Following the lives of 12 different British women, mostly black, this novel spans several decades documenting their lives and struggles, love lives and friendships. I enjoyed it so thoroughly, and there were so many lovely moments when the stories overlapped and came together too.
The New Me - Halle Butler
★
Total shit, don’t bother.
The Underground Railroad - Colson Whitehead
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
The Underground Railroad was a secret train network designed to help slaves escape the plantations. Cora, the main character, manages to escape and embarks on a VERY nail biting journey via the railroad. A great page turner.
On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous - Ocean Vuong
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Gosh I loved this book. Vuong is first and foremost a poet, and even in this novel you can sense that. A son writes a letter to his Vietnamese illiterate mother, and it’s just beautiful.
The Turn Of The Key - Ruth Ware
★ ★ ★ ★
A really good page turner of a thriller. A little bit supernatural too. From time to time I love a thriller and this ticked all the boxes for me.
The Broken Earth Trilogy - N.K Jemisin
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Oh I LOVED these books! The characters were brilliant and I connected with them all so much. I had never read a fantasy novel before and didn’t think it was my thing - but this enthralled me. The worlds that Jemisin builds are just so so rich, I could have read more and more of this.
The Handmaid’s Tail - Margaret Atwood
★ ★ ★ ★
Really enjoyed it! But haven’t had the urge to read her second one yet. I hadn’t watched any of the series so had the joy of sort of going in blind with this. A must read to anyone I would say.