Let’s Talk About Books
Zoe Wallace reminisces on her love of books, and urges us all to expand our reading horizons.
Seasonal Book Recommendations
When the weather turns cold, there’s nothing better than curling up on the sofa with a good book. So, these are my favourite untraditional seasonal book recommendations to get you in the festive spirit!
- Just for December by Laura Jane Williams
This book is the ultimate winter-themed romantic comedy for the season! It’s the perfect fake-dating scenario, where two actors working on a Christmas movie together are forced to pretend to date outside of the set. If you love Christmas movies such as The Holiday and enjoy the fake-dating trope, then this book will be a great read for you.
2. The Christmas Wedding Guest List by Susan Mallery
This book is a great read this Christmas as it includes not one, but two romance stories. It follows two sisters as they navigate finding ‘the one’ while participating in their parents’ vow renewal. If you love reading about returning to your first love and unexpected relationships, then this is the book for you.
3. Murder at the Theatre Royale by Ada Moncrieff
I always enjoy reading a crime book, and a Christmas-themed thriller is even better! It’s the opening night of A Christmas Carol at the Theatre Royal when ‘Scrooge’ dies onstage, and journalist Daphne King is determined to uncover the truth. This book is set in the 1930s, so it’s the ideal mix of historical fiction and crime thriller, making it a uniquely festive-themed book to read this winter.
4. The Christmas Murder Game by Alexandra Benedict
When Lily returns to endgame house, where her mother died 21 years ago, her aunt presents her with a game. If Lily solves 12 clues to find 12 keys, she wins the deed to the Manor House and her mother’s killer. The games turn deadly, and Lily soon realises that she is not only fighting for an inheritance…but for her life. This book is a page-turner who-dun-it that will keep you gripped until the very end.
5. The Christmas Bookshop by Jenny Colgan
This book follows two sisters as they try and save an old bookshop that is on the brink of closing down for good. This book gives all the festive feels, while also focusing on the family relationships between sisters. The stunning descriptions make you dream of a trip to Edinburgh at Christmas time. Ultimately, this book will give you an instant festive feeling which makes it another perfect read for this time of year.
6. Snowed in for Christmas by Sarah Morgan
This book is a hilariously funny and relatable read this Christmas season. Lucy is determined to get a major piece of business from Ross Miller, so she turns up at his house to deliver her proposal. However, things take a turn when she gets snowed in for Christmas with a family that isn’t hers! The Miller siblings are desperate to avoid their parents’ questions and keep their secrets, and Lucy ends up getting caught in a big family blow-out.
Diversify Your Reading List: Who and What to Read this Autumn
Celina Tran recommends a diverse reading list for the season.
No Music on a Dead Planet, Leeds Festival 2022 Review
It felt like the acts came first; the budget went on big names, and the public were an afterthought.
The Super Six: Leeds Festival announces its 2022 headliners
Perhaps one of the most scrutinised UK festival line-ups every year, Reading and Leeds always finds itself at odds with past, present and future generations when choosing its headliners. However, there can be no doubt this time around that Melvin Benn and co. have assembled a colossal set of six headliners, as it retains its double main stage set up for 2022.
Arguably the most ‘Reading and Leeds’ act that possibly exists, it was inevitable that the Arctic Monkeys would one day return to the fields after an eight year hiatus, and an excess of desperate pleas on Twitter. No other artist caters to as wide an audience as the Monkeys. Despite their divisive sixth album Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino, their earlier hits continue to resonate with youngsters all over the UK, even if not as strongly with the band themselves – as frontman Alex Turner has once said. Their closing set will be unmissable, and could surely pose a challenge for the largest crowd in the festival’s history.
Off the back of a meteoric rise and a Mercury Prize, Dave takes his deserved spot at the top of the bill on Saturday 27th August. The man of the moment has proved his mettle in a festival context, headlining Parklife 2021 in support of his critically acclaimed album We’re All Alone In This Together. His personal, raw lyricism manifests itself in such a unique way that has set him apart from the crowd, and he will follow in the footsteps of his good friend Stormzy in making the jump from his humble London beginnings to the mighty main stage.
It is almost an insult to Download Festival that R&L has stolen the mighty Rage Against The Machine, for their first UK shows in twelve years. Their message and fury is timeless, with the current global political climate perhaps explaining their necessary reunion. Few could have imagined seeing ‘Killing In The Name’ ring around Bramham Park once again, yet miracles do happen – and RATM will be back to display their legendary credentials to a new generation – with aplomb.
Over on the Main Stage West, Bring Me The Horizon put an end to years of rumours by finally taking their headline slot, alongside their Sheffield school friends in the Monkeys. Expect electrifying production and a ‘rollercoaster’ of a show that will span from deathcore to hyper-pop. In what will be an interesting juxtaposition with RATM, Halsey will bring her remarkable new album across the Atlantic for the first time. This project has seen arguably her most ambitious musical experimentation yet, and combined with her renowned stage presence, her set will definitely win over the more alternative crowd. To round off the sextet, the household name of Megan Thee Stallion joins Halsey as the two first female headliners since Paramore in 2014. While this statistic is unacceptable, it is encouraging to see the festival attempt to achieve a more diverse, inclusive line-up and who better to book than such an empowering, dominant girl-boss with a chart-topping back catalogue.
Whilst the undercard may be a decisive factor for punters, we can rest assured that this is one of the strongest sets of headliners ever amassed. Tickets for Leeds Festival 2022 go on sale here, this Friday 10th December at 9am.
2021 Literary Calendar: Women Writers to Read this Year
March
Of Women and Salt by Gabriela Garcia (March 30th)
This is a story of immigration, detailing cigar factories from 19th century Cuba to present day detention centres in Miama. Jeanette, daughter to Cuban immigrant Carmen, is determined to discover more about her family history from her reticent mother. Jeanette travels to Cuba to see her Grandmother and discover the secrets of their family history. This is an intergenerational novel that tackles betrayal, addiction, legacy and motherhood.
April
Mother May I by Joshilyn Jackson (April 6th)
How far will a mother go to save her baby? Bree ignored dread she felt when a witch-like woman appeared at her window, but she could not ignore the woman’s presence in the parking lot of her daughter’s private, especially when her infant son mysteriously vanishes from his car seat. All that was left was a note. She is told that she is being watched; if she wants her baby back Bree must not contact the police or deviate from the instructions that follow. To get her baby back, the woman makes Bree complete one task, but it is not that simple. The task leads Bree into a tangled web of tragedy and secrets that risks tearing her whole world apart.
May
Realm Breaker by Victoria Aveyard (May 4th)
Written by the author of the New York Time’s bestselling series Red Queen. In her small town at the edge of the sea, Corayne an-Amarat discovers she is the last of an ancient lineage, and the last hope to save her world from destruction – but she cannot do it alone. Corayne unites with unlikely companions: a squire, forced to choose between home and honour; an immortal, avenging a broken promise; an assassin, exiled and merciless; an ancient sorceress, whose riddles speak an important prophecy; a forger, secretive and mysterious; and a bounty hunter, who has a score to settle. Together they must band against a callous opponent and his colossal army unlike any other.
June
An Emotion of Great Delight by Tahereh Mafi (June 1st)
From the author of the New York Times and USA Today bestselling series Shatter Me, arises a tale of love and loneliness, dual and immigrant identity, and finding hope in the midst of tragedy and discrimination. This story is set in 2003, several months after the US declared war on Iraq. This is a terrifying world for our young Muslim protagonist, Shadi, who is too preoccupied with her own grief to deal with bigots. Her world is falling apart. Her brother has died, and her father is dying, and she only has herself for comfort. Shadi gulps down the pain – again and again – until her emotional box finally explodes.
July
Such A Quiet Place by Megan Miranda (July 6th)
Hollow’s Edge was a quiet, idyllic, friendly town until the murder of Brandon and Fiona Truett. The residents of Hollow’s edge all testified against one of their own, Ruby Fletcher, but they never thought she would come back. Ruby’s conviction was overturned, and now she must face the neighbour’s that accused her and try to build her life back. Ruby returns to her house once shared with Harper Nash. On Ruby’s return Harper begins to receive threatening notes, and soon realises that she must uncover the truth of the murders before the killer returns and it becomes clear that not everyone told the truth about the night of the Truett’s murders.
August
A Slow Fire Burning by Paula Hawkins (August 31st)
From the author of the #1 New York Time’s Bestselling novel The Girl on the Train. Laura has spent most her life being judged by her peers, because she is seen as irritable, troubled, a recluse and few even call her dangerous. All of which becomes extremely note-worthy when Laura is witnessed leaving the scene of a horrific murder with blood on her clothes. Miriam believes Laura is innocent because bitter experience has taught her how easy it is to be caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. Carla, overwhelmed with grief, is reeling from the brutal murder of her nephew, but how far will she go to discover the truth? In a world where everyone is flawed…are some damaged enough to kill?
Already Published
A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas
The fourth book in Mass’ A Court of Thorns and Roses series is the first of the series to place Nesta and Cassian as its protagonists. Nesta is haunted by the war and grief of her father’s death, but with the help of Cassian she must learn to hone the darkness the Cauldron gave her and use her pain to save her world. Nesta and Cassian must put their tempers aside to fight the queens and dark creatures which threaten their family’s safety, but what they find on this journey together is more than the fire and passions of hatred.
Girl A by Abigail Dean
Recommend for fans of Gillian Flynn’s Sharp Objects and Emma Donoghue’s Room; this mystery and psychological thriller is one to put on your 2021 TBR. Lexie Grace, known as Girl A, managed to escape her family’s House of Horrors but when her mother dies, Lexie and her siblings are forced to return to the house and face the horrors they ran from. But Lexie must confront her siblings on their shared past, as she uncovers the secrets her siblings keep and must begin to question if they all actually escaped the influence of House of Horrors?
Header image credit: Literary Hub
A Glimpse into the Guardian’s Online Book Club
Many of us have discovered or rediscovered a love for reading over the multiple lockdowns. We’ve escaped to the fantasy worlds of Brit Bennett, Maggie O’Farrell and Sarah J. Maas. We’ve been intrigued by the life of Barack Obama and we’ve learnt new skills from the dusty cookbooks that were long forgotten. But although reading can be wonderful it can be a very isolating experience unless you have someone to share it with…enter book clubs. Many online book clubs have emerged over the past year, so it was unsurprising that The Guardian would join the trend
The Guardian’s online book club is run by their chief books writer, Lisa Allardice. During the book club events, Lisa talks with leading writers, discussing the writing process, current affairs, isolation and, of course, the chosen novel. Book club attendees also have the opportunity to send in questions prior to, and during, the event. The book clubs are run on Thursdays 7-8pm BST, are broadcasted globally, and the cost of a ticket is £5 plus a small booking fee, or you can purchase the book with the ticket for around £14. Though the price may be slightly discouraging for an online event, it is significantly cheaper in comparison to what you might pay to hear an author talk at an in-person event. I certainly enjoyed hearing Margaret Atwood talk whilst sat at home with a risotto and a glass of wine, instead of queueing for hours outside a bookshop in the snow.
The book club I attended was centred around Margaret Atwood’s 2003 novel Oryx and Crake. Though the novel could be considered science fiction, Atwood labels it as ‘speculative fiction’ as the novel does speculate the potential of human evolution, and it does not deal with things that are beyond human capabilities. Although The Handmaid’s Tale is often deemed Atwood’s most prophetic book, Oryx and Crake foretold the biggest disaster of the 21st century, the global pandemic. As Atwood discussed in the book club, plagues are a “very old human story”, and they are even more “definitive in human history […] than war”. Atwood informs her readers to pay attention to Oryx and Crake because it shows “the big picture”, detailing to the reader just how far into chaos the pandemic, and our current habits, could lead us. Certainly, the novel forces the reader to take a long look at the human race.
On the more positive side, Oryx and Crake sees advancement in sustainability. As, in the book the ‘humans’ have evolved to no longer need clothing, meaning that “they do not need cloth”, and they are “not only vegan, [but] they can eat leaves and grass”, thus we no longer need to grow masses of crops or “raise herds of animals”. Indeed, the ‘humans’ have evolved to no longer be “sexually competitive”, lowering aggression and as Atwood notes there would be “no more wife murders”, essentially eradicating domestic violence. Furthermore, one of the most spectacular human advancements is the ability to purr! As Atwood explains, purring is an incredible ability to have as “cats purr to self-heal”. This is scientifically factual as a cat’s purr “has a frequency of between 25 and 150 hertz, which happens to be the frequency at which muscles and bones best grow and repair themselves”.
It is safe to say that Atwood is a hive of knowledge, and although I have not read Oryx and Crake, I still learnt so much from hearing her speak. The Guardian’s online book club is a great way for book lovers to hear from their favourite writers and have the opportunity to ask them questions. The upcoming book club is in conversation with Maggie O’Farrell (22nd April), the author of the Women’s prize-winning novel Hamnet. Hamnet is set in plague-ridden Jacobean England, once again projecting a vision of our current world, and is said to be a heart-wrenching read. Why not give it a read and join me and many others for the next Guardian book club?
Header Image Credit: The Guardian Patrons
Excellent Educational Books By Black Authors
As an English student and avid reader, it is my belief that the best way to understand someone else’s experience is to read about it. Even books which are fictional can educate us. Below, I have listed three major fictional books by Black authors that are exceptional in their presentation of very different Black experiences.
1. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
The protagonist of this novel is the 16-year-old girl, Starr Carter. Though this is Young Adult fiction, the book begins with Starr witnessing the murder of her childhood friend, Khalil, who was shot by a police officer and, unsurprisingly, Khalil was unarmed. Much like the protests we have seen for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Stephon Clark (and many others), protesters head to the streets shouting Khalil’s name, and begging for justice. As Khalil’s only witness the pressure is on Starr to come forward and speak up.
The strongest aspect of this book is it’s social commentary and political criticism. This is the kind of book that should be in the hands of teens, making them aware of current issues, educating them on pressing matters, and encouraging them to get involved to create change
Emma Giordano
If you don’t have time for reading at the moment, The Hate U Give was also adapted into an incredible movie.
it’s impossible to be unarmed when our Blackness is the weapon that they fear
April Offrah
2. Such A Fun Age by Kiley Reid
This book begins with the protagonist Emira Tucker, a young Black woman, being accused by a security guard in a supermarket of stealing the white toddler she is babysitting. Though this scene sets the precedent for the rest of the novel, Reid speeds past this and has Emira shake off the whole event. This does not make the details of the event any less effective, but Reid wants the reader to focus on the essential context of the novel, which is the relationship between Emira and her white wealthy employer, Alix Chamberlain.
Narratives about race and privilege are not unfamiliar literary fodder, but in her novel, Reid demonstrates a remarkable insight by taking on the monumental challenge of revealing the state of America through what she called the “everyday domestic biases that we don’t even know we have.” Reid’s exploration is a fresh and interesting look at the uneasy performance of “wokeness”—a paper-thin tissue of a word, so conspicuous that it now immediately breeds distrust.
bookswithchai, goodreads
3. The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
This novel is about twin sisters, Stella and Desiree, who grow up in Mallard, L.A, which is a town mainly comprised of light-skinned black people. One of the sisters, Stella, makes the decision to live her life as a white-passing person, while Desiree chooses to embrace her Black identity. This book weaves together multiple generations of this family, ranging from the 1950s to the 1990s, and presents an emotional exploration of family, race, gender, class, and integrally the lasting influence of the past and our decisions.
A story of absolute, universal timelessness… For any era, it‘s an accomplished, affecting novel. For this moment, it‘s piercing, subtly wending its way toward questions about who we are and who we want to be….
Entertainment Weekly
Header image credit: Teen Vogue