My Favourite Reads January - March 2021
It’s difficult to sum up my favourite reads from the first few months of the year as I’ve read so many good books. I feel like I’ve really learned what I enjoy reading, and rarely pick up a book that is a struggle to get through. There were also a lot of highly anticipated releases that I was excited to read at the beginning of this year, so I was reading books that I felt genuinely excited about. I’d read 24 books by the end of March and enjoyed most of them, but have narrowed down my favourites to 15 books that I absolutely adored. I’d highly recommend all of the below to anyone looking for an absorbing read. If you’d like to chat books with me, please leave a comment below with your own recommendations.
Some of the below books were sent to me as ARCs from the publishers. They are noted with an *
HER BODY & OTHER PARTIES BY CARMEN MARIA MACHADO
After reading In the Dream House last year, I’d been eager to pick up Carmen Maria Machado’s volume of short stories. There are elements of fairytales and horror in this excellent collection, with one stand-out story retelling the old urban legend of the girl with the green ribbon tied around her neck. Common themes throughout the collection are sex and death, although the odd one out, perhaps is her imaginary retelling of Law & Order, a surprisingly compelling series of episode summaries that had me snickering. This has secured itself as one of my all-time favourite short story collections, and I can’t wait to read whatever Machado writes next.
MILK FED BY MELISSA BRODER *
Milk Fed is classic Millennial fiction - the tale of a young woman trying to find her place in the world while partaking in self-destructive behaviours. The focus here is on food and sex, with very detailed descriptions of both sexual encounters and living with an eating disorder (tw). It isn’t for everyone, but if you loved The Pisces, you’ll probably also enjoy this. I adore how Melissa Broder writes - she has a wonderful way with words that draws you in and makes you despair at putting down the book, even when she’s just describing a frozen yoghurt. The food writing reminded me of Sweetbitter and Supper Club - the content of the story is very different to both, but all three had me absorbed with writing about food, a subject that doesn’t normally interest me in writing.
A CHILDREN’S BIBLE BY LYDIA MILLET
I absolutely adored this book and devoured it in two sittings. A large group of children and their parents are gathered at a holiday home when the end of the world begins - flood, plague, society crumbling etc. The narrator, Eve’s younger brother is reading a children’s version of the bible throughout, and draws parallels between what is happening and the story he is reading. The story is told from the POV of all the children, who are expecting the apocalypse and are much more prepared than their parents, who just want to drink away their worries. It’s a story that has been told countless times before - but in a completely original way.
LONELY CASTLE IN THE MIRROR BY MIZUKI TSHJIMURA *
I’d recommend this wonderful book to anyone who loves Studio Ghibli films or contemporary fairytales. It’s the story of seven Tokyo teenagers who wake up to find the mirrors in their bedrooms glowing. When they touch the mirrors they are pulled through them into a wondrous castle reigned over by the Wolf Queen - a small child wearing a wolf mask who tells them they have 11 months to solve a set of clues and find a key that will enable one of them to make a wish. The teenagers bond over the next year - they are all deeply unhappy and are not attending school for various reasons. The final chapter of the book is particularly moving and really confirmed for me how brilliant this story is. It’s a best seller in Japan and I can see why.
A ROOM CALLED EARTH BY MADELEINE RYAN
The whole book covers one night (and an amazing morning) in a young woman’s life as she attends a party. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever read, wonderfully conveying her inner thoughts and feelings about the world around her without much of a plot. I usually prefer more plot-driven novels but loved how this story really brought me inside one character’s head. The ending in particular is wonderful, and I could vividly picture her incredible house. I’d love to see this made into an art house film.
BEFORE MY ACTUAL HEART BREAKS BY TISH DELANEY *
One of my favourite reads of the year so far, I was completely swept away by this engrossing book. This is the story of Mary, growing up in the Northern Irish countryside during the Troubles. At the age of 16, Mary (the daughter of a devout Catholic mother) gets pregnant and is promptly married off to the man next door, The story then flies through the decades of Mary’s life and her constant quest for happiness, detailing her complicated relationship with her husband. I felt broken hearted on her behalf so many times when reading this, and also incredibly frustrated with her character - I just wanted her to be happy. I also fell in love with the setting of the book - clearly imagining I was actually there and could hear the sound of the river and smell the honeysuckle.
THE ABSOLUTE BOOK BY ELIZABETH KNOX *
This story is VAST - I felt like I’d watching a series of an epic TV series such as Game of Thrones while reading it. In fact, I’d love to see this adapted for film or TV to see the scenes I have in my head in reality. One of my favourite aspects of this book was the incredible world building. I’m not that into fantasy, but this has a strong hold on reality alongside incorporating fantasy elements. It reminded me a bit of reading His Dark Materials for the first time. there are references to books, pop culture, climate change and lovely descriptions of a beautiful area of Wales that I now want to visit. But what I really loved were the detailed descriptions of the ‘other place’. Everything was so richly described and I could clearly picture everyone and everything (well, apart from a certain someone and a certain thing the reader isn’t supposed to be able to picture very well). There were a few side tangents such as Norse mythology, when I wondered if I needed more knowledge of the subject matter and and struggled slightly, but Elizabeth' Knox’s beautiful way with words persuaded me to continue and I’m glad I did. This book gets better and better throughout, and the ending felt very satisfying. If you enjoy fantasy, books about books, and sprawling, epic stories I would recommend this.
INSATIABLE BY DAISY BUCHANAN
Insatiable is easy to read and very fun - it reminded me a bit of Dolly Alderton’s writing with a hint of the sauciness of The Pisces. This is the (very sexually explicit) story of Violet, who lives in London, is bored of her job, recently split up with her fiancé and fallen out with her best friend. She meets an intriguing couple, Lottie and Simon who she is immediately drawn towards. They tempt her with a job offer and draw her into their world of posh houses and weekend sex parties. It’s classic millennial fiction but be warned that the sex scenes are very detailed!
ACTS OF DESPERATION BY MEGAN NOLAN *
Another of my favourite reads so far this year, Acts of Desperation is an intense love story that deals with obsession, shame and vulnerability. We never learn the name of the protagonist, but we get to know her inner most thoughts and most private moments as she tells the story of a destructive relationship than spans several years. It’s beautifully written - you’ll want to linger over every sentence, and it’s the kind of book you want to have a highlighter ready to mark your favourite lines.
GARGOYLES BY HARRIET MERCER *
There’s something really exciting about how Harriet Mercer writes. Gargoyles is a memoir about a woman’s brush with death during a life-threatening illness - not my usual subject material, but I was completely engrossed. The story of Harriet’s hospital stay is juxtaposed by memories of her past, and essays covered subjects as diverse as the idea of ‘home’ and dealing with pain. I’m attempting to read more memoirs and non-fiction this year, and this book got me off to a great start.
DINNER PARTY BY SARAH GILMARTIN *
I have a real thing with books based in Ireland at the moment, and really enjoyed this story of an Irish family coming to terms with a tragedy. Dinner Party is the story of Kate and her family, weaving through different time periods as the story covers significant moments in her life. It’s beautifully written and cleverly observed, focusing on how events in our childhoods can haunt us for years to come, as well as covering concepts of family and home. I raced through this very quickly, and it left me wanting more. I can’t wait to see what Sarah Gilmartin writes next.
THE OPHELIA GIRLS BY JANE HEALEY *
I adored this book! It transported me to a long hot summer in the English countryside, drawing narratives to my own summers spent wild swimming in ponds and taking photos of myself amongst flowers. It tells the story of Ruth and her daughter Maeve, set between two timelines focusing on when Ruth spent a memorable summer in her childhood home, and when she returns to the crumbling old house with her family when her daughter is recovering from cancer. In 1973, Ruth and her friends took photographs of each other pretending to be Ophelia in the river, an obsession that ended in disaster. In 1997, Ruth’s old friend visits them and stirs up clandestine feelings of desire in her teenage daughter, as the present begins to echo the past with Maeve becoming Stuart’s muse. This is the perfect summer’s read for a hot, languid day, and a book that I can already see myself picking up again and again. This falls into the category of Books I Wish I Had Wrote.
GROWN UPS BY MARIE AUBERT *
This Norwegian translation is the story of a woman coming to terms with the fact that she may have left it too late to have children, as she clashes with her recently pregnant sister on a weekend trip to their shared summer cabin. Something else I’m aiming to read this year is more translated fiction, so this was a perfect choice. At just 154 pages long, its a quick but enticing read that I devoured, completely engrossed in the relationships between the characters.
MY BROTHER BY KARIN SMIRNOFF *
This was completely unlike anything I’ve ever read before, and to be honest, it took me a while to get used to the unusual writing style (no capital letters for names, mashed up words, and no speech marks). When I got used to the author’s way of writing, I was completely sucked in by the story though. This is the story of Jana, returning to her isolated childhood home in rural Sweden where she confronts her past. It’s a hard reading, dealing with difficult subject matter such as child abuse and incest but nevertheless is an excellent read. It reminded me of reading A Little Life, in that it’s an excellent book but hard to read at times.
ANOTHER LIFE BY JODIE CHAPMAN *
This reminded me of Normal People, in that it is the tale of two people who love each other but it’s never quite the right time for them to be together. It isn’t just the story of a boy and a girl, however. This is mainly Nick’s story - the story of his relationship with his father and his brother and his childhood - but also the story of Anna, and how her religious upbringing shapes her life. It’s beautifully written and had me gripped the whole way through. One of those books that you never want to end.