2023 - ♡

First of all, APOLOGIES about how late this post is, it's been a hectic month and I just have not got around to putting my thoughts together. Anyway, here we are, and here's what I read in September and October. General consensus: thoroughly enjoyed for the most part.

1. Stoner - John Williams

TW: toxic relationship

This was such a lovely, moving and quiet book, the perfect read for this time of year when you just feel like hibernating.

The story follows William Stoner, born at the end of the nineteenth century into a poor farming family in Missouri. He is sent to the state university to study agronomy at the request of his father, but instead finds there a love for English literature, embracing his life as a scholar, one far removed from the upbringing he has known, leaving him less and less connected to his parents at home.

Over the years, Stoner is met with disappointment after disappointment; his marriage into a "proper" family further estranges him from his parents, his career is hindered due to an authority figure's disdain for him, his wife and daughter turn coldly away from him an a new, blossoming love is forced to end due to the threat of a scandal, leaving him in a stoic solitude.

I really enjoyed this book, it was a quiet, easy read and I would recommend if that's your kind of thing

2. I want to die but i want to eat tteokbokki - Baek Sehee

TW: depression, suicidal thoughts, sexual assault

This is described as an intimate therapy memoir, which pretty much sums it up, as it records a number of conversations/sessions between the author and her psychiatrist. Sprinkled with humour, relatable and comforting, I really enjoyed this book.

The author is a successful young social media director at a publishing house, when she begins to see a psychiatrist about what she describes as her "low level" depression - which I think many of us have/go through phases of from time to time.

She feels persistently low, anxious, endlessly self-doubting, but also highly judgmental of others. She hides her feelings well in public, but the effort is overwhelming and draining, preventing her from forming meaningful relationships. But if she's so hopeless, why can she always summon a craving for her favorite street food: the hot, spicy rice cake, tteokbokki? Is this just what life is like?

Recording her dialogues with her psychiatrist over a twelve-week period, and reflecting on each session afterwards, she begins to work out the reasons for her behaviours. One review said: "It will appeal to anyone who has ever felt alone or unjustified in their everyday despair," which I think hits the nail on the head.

Relatable, comforting, and an easy, quick read.

3. How to Build A Boat - Elaine Feeney

TW: abusive relationships, domestic violence, addiction, IVF, baby loss, childbirth, parent death

This book tells the story of Jamie, a neurodivergent pre-teen who lost his mother when he was born. Jamie loves the colour red, tall trees, rivers and Edgar Allan Poe. He believes that he can build a Perpetual Motion Machine that will allow him to connect with his mother, the energy of which will cross time and space to his mom.

This mission ends up transforming the lives of his teachers, Tess and Tadhg, and bringing together a community. This is such a gorgeous story about love, community, connection, and the power of imagination.

A beautiful, hopeful read despite the heavy topics.

4. All the lovers in the night - Mieko Kawakami

TW: sexual assault, depression, alcoholism

Fuyuko is a shy, lonely, introverted freelance proofreader in her mid-thirties. She lives alone in a city, is often haunted by her past, and cannot imagine ever having a successful relationship in her life as her only regular contact is with her editor-come-friend, Hiriji.

However, Fuyoko loves the light, and every year she goes for a walk at night on her birthday (Christmas Eve) to count the lights. A chance encounter with Mr Mitsutsuka, a physics teacher, offers her his own experiences with light. As their relationship evolves, painful episodes from Fuyuko's past surface and her behaviour begins to slip into the bizarre.

The was a weird little book, I'm not sure I fully understood the message/what it was trying to do but it was enjoyable nonetheless.

Those were my reads for September & October, again apologies for the delay. Click on any of the titles to purchase (aff links). I would also love to know what you have been reading this season! Drop me a DM on Instagram or TikTok, or leave a comment below.

Thank you for reading as always,

S ✗

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Greetings angels!

While summer flew past us in a blink and we are now deep in the trenches of ex-Hurricane Nigel and Storm Agnes, lets reminisce on what I read while I lay on a beach/drank wine in the sun this summer.

Young Mungo - Douglas Stuart

TW: rape, sexual assault, violence, sectarianism, homophobia

I absolutely loved Douglas Stuart's first book - Shuggie Bain - review here if you haven't seen me rave about it, so I was very excited when a) I saw he wrote another book and b) was told that if you loved A Little Life (sob) then you will love this, so I grabbed it immediately, and it did not disappoint.

The story follows Mungo and James, growing up in a poor housing estate in Glasgow - one of them is Protestant and one Catholic, which at the time means they should be sworn enemies, but they become best friends. As their friendship turns to something more, they dream of running away and finding somewhere they can be together, away from Mungo's brother Hamish and his gang of brutes and his mother, who abandons them at the sniff of a new man.

His mother sends him on a fishing trip with two men from her AA group in an attempt to get Mungo to become a "man," which turns out to be even worse and more traumatising than he ever imagined it would be. Desperate to push through and find his way back to James, Mungo summons every last piece of strength and courage he has.

This book is heartbreaking and beautiful in equal measures. A must read.

The Rachel Incident - Caroline O'Donoghue

TW: miscarriage, abortion

This book reminded me a lot of Normal People by Sally Rooney, so if you liked that, you will probably enjoy this.

Set in Cork, Ireland, this is a story about friends, lovers, and Ireland in chaos, as two young friends try to wade through. Rachel and James meet when they end up working in the same bookstore and they instantly hit it off, ending up deciding to live together as roommates, beginning a friendship that will change their lives forever.

Together, they run riot, living their best lives in Cork city in the midst of a looming financial crash in the country. When Rachel falls for her married professor, James initially helps her devise a plan to win his affection, but both James and the professor have other desires.

An easy read, nothing spectacular but Normal People-esque if that's your bag.

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow - Gabrielle Zevin

TW: suicide, depression/anxiety, gun violence, abortion

I cannot express how much I loved this book, I'm so glad it lived up to the hype!

This is a gorgeous story of love in friendship.

The story follows Sam and Sadie, two best friends who come together after many years apart as creative partners in video game design (stay with me, I didn't think the video game thing would keep me hooked either). Sam and Sadie met by chance as kids when Sam was sick in hospital (leaving him sporadically disabled as an adult) and so was Sadie's sister.

Before even graduating college, they have created a blockbuster video game and overnight are catapulted into the world of success and wealth, but these things can't protect them from the repercussions of fame, tragedy or their hearts.

The book spans 30 years, from Cambridge, Massachusetts to Venice Beach, California and everywhere in between, highlighting the human need to connect, for friendship, to love and be loved. I absolutely adored this book, everyone should read (even if the sound of the video game bit puts you off!)

The Idiot - Elif Batuman

This was an odd one, I expected to love it but I wasn't a huge fan, or even worse, I was just a bit indifferent.

The story is set in 1995, so it does feel a bit nostalgic, which I liked. Selin, who is Turkish, arrives to Harvard for her freshman year. As she signs up for language classes, befriends her classmate Svetlana, and begins an email exchange with Ivan (an older mathematics student from Hungary) that I found quite hard to decipher and kind of annoying to read.

The story follows Selin as she spends the summer in the Hungarian countryside teaching English, spending two weeks in Paris with Svetlana and meeting Ivan at various points along the way while trying to figure out how he feels/doesn't feel - this whole section I found super dragged out and long-winded for no real reason.

Overall didn't love, a very long book that could have been written in a more succint way, without lots of unneeded details. Would love to know what you thought if you've read it!

Et voila! Those were my second half of summer reads. Let me know what you've been reading recently, either comment here or send me a DM on Insta or TT, I'm always so interested to see what other people are loving/reading. My TBR pile is forever growing.

Thank you for reading as always,

S ✗

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Greetings, and welcome back to the latest book stack - read in May & June.

Of the 8 books here, I would say only 2 were duds, so that's definitely a positive that I liked/loved most of them! I would love to know what you thought if you have read any of these. All the titles are affiliate links to purchase if you so wish!

Let's get into the reviews.

1. Notes to Self - Emilie Pine

TW: addiction, sexual violence

This was a harrowing but important read.

This collection of non-fiction essays written by the author about her own life, Emilie bravely reflects on the experiences and tragedies of her past, touching on difficult topics like addiction (her father's alcoholism), her struggle with infertility, her parent's separation, feminism, her relationship with her own body and sexual violence. She writes in a beautiful way, managing to bring humour into the difficult, showing intimacy and honestly throughout.

A great and important read. Would recommend to everyone.

2. Small Things Like These - Claire Keegan

This one I read in one go (it's v short with large writing which is great for us blind bats of society), on one Sunday night when the scaries were in full swing, and I absolutely loved it, albeit incredibly sad.

The story is set in 1985 in a small Irish town in the weeks leading up to Christmas, where we meet Bill Furlong, a coal merchant and family man, with a wife and five daughters, as he faces into his busiest season.

One morning, as he is making a coal delivery at the local convent (you know where this is going), he comes across something there which forces him confront his own past and the horrors covered up in his own town, controlled by the church at the time. It's beautifully written and while sad, is a story of hope, empathy and a quiet hero. A must read.

3. Love Marriage - Monica Ali

I was expecting such big things from this book as it came SO highly recommended across the board, and I have to say I really, really didn't enjoy it. I very rarely put a book down without finishing it, but approx 300 pages into this 500 pager, I was actively not enjoying it at all so just closed it and picked up a different one.

The story is set in present-day London, where Yasmin is training to be a doctor like her Indian-born father, and is engaged to Joe, also training to be a doctor, with a famous feminist mother. Their two families couldn't be more different, and, it seems neither could Yasmin and Joe in other ways.

As the wedding day comes closer, issues of infidelity and secrecy come to the fore, both in Yasmin and Joe's relationship, as well as that of Yasmin's parents.

I just found the whole story super dragged out and the twists were very random and made no real sense to the overall plot. Wasn't a fan.

4. Foster - Claire Keegan

Another beautiful, short read from the author of Small Things Like These. Again, I absolutely loved this book - I kind of knew I would based on how much I loved the previous one - and devoured it in a day.

The story is set in Ireland in 1981, when a small girl from a poor family is sent to live with foster parents on a farm on the coast in Wexford, not knowing when she will return home and anticipating what her life with these strangers will look like. The foster parents who take her engulf her in a warmth and affection that she has never experienced before, and she blossoms during her time spent with them. There is no punishment with them, only love, learning and kindness.

However, a secret is uncovered which brings the fragility of her dream life on the farm to the fore.

I adored this book and found it very moving and emotional. Another must read from Claire Keegan.

5. Cleopatra & Frankenstein - Coco Mellors

TW: suicide

This book has so much hype so I had very high expectations, and while I didn't dislike it, it did fall short.

The story follows 24 year old British painter Cleo who moved to New York and is still finding her feet when her student visa starts to enter its final months. She meets Frank, who is 20 years her senior, wealthy and successful. They marry impulsively so Cleo can get her green card, but the marriage ends up changing both of their lives irreversibly in ways they never could have predicted.

Throughout the book we meet a whole cast of characters in the lives of Cleo and Frank, each with their own issues and burdens.

Like I said, it was an easy read and I didn't dislike it, but I was expecting bigger things considering the hype it had.

6. Let the Great World Spin - Colum McCann

This book was recommended to me as one to read if I liked The Hearts Invisible Furies and A Little Life (which I LOVED both of), and while I didn't find it very similar to them, I thoroughly enjoyed it regardless.

The story starts on a late-summer morning in New York City at the Twin Towers in August 1974. Between the towers a mysterious tightrope walker dances, runs and jumps, a quarter mile above the ground. The author then begins to tell the story of the people watching him on the streets below.

We meet Corrigan, a young Irish monk, helping the prostitutes of the Bronx; a group of mothers mourning the loss of their sons in Vietnam, a young artist at the scene of a hit and run, and a mother and daughter prostitute and their friends.

These lives are woven together throughout the book, some unexpectedly drawn together watching the tightrope walker, each showing the pain, joy, mystery and hope of New York City in the 1970s.

Such a gorgeous but heartbreaking book. A great read.

7. Grief is the thing with feathers - Max Porter

TW: death, grief

This is going on my favourite books of all time list, immediately. Such a beautiful and moving read. I have always seen this book recommended, and if you have ever experienced grief it is such a relatable and comforting read.

The story is set in a London flat, where two young boys and their father face the unbearable pain of their mother and wife's sudden death. The father pictures a future of emptiness. In their despair, they are visited by Crow (a metaphor for grief itself) - antagonising and tricking them, while also minding and healing them (as grief does), insisting on staying until they no longer need him. We watch the weeks turn to months while the physical pain of loss begins to turn to fond memories as the trio begin to heal and piece their lives back together.

I underlined so many beautiful phrases and parts of this book, it is amazingly written and manages to bring humour at times into an emotional and heartbreaking tale.

An absolute must read for everyone and super short, so an easy one to get through.

8. Sula - Toni Morrison

TW: racism

My first Toni Morrison read was Beloved, and while I really loved that book, it was quite dark. I think Sula is an easier introduction into Morrison if you haven't read her before - it has some similarities to The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett if you read and liked that.

The story is set between the 1920s - 1940s and follows the lives of two women from their childhood in a small Ohio town, growing up surrounded by racism and injustice, through to adulthood, confrontation and reconciliation. Nel choses to stay in their home town, while Sula escapes to college and city life, and an act by Sula pulls their close friendship apart. When Sula eventually returns to her home town she is seen as a rebel and traitor, while both women must face the consequences of their choices.

I really enjoyed this book, it is a short read but the story is impactful and packs a punch.

Et voila! Another book stack done and dusted. I would love to know what you've been reading recently and if you have read and enjoyed any of these books.

Thank you for reading as always,

S ✗

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Greetings loved ones. Back once again with a book post for you - a round-up of the books I read in March and April - a real mixed bag here! Would love to know your thoughts.

Click on any of the book titles to purchase (not affiliate links).

1. Nightcrawling - Leila Mottley

TW: sexual assault, drug addiction

This story follows Kiara and her brother Marcus, scraping by in East Oakland, living in an apartment complex. Both have dropped out of school, and their family has been directly affected by death (their father) and prison (their mother).

Marcus pursues his dream of becoming a famous rapper while bringing no money in, as Kiara hunts for work to keep the landlord from their door as their rent doubles, while she also takes in the 9 year old next door who has been abandoned by his mother, a drug addict.

With all of these factors at play, Kiara - desperate for work and money - falls into a job she never wanted but now needs: nightcrawling (prostitution). Her name then comes up in an investigation into a massive scandal among the police department and their association with sex workers, and she is required to speak up.

I thought this was a good, but infuriating read. It's the classic story of the police taking advantaged of those in disadvantaged communities in many ways, and although it's one we hear all the time, it doesn't make it any less anger-inducing. The characters are painted well and you feel different things towards them - Marcus comes across as quite unlikeable and unsupportive, as does their mother, while the kid next door is precious and it makes you want to take him out of the story and keep him safe.

This is an easy read in terms of wording and sentence structure, but tough when it comes to the storyline and everything going against the main character.

2. Klara and the Sun - Kazuo Ishiguro

I can't lie here, this book confused the absolute life and soul out of me - if anyone has read it and has a better understanding of it than me, please let me know!

As far as I can gather, the "artificial friends" in the story are robots (I originally thought they were dolls that could talk, so they may be that too), and they appear to be powered by sunlight.

The story follows Klara, one of these "artificial friends" (known as AFs throughout the book). These AFs are purchased from a store (like a doll would be) as a sort of minder/companion for a child. Klara is known in the store for her outstanding observational qualities, watching the behaviour of everyone and everything both inside and outside the store.

When an ill child comes to choose her as her AF, she embarks on a journey with the child and her family that will alter her meaning of love and friendship forever.

Parts of this story were interesting but I would say the overall constant feeling I had reading it was just complete confusion, often actually saying "what?" out loud throughout.

If you've read this please let me know your thoughts/understanding of it - I would love to know!

3. Pachinko - Min Jin Lee

TW: suicide

I have to say I adored this book. While it wasn't super exciting plot-wise, I sometimes love the kind of quiet stories where you just follow the characters along through their daily lives.

The story begin in the early 1900s, when Sunja is a teenager. She is the daughter of a fisherman and falls for a wealthy stranger she meets at the market near her home in Korea. He tells her everything she wants to hear, promising her the world, but when she falls pregnant she discovers he is married with children already, and leaves him. At that time, a young woman pregnant with a child would be a major repellent for any many looking to marry, however when a poorly, gentle minister passes through her mother's boardinghouse and wants to marry her, she accepts and they move to Japan to his brother for a better life.

All is not as it seems when they reach Japan, and considerable hardship and tragedy ensues for the family.

This is a beautiful, moving story of love, sacrifice and loyalty, with strong women at the forefront. It is also beautifully written and such a pleasant reading experience. Love, love, love!

4. The Child That Books Built - Francis Spufford

This one seemed so promising - I absolutely ADORED the first chapter and found it so relatable to my reading experience now and as a child, however the rest of the book really didn't do it for me and I found myself struggling to get through it, despite how short it is.

It is described as a love letter to children's books, which it is, but there are times where it really focuses on a very niche genre of books for an extended amount of pages (namely science fiction, which I would not be able to relate to or have much interest in) so it was hard to get through those long passages with references to books I had never read or heard of - rather than more commonly read books.

As I mentioned, some of the chapters are lovely and focus on his experience of reading things like The Wind in the Willows and Narnia, and how he felt reading those and relayed them to his own life and how they shaped him as a child, allowing an escape from pain and the world, but others just didn't do it for me.

If you've read this I would love to know what you thought!

And that's all folks. I am currently on a(nother) book buying ban as trying to get a mortgage, but feel free to leave suggestions that I can add to my mental stack for when I get through my physical one and have somewhere to live.