I started my bookish year with quite the assortment of titles, including fiction, poetry, short stories, children’s books, memoir, and non-fiction. My reading habits used to be quite predictable and now they’re anything but, although there are some common themes. Here are some short reviews of what I’ve been reading over the last few weeks.
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
Bookstagram gives me major FOMO, so I’m forever adding books to my library reservation list. I try not to set my expectations too high but An American Marriage is so worth the hype.
Newlyweds Celestial and Roy have their world ripped apart by circumstances beyond their control. What follows is a heart-wrenching exploration of race, identity, justice, and love. This book is a modern classic, destined to receive the title of one of the greatest books of its time.
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The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes
This is my favourite book of the year so far. I love books about books (I also have The Binding and The Starless Sea in my TBR pile) and, while historical fiction isn’t normally my thing, I gave it a go. And I’m so glad I did.
Set in Depression-era America, The Giver of Stars is based on a true story, following five women who work as part of Eleanor Roosevelt’s traveling library, delivering books across all terrains and in all weather, bringing hope, joy, and education to the people of their town. It’s a magnificent celebration of sisterhood and the power of books.
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Tiger by Polly Clark
I reserved this one at the library after I read about it in Strong Words. They featured an interview with author Polly Clark alongside their review, and I was interested to give it a read after hearing about her research.
Tiger features a split-narrative, tied together by the story of a Siberian tiger. Zookeeper Frieda, conservationist Tomas, and a mother and daughter braving the wild, all cross paths with this beautiful and endangered creature, and come to learn about the power, and memory, of a tigress.
Clark’s ability to weave her research and knowledge into the story reminded me of Jodi Picoult’s Leaving Time, where I learned so much about elephants whilst becoming totally engrossed in the narrative.
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Brave Enough by Cheryl Strayed
I love Cheryl Strayed; she’s such a fascinating woman. Wild is an absolute must-read (avoid the film, even if you’re a fellow Reese Witherspoon fan) and I wanted to read more of her work. Brave Enough popped up on my IG feed a while back and I added it to my library list.
It’s effectively a book of quotes, which Strayed introduces by saying: “I think of quotes as mini-instruction manuals for the soul. It’s my appreciation of their very usefulness that compelled me to put together this book. Not because I believe in my own sagacity, but because I believe in the power of words to help us reset our intentions, clarify our thoughts, and create a counternarrative to the voice of doubt many of us have murmuring in our heads.”
Here’s one of my favourites: “Don’t lament so much about how your career is going to turn out. You don’t have a career. You have a life. Do the work. Keep the faith. Be true blue. You are a writer because you write. Keep writing and quit your bitching. Your book has a birthday. You don’t know what it is yet.”
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Off the Shelf: A Celebration of Bookshops in Verse, edited by Carol Ann Duffy
I spotted this on a display stand in my library and added it to my ever-growing pile. Last year I realised that poetry doesn’t have to be the disengaging required reading I was ‘offered’ throughout my many years of education (thanks, Ana Sampson!), and I set out to broaden my reading. While I didn’t love many of those featured in this book, I had a couple of favourites: The Bookshop at the End of the World by Vicki Feaver and Essentials by Liz Lochhead.
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Unicorn: The Memoir of a Muslim Drag Queen by Amrou Al-Kadhi
Subtitled ‘The Memoir of a Muslim Drag Queen’, you immediately know you’re in for an interesting read with this one. I read so many positive reviews on Instagram that I had to check it out for myself – and I encourage you to do the same. It’s so beautiful and moving.
Sometimes it can take a while to warm to someone when reading a memoir but I instantly lost myself in Amrou’s magical world. But make no mistake, this isn’t an easy read. For every Harry Potter and Almodovar reference, or memory of a life-changing teacher, there are discussions of societal gender codes, revelations of an abusive relationship, and heart-breaking familial rejection. But, ultimately, it’s a story of hope and joy.
Intersectional writing is so powerful, giving voice to under-represented identities, whilst also highlighting privilege and prejudice – you can’t talk about feminism without talking about black feminism or queer feminism (see also The Other F Word).
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M is for Mindfulness: An Alphabet Book of Calm by Carolyn Suzuki
Another one I spotted on that library display stand! I had planned to read it with Jenson, as I really want to encourage positive mental wellbeing and mindfulness from a young age, but I think it’s a bit beyond him at the moment. Although I’m pleased to see his school doing ‘Peace Out‘ time, and we’ve started doing this at bedtime too.
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Earth Heroes: 20 Inspiring Stories of People Saving Our World by Lily Dyer
I learned so much from this book! It’s another one I grabbed after spotting it on display at the library, having been drawn in by the cover. I read a couple of books about Greta Thunberg at the end of last year and was interested to know more about what other people are doing to help tackle climate change.
Fact #1: Fashion is believed to be the second most pollutant industry in the world after energy production. Growing cotton uses more pesticides than any other crop and, although organic cotton is less damaging, it takes 20,000 litres of water to make just one t-shirt or pair or jeans. Not only that, cheap fashion has resulted in one rubbish truck of clothes being burned or buried in landfill every second, while only one per cent of textiles are recycled.
Fact #2: In the EU, 30% of food produced is thrown away because it doesn’t look perfect. It is estimated that rich countries together waste more than 1.3 billion tonnes of food a year. That is enough to feed the 820 billion people who face starvation worldwide.
Fact #3: There is an area of plastic and rubbish twice the size of France, floating between the USA and Hawaii.
The heroes featured in this book are doing incredible things to tackle these problems and more. And we can all do our bit to help.
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Public Library and Other Stories by Ali Smith
Have I mentioned that I love books about books?
This one got me thinking about my reading influences, the books which helped shape me, and the sheer power of books (much like The Giver of Stars). The library was my second home as a kid but, as I grew up, although I still read, I stopped visiting. Then, a few years ago, I re-activated my library card and barely a week goes by between visits. They’re a pillar of local communities.
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The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley
This one popped up on my feed a lot last year and I followed a couple of readalongs. I’m a sucker for an engrossing thriller but this one didn’t do it for me.
The Hunting Party starts with a group of friends who met at university embarking on their annual New Year’s adventure. Then a body is found but the writer doesn’t reveal who. The book jumps back in time with different friends telling different parts of the story, leaving you guessing not only is dead but who the murderer is.
The problem was, I guessed the victim and the murderer before the book even reached the halfway point. Would not recommend. Grab a Jane Harper thriller instead.
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What have you been reading lately?
Great blog. I’ve got The Hunting Party on my wish list so now thanks to you I know not to both reading it.
Have you ever read Katherine Boos ‘All My Beautiful Tomorrow’s’? It’s an amazing book about the slums of India written by a journalist but it’s written more as a narrative.
I’m just reading ‘Where the Crawdads Sing’ by Delia Owens. It was recommended to me a couple of months ago by a customer – I work in a small library 😉 it’s a beautiful book and I’m only part way through. I think you’d love it.
Ooh, I’ll add All My Beautiful Tomorrows to my list, thanks 🙂 I read Where the Crawdads Sing last year and still can’t decide if I liked it; it was an odd one. Certainly interesting. Let me know what you think when you’ve finished it.
I love your bookish posts, I feel like we have fairly similar taste! I read Earth Heroes at the beginning of the year as I’ve been researching into climate change and it was a five star read for me. I read Public Library by Ali Smith a couple of years back, and although it was very much out of my comfort zone, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I love books about books too! It’s lovely to see you using your local library, I do too, and I’m really missing it at the moment! It seems like your library stock some really excellent books. I think mine is lacking a bit of funding, but I use a library van, and the librarians who I see are so kind and helpful. I gained some new recommendations from you, M for Mindfulness sounds promising in particular. I’m currently reading a Famous Five book, as it’s easy to get into. Happy reading! 🙂 xx
Helen | Helen’s Fashion, Beauty & Lifestyle Blog
I’ve got a Famous Five book sitting on my shelf that I might dig out 😊 I’m missing the library so hard right now 😩