Reading Review: July 2019

Here's what I read during the month of July:

Don't Hold my Head Down by Lucy-Ann Holmes (4/5). I thought this was witty, informative, incredibly well-researched and funny. My teenage self would have appreciated having this in her bag for sure. It's essentially a memoir about Lucy's journey into self-discovery and learning more about sex. If you like self-deprecating humour and find sex fascinating, I can't recommend this highly enough.

The Adulterants by Joe Dunthorne (4/5). This is brilliant. I've since given my copy to my sister and love watching her chuckle through my favourite parts. Joe wrote Submarine and this is very similar in style. The story follows a tech journalist during a catastrophic summer. Hilarious.

The Love of a Bad Man by Laura Elizabeth Woollett (4/5). This is about the women who fantasised about, were married to, or connected to Bad Men throughout history in some way. Charles Manson, Hitler, serial killers, etc. They are great short stories and glimpses into true tales.

Stubborn Archivist by Yara Rodriguez Fowler (4/5). My brother and I heard Yara read an extract of this at an event a few months ago, and I was convinced that this was memoir. When I finished the book, I was quite confused as it turns out the main character isn't actually her! This aside, it's a beautiful story about a woman growing up in a British/Brazilian household, feeling torn between two cultures and losing her sense of self. I adored how it was written in a very unstructured way, with poems and short snippets throughout.

Motherhood by Sheila Heti (3/5). I went into this with such high hopes, as lots of people have been raving on about it, but it didn't meet these expectations. Our narrator is questioning motherhood and expectations in a very philosophical way. I did like this aspect, and I'm definitely aware of the importance of not judging women who don't have children. But it gets a little repetitive after a while, with few new perspectives introduced. She also makes a comparison to gay people 'coming out', and saying she felt jealous that they were able to do so, while she still battles with her decision to reproduce. Controversial, and pretty unnecessary.

Sea of Strangers by Lea Lang (3/5). This collection of prose and poetry is focused on love and loss - cheery summertime reading! There are a few lines in this which I've memorised as they are stunning, but others are quite generic and forgettable.

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Let me know if you've read any of these! I can be found over on GoodReads and Instagram and I'm always happy to chat books.

Reading Review: June 2019

                           

Here's an overview of the books I read or finished last month:

• Swimming Lessons by Claire Fuller (5/5). Claire Fuller is fantastic. Our Endless Numbered Days is one of my all-time favourites of hers. Bitter Orange is also good. So creepy. In this, a woman writes letters to her husband about their relationship, but hides them in their books for him to find when she is gone. The pages flip between those letters and the present day, where her grown up daughters are processing her mysterious disappearance. We witness them learning the truth behind their seemingly flawless father as secrets are unturned. It's gripping. 

• The Passion by Jeanette Winterson (4/5). I'm never drawn to classics, but I love Jeanette Winterson's other books and I found a beautiful copy of this in a charity shop. She paints a memorable image of a soldier in Napoleonic wartime, and of a woman in Venice - called Villanelle (Killing Eve fans, rejoice!) The plot itself is complex but it draws you in quickly. I'd definitely recommend. 

• I Miss You When I Blink by Mary Laura Philpott (2/5). I listened to this throughout the month but found the generic advice quite forgettable. It's a personal essay collection about escaping our obsession with 'life to-do lists'. Sounds right up my street but I honestly didn't enjoy the reading experience at all. 

• What My Mother And I Don't Talk About, edited by Michele Filgate (5/5). This is a  collection focused on the complexity of our relationships with our mothers. Some of the writers are estranged from their mothers, others are best friends, and they all break the silence, opening up about the relationship which has shaped their lives. Funny, heartbreaking , relatable- I think this will comfort everyone in one way or another.  

• The Rules Do Not Apply by Ariel Levy (4/5). I picked this up in Dublin. It's a heartbreaking and inspiring memoir which covers LGBTQ+ marriage, addiction, and so much more. My only issue with this was that it's quite fragmented, reading in a jolty way at times as each piece doesn't always flow smoothly to the next. 

"I wanted what we all want: everything. We want a mate who feels like a family and a lover who is exotic, surprising. We want to be youthful adventurers and middle-aged mothers. We want intimacy and autonomy, safety and stimulation, reassurance and novelty, coziness and thrills. But we can't have it all."