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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 ✗

July and August brought lots of great reading time due to the fab weather (catch me outside on my front path in the sun reading with my vino) on EVERY sunny day, also had a week's holiday in France (blog post coming on that soon) which involved PLENTY of reading time.

1. None of this is serious - Catherine Prasifka

TW: sexual assault

I read this directly after Beautiful World Where Are You and found the two very similar in a lot of ways (I've since realised upon reading this back that Sally Rooney is Catherine Prasifka's sister-in-law) - not only because they both have Irish authors and are set in Ireland - but also the characters are a similar age and are trying to find their way through the post-school/college years of their lives while encountering all the challenges that come with that.

This story starts with Sophie and her friends who are coming to the end of their student life in Dublin. As is often the case, Sophie feels as though her friends and her twin have got everything figured out and she will be left behind, particularly in the case of her best friend Grace. 

We follow Sophie and her friend group through the mundane to the dramatic, to the traumatic and uncertain aspects of young adulthood today. We see them attempt the difficult balance between living in the real world versus online, as Sophie drowns in her own self-scrutiny, social anxiety and isolation, not at all helped by her being immersed in social media constantly.

While I understand the aspect of highlighting the mundanity of everyday life, I did at times find it just a bit too banal and borderline boring. 

2. Conversations on Love - Natasha Lunn

I really loved this book.

While most books with similar captions focus only on romantic love, I really enjoyed how this book covered all types of relationships, from the romantic, to the platonic, to the parental.

The author offers intimate details of her personal life, while interviewing a wide range of people, from Alain de Botton to Dolly Alderton (I will read anything she writes, is interviewed in or reviews), on the topic of love from a range of types and perspectives. It covers what it is to be human, happy, alone, lonely, vulnerable, heartbroken, and the importance of friendships, love, loss, grief, parenting and change - in all forms.

The book is split into 3 parts - how do we find love, how do we sustain love and how do we survive losing love. Hard to say much more about this as it's so unique and relatable, other than it's an absolute must read.

3. Tender is the Night - F Scott Fitzgerald

TW: inappropriate patient/doctor relationship & underage relationship

I plucked this one off my bookshelves before we left for the South of France as it is set on the French Riviera - precisely where we were headed - and I always find it fun to read a book that is set in a place when you are there/have been there, as it helps me imagine it even clearer. 

This story - problematic in ways it may not have been noticed when it was first published back in the 1920s - follows the romance of a young actress, Rosemary, and an older, married psychiatrist, Dick Diver, who happens to be both husband and doctor (psychiatrist) to his wealthy wife, Nicole, who he met as her doctor during her mental breakdown (again, WTF).

Dick and Nicole Diver exude the atmosphere of being in the presence of greatness. Charming, gorgeous and filthy rich, there isn't a fancy part, restaurant or beach they don't attend. However, all is not as it seems with Nicole's seemingly good health, and as she begins to realise what is taking place between Rosemary and Dick, she begins to unravel.

An easy read, a nice setting and timeline, but as mentioned - obviously problematic for a number of reasons.

4. The Panic Years - Nell Frizzell

TW: miscarriage

Most people reading this are most likely in, or hurtling towards, the panic years - some time between 25 and 40 where a personal crisis and then a transformation occurs. There is no name for this time - unlike "adolescence", "menopause", so Nell has decided to aptly brand them, The Panic Years, During this time, we as women, are largely conscious that every decision we make about our lives, is ultimately impacted by the urgency of the body clock deadline decision we have to make: whether or not to have a baby (and the million micro-decisions that decision entails). And if your decision is to have one, then the clock just seems to tick ever faster.

This book could not have landed on my lap at a better time. I just turned 29 last week and safe to say I was most definitely SPIRALING in the lead up to it. This book helps you calm down essentially, how to stay sane during this stressful, decision-heavy time, to understand what you want and how to know if you're making the right decisions (spoiler alert: there's no right or wrong answer).

Hilarious, real,  relatable, comforting and brutally honest - if you are in crisis mode I guarantee this will help. If you are a woman or there is a woman in your life who you think may be panicking - send her this,

5. The Queen of Dirt Island - Donal Ryan

TW: sexual assault

As you may remember, I read Donal Ryan's other book, Strange Flowers (last year sometime, review in this blog post), and what I didn't realise when I picked this one up is that it's sort of a sequel, in that it involves some of the same characters as well as some new ones, and is essentially focused partially on a different family in the town than the one Strange Flowers was based on (but the original family do -play a big part in this book too).

I find Donal Ryan's books so easy to read and comforting in a way. The Aylward women have seen tragedy, loss, sadness, as well as love and peace. Four generations of the Aylward women live under the same small roof - Eileen, her dead husband's mother, her daughter Saoirse, and Saoirse's daughter Pearl - and have a deep love for one another, holding each of them together despite the tragedy they have endured in their lives. I loved how relatable this book was in how the family dynamic is in many households - tonnes of love disguised as its opposite. I also love how Kit Gladney and her family were incorporated in the story, who we meet and get to know in Strange Flowers (I will say though, that you don't have to have read one to read the other, they do make sense on their own). 

Loved it. An easy, comforting read. Would recommend.

6. At Night All Blood is Black - David Diop

TW: war scenes

My final book for this batch is one that has been on my list for what feels like years - one I could somehow never locate in any of my favourite charity bookshops, but when I picked it up for full price in a regular bookshop, of course I have seen it in no less than THREE charity bookshops since. Mercury, retrograde, etc. Don't wanna talk about it.

Anyway. This is a short, but quite dark and sad book, but the writing is beautiful and I enjoyed it nevertheless.

We meet Alfa, a Senegalese in the French army during WW1. His friend, Mademba, a fellow soldier, is seriously injured in battle, and begs Alfa to kill him to end his suffering. Alfa refuses, unable to kill his friend, and when Mademba does pass away, the guilt of not ending his suffering sooner eats Alfa up, causing him to go mad, eager to avenge the death of his friend, by whatever means necessary.

This is an important read as it is an aspect of war/historical fiction that we often don't see written about - the mental affects such horrific war experiences have on the soldiers left behind. A short but important read.

Those are my reads for July and August, let me know if you have also read any of these books - I would love to know your thoughts on them! Also tell me about your TBR list - mine is almost up to my hip.

Thank you for reading as always,

S ✗

Apologies for the delay in getting this post up, ALAS, here is a roundup of my favourite books that I read last year. Reel on insta if you'd like to see that! The headings on each review are clickable links to where you can buy the book if it sounds like something you would love.

This is long one, so grab a cuppa or a vino and dive in!

As we began January 2021 in yet another Level 5 lockdown here in Ireland, I decided to embrace it as much as I could and spent pretty much ALL of my spare time (I mean, what time is not spare at the moment) reading. I enjoyed most of the books I read this month - a couple of not-so-sure-about ones but nonetheless, a good reading month overall. 

1.  Asymmetry - Lisa Halliday

This was the first book I read this year, which I received as a gift from my friend Gráinne (the one who always picks amazing books). I think I may have missed something in this book, as it confused me quite a bit, although I enjoyed the actual reading of it thoroughly.

This book begins with Alice, a book editor in her twenties with dreams of writing her own books, who finds herself in a relationship with a famous writer, Ezra Blazer, who is 45 years older than her. Ezra is controlling and very generous, but asks too much of Alice while flaunting the power he feels he has over her. 

However, the second part of the book begins and tells an entirely different story (which is meant to be connected somehow to Alice's story), of a man, Amar, who has travelled to London to meet a friend, then planning to fly on to Kurdistan to find his brother who has disappeared. Amar gets detained at Heathrow (2008, in the height of the terrorism battle) and is subjected to questioning and interrogation.

Again, I really enjoyed the language used and the style of writing in this book, but I think I missed a key, complex piece of what was going on and how these two stories of Alice and Amar are interconnected while I was reading it. Upon googling, it is a little clearer, but let me know your thoughts if you have read it!

2. Ghosts - Dolly Alderton

Dolly Alderton is a wonder - I literally love everything she does, writes and recommends. Starting off my adoration was her podcast, The High Low, with Pandora Sykes, then came her first book, Everything I Know About Love which I absolutely gobbled up, and now, Ghosts which, naturally, I also devoured.

This story follows Nina Dean - a food writer in her early thirties. After two years of singledom, she meets Max, who insists on the first date that he will marry her (one of those) and she feels as if everything is falling into place. Until, of course, he ghosts her. TWICE. Alongside this, she is struggling with friendships as her friends seem to sink further and further into "settled" territory, and she struggles with her Dad who is slowly disappearing before her eyes as his dementia worsens.

I loved this book. It was relatable, funny and spoke in a beautiful way about the experience of having a loved one with dementia, without it feeling too heavy. A great, easy and enjoyable read for sure.

3. The Thursday Murder Club - Richard Osman

This is such a lovely book - hilarious and heart-warming (despite the cynical-sounding title). 

The story is set in a retirement village where four unlikely friends - pushing 80 years old - reside. The group meet weekly - every Thursday - to discuss old, unsolved crimes, and together they call themselves The Thursday Murder Club. However, the old cases get pushed to the side when a local man who had interest in buying the retirement village is found dead and they find themselves trying to solve their first live murder case. As another body turns up, the Thursday Murder Club are determined to catch the killer before it's too late.

While this book is largely a comedy, there are some touching moments of friendship and love and the lasting quality of both. A great read!

4. Where the Crawdads Sing - Delia Owens

*Trigger warning - sexual assault*

I know I am waaay late to the party on this one, and I wish I had read it sooner because I absolutely loved it, and cannot wait to see the film (but hope they don't make a balls of it like they so often do when making amazing books into movies). This is a gorgeous story of survival, independence, love and friendship, with a running nature theme throughout which is so calming to read.

The book follows Kya Clark, known in the local village as the "Marsh Girl." She lives in a shack in the marsh and is gradually abandoned by everyone in her family, finding herself alone. We learn about her daily life and connection she has to the marsh around her, and how she nurtures a relationship with Tate, a local boy, without ever knowing how.

However, Chase Andrews - a popular guy in the village - turns up dead, and because they suspect her of all sorts (on the basis of not knowing her or attempting to know her), the village insist that Kya is the culprit. 

This book is really thought-provoking and shows the discrimination Kya experiences as a young woman, essentially alone in the world. This book was moving and beautifully written, would recommend to everyone.

5. The Colour Purple - Alice Walker

*Trigger warning - sexual assault, domestic abuse, racism* 

This is a brilliant, heart-breaking story, I really loved the style of writing in letter format, written to her sister/diary entries to God throughout the book.

This story follows the life of African American women in the earliest 20th century in Georgia. Celie and her sister, Nettie, were separated at a young age and try to stay in eachothers' lives as much as they can, despite being worlds away from one another and leading completely different lives. We follow their story through a series of letters over and back between the sisters over 20 years, as well as Celie's letters to God. We also follow the characters of Shug Avery and Sofia, along with the husbands of these women and the way of the world back then when it came to women.

It is a tough read, discussing many instances of domestic and sexual abuse and the pain the women experience throughout their lives as a result, their courage, and how their companionship with one another gets them through.

Again, looking forward to watching movie but hoping it doesn't do a terrible job of re-enacting the book.

6. Redhead by the Side of the Road - Anne Tyler

This book I did not get along with. If I had to sum it up in one (slightly harsh) sentence, I would say it was trying to be Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine but sadly not succeeding. 

The story follows Micah Mortimer - a creature of habit with a structured and strict routine in life that he does not like to stray from. The plotline basically centres around his girlfriend - with whom he has a strange, systematic sort of relationship - getting evicted, his reaction to that, and the subsequent effect on their relationship; and a strange situation where a teenager turns up on his doorstep claiming to be his son.

While I understood the point was for these events to show how his routine was thrown off, it didn't really develop at all, I was waiting for something substantial to happen and it just didn't. Not a fan unfortunately.

Let me know what you read that you loved, I am forever looking for more reading recommendations!

Thank you for reading as always,

S ✗

*affiliate links