Current TBR in 2023
So many books, so little time! I’m currently reading ‘Jawbone’ by Monica Ojeda, and this is the pile of books I hope to read in the first months of 2023.
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@jennyalwaysreads
Current TBR in 2023
So many books, so little time! I’m currently reading ‘Jawbone’ by Monica Ojeda, and this is the pile of books I hope to read in the first months of 2023.
‘The Dry Heart’ by Natalia Ginzburg
Seen as somewhat of a feminist classic, this was my first foray into Natalia Ginzburg’s writing and to use the word ‘impressed’ is an understatement. The book is a mere 108 pages, but is undoubtedly one of the highlights of this year’s reading for me!
The book starts with a young woman shooting her husband between the eyes. The text then goes back in time and follows this quite deeply insecure and unhappy young woman as she tries to work out if she is in love with a man she spends her leisure time with. She then enters a relationship and eventual marriage with this older man with disastrous results. The main female character cuts a sad, unsupported and solitary figure, and the man a deeply frustrating and pathetic character. The other supporting characters of the story are peripheral, but her friend is entertaining in how open and honest she is with her feelings about the story’s central relationship. This relationship is problematic from the start, with poor communication, infidelity and a boiling lack of trust… essentially, a car-crash waiting to happen. And it most certainly does happen. I’m looking forward to reading more Natalia Ginzburg in 2023!
New poetry collections
Obsessed with these beautiful W&N ‘The Great Poets’ poetry collections from this year! Already ordered myself the Robert Burns to add to the collection.
New readers copies!
Coming out in March and May 2023. Thanks to @harpercollins for the copies. I can’t wait to write real reviews for these, closer to their publication date!
Yellowface is the new book from the author of this year’s sweeping ‘Babel: An Arcane History’ and is a raucously entertaining, sharp, darkly witty and immersive look into race, cultural appropriation and the behaviours people engage in when they think they won’t be caught. Don’t miss this!
Wandering Souls is an incredibly moving exploration of 3 siblings from Vietnam starting all over again alone as refugees in London after losing everything they knew to the Vietnam War. With no family, no home and no connections in a new unwelcoming country, this book masterfully explores identity, culture loss and the incredible strength and power humans can have to overcome adversity.
Spooky season recommendations!
Working in an independent book store, we are often asked for personal recommendations, as gifts and for various seasons and events.
Now October is upon us, here are some of my recommendations for the spooky season - some old, some new, some classic dark/spooky books and some lesser known, perhaps. Enjoy!
New in - where to begin?
'Joan' by Katherine J. Chen
I absolutely, completely and utterly adored this. This was immersive and richly descriptive from the very beginning, with incredible character development. The book brought Joan of Arc’s short existence to life, humanising her as both a powerful, strong and determined, yet deeply relatable and troubled young woman - 4.5/5
‘Delphi’ by Clare Pollard
I did not enjoy this at all. Delphi is a meandering, and depressing yawn of a book describing a woman’s struggle through the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK, with loads of Ancient Greek references that do absolutely nothing for the ‘story’ - 1/5
My latest readers copy
Very much looking forward to reading this soon! A behavioural scientist’s exploration into how emotions came to be seen as gendered, and what we can do to change these damaging stereotypes. ‘Hysterical’ comes out on 1 September - thanks to Canongate for sending me this readers copy and for always releasing such innovative and interesting titles!
Very excited about this one!
Out on 15 Sep 2022, ‘The Age of Doubt’ is a collection of Pak Kyongni’s most well-known writing and I am very excited to read this beautiful new edition from Honford Star! All of their books are so stunning 😍
My most recent book acquisitions!
'The Pachinko Parlour' by Elisa Shua Dusapin
This short and simple book was an incredibly beautiful story of one woman’s relationship with her somewhat fragmentary identity, where the sense of loss for all of the small cast of characters felt palpable. The writing was soft, touching and delicate - 4/5.
‘Case Study’ by Graeme Macrae Burnet
This was a fun and mostly enjoyable read, that alternates between a biography of Collins Braithwaite and the story of a sister seeking the truth about her sister taking her own life, after her visits to the controversial therapist - 3/5.
My ARC / reader copy finally arrived 😍
Working in an independent book store means we often get to request readers copies of books we'd love to read and review from publishers. My beautiful copy of Mona by Pola Oloixarac finally arrived this week.
Mini book haul
Today's mini-haul from a fundraiser at a non-profit bookstore in Copenhagen.
'Acts of Service' by Lillian Fishman
Where has the trend for not using quotation marks in modern fiction come from? I found this so disorienting. I did not enjoy reading this and, though literature is subjective and for some this may be a wonderful read, I’m quite sure I would not recommend Acts of Service to anyone, unless I wanted to annoy them - 2/5.
Currently reading
Currently reading: 'Acts of Service' by Lillian Fishman 'Revolting Prostitutes' by Molly Smith and Juno Mac 'Case Study' by Graeme Macrae Burnet 'Penge & Bacon' by Anna Juul