Recent Reads.

I have set myself a target to read 52 books this year. I know - way too ambitious but a) I'm an avid reader and b) I waste too much of my time and mental energy online, aimlessly scrolling or liking. Books never fail to provide comfort, ease and reflection; something that being online and constantly accessible through my phone, does not. Reading and holding a book in your hands - this tangible form of escapism - releases your imagination and is something that is totally underrated in modern society. Books can teach lessons and stir up all kinds of emotions / thoughts / desires / questions in our minds. So, my target of 52 books will hopefully inspire you to switch from touching a screen to turning a page. See how it makes you feel.

Choosing a book is like picking a film on Netflix - endless choices and not knowing where to start. Waterstones, Good Reads and The Sunday Times have helpful reviews and ratings of recent books and what is popular in sales and amongst their large readership. I like to read reviews and check that the book I am about to begin is something I'll like or at least, enjoy. I also am influenced by the jacket or cover of the book. Does it look enticing, does it have a message or indication of what the plot may entangle? Or, I look for the works and writing of authors I admire or love - and choose to read their other books. Then there is the question of fiction or non-fiction? Hardback or soft back? It can be hard because books can be expensive. Check out Hive (an online book store that gives some of the profit to your bookshop of choice), Waterstones and Toppings, for books online and at good prices. I personally refuse to buy books from Amazon, but there are many out there at cheaper prices. Send a friend a book through the post to swap or take a book out of a library (when they are back up and running). Now is a great time to pick up something and give it a go.

Below are the books I have finished so far, this year, and they have certainly not disappointed. 2021 reads, so far so good. Still a long way to go...

LUSTER, Raven Leilani

• a young female protagonist (Edie) craving stability and tenderness in an American society where capitalism, racism and sexism thrives

• sharp humour interwoven in Edie's cold narrative - a gritty depiction of modern society and her lustrous desires and painting

• captures the messiness of human life

• a bizarre dynamic builds as Edie moves into the home of the man she is having an affair with

• bold, uncomfortable, lyrical, honest and ugly, beautiful all at the same time

• loved Raven's lyricism and writing style but the characters' not fully developed by the end of the novel

OLIVE KITTERIDGE, Elizabeth Strout.

• moving, sad, almost depressing narrative of Olive and the exploration of the human soul and its contradictory impulses

• emotional realism

• growing old, love, loneliness, infidelity, community and marriage all explored

• unusual style of narrative, verging more on short stories of people within a community, rather than a typical plot unravelling

• adored it and found it especially moving

OLIVE, AGAIN, Elizabeth Strout

• the sequel to Olive Kitteridge

• a deeper delve into the life of Olive and her spiky, disarmingly human anti-heroine nature

• chapters exploring late love, the heartbreaks and friendships that occur along the way

• depressing, tender and even more emotional than the Strout's first novel

• fears of death, being alone and accepting mistakes and learning from life's experiences

• another moving piece by Strout

• overall I preferred this to the first book

PERSUASION, Jane Austen

• (embarrassingly) my first ever read of an Austen novel

• depicts societal obsession surrounding aristocracy, inheritance, wealth at the time

• explores Anne's love and progressive journey of agency and choice in marrying Captain Wentworth

• Anne's character being one of solace, beauty and intelligence - the novel conveys her point of view

• Wentworth explores human pain brought on by Anne's initial rejection and absence

• Austen captures realism, through characters and the failure of literature and poets to aptly describe real life

• a must read and absolute classic in literature

ROBINSON CRUSOE, Daniel Defoe

• argued to be the first ever 'novel' in literature

• powerful allegory of colonial power, self-discovery, self determination and sovereignty encompassing the main character - Robinson Crusoe

• he embarks on journeys where he discovers the mercy and comfort of religion - Defoe explores moral debates

• referential language and monotonous depictions of Crusoe and his whereabouts

• man's desire for authority, power and sovereignty over others - savage and brutal at times - slavery / colonisation / racism

• introduces themes of empire, slavery and man's self discovery

• a classic but laborious, long read

SUPPER CLUB, Lara Williams

• currently reading... and loving it so far

• the blurb, on Penguins website, had me hooked and immediately I purchased...

Penguin (website 2021) blurb...

'If you feed a starving woman, what will she grow into? Twenty-nine year old Roberta has spent her whole life hungry. So she invents Supper Club: a secret society for women sick of bad men and bad sex. Fed up of being told to talk less, take less, be less, they gather after dark to feast and dance through the night. But as their bodies expand, so do their horizons, their desires - and their urge to break the rules. You look hungry. Join the club.'

GHOSTS, Dolly Alderton

• slightly cheating as I read this just before the new year, but had to include because I love Dolly's writing

• poignant, beautiful exploration of the struggles of losing a loved one to dementia, whilst the narrator also hopes to desperately hold onto a love / lustful infatuation and romance with a man who disappears frequently - he 'ghosts' her

• loss, anger, confusion, frustration over actions we cannot control

• fear of commitment and self obsessive tendencies in relationships that the male protagonist presents

• the constant battle single women face when trying to find a partner in a modern, social media driven world

'reading gives us some place to go when we have to stay where we are'

love,

armorel x