Here you will find the rating and review of every book that I read in 2021.
Somehow, I managed to make my way through a total of 77 books, just falling short of my achievement of 78 books in 2020. I will be lenient with myself here since the world did open up a bit more in 2021, and I moved around for six months of the year, conducting some slow travel of the UK.
However, I’m taking the reading to a new level in 2022 and aiming to read 100 books in the next 12 months. Yes, 100.
I’m unsure how I’m going to tackle it, but I’m going to give it my best shot!
Of course, you can always keep up to date on my books in realtime over on Instagram at @orlaghclaire and see how I’m getting along with my target throughout the new year!
Or if you prefer, you can follow me on Goodreads here which will be most up to date with my current reading.
1. How To Stop Time by Matt Haig
Tom Hazard has a dangerous secret. He may look like an ordinary 41-year-old, but owing to a rare condition, he’s been alive for centuries. From Elizabethan England to Jazz-Age Paris, from New York to the South Seas, Tom has seen a lot, and now craves an ordinary life. It’s a life he once had, long-since buried but buried secrets have a habit of catching up with you and nobody can outrun their own past.
My rating: ★★★
I really enjoyed the concept of this book and at times wished the character really had known Shakespeare and met F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife, Zelda. I just don’t think the ending of the book was the best and didn’t build to the climax I was expecting. It was interesting to read about the different eras and about old London, which makes me want to read more historical books rather than so much modern fiction.
2. Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey
I’ve been in this life for fifty years, been trying to work out its riddle for forty-two, and been keeping diaries of clues to that riddle for the last thirty-five. Notes about successes and failures, joys and sorrows, things that made me marvel, and things that made me laugh out loud. How to be fair. How to have less stress. How to have fun. How to hurt people less. How to get hurt less. How to be a good man. How to have meaning in life. How to be more me.
My rating: ★★★★★
Alright, alright, alright. I was already obsessed with Matthew McConaughey, but now even more so. What a book. Greenlights is a memoir and also, isn’t. It details McConaughey’s life, from growing up, his family life, his travels around the world, his acting career and his wife and children. It also reveals everything that life has taught him and what he can pass on from the most important moments of his life. The book also features a lot of McConaughey’s writings and poetry, musings and words of wisdom. There is a lot to learn in this book and a lot to think about. One thing all of us can take away is that live is for livin, not just existing. You’ll know why I left off the ‘g’ when you read his book.
3. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
When Addie LaRue makes a deal with devil, she trades her soul for immortality. But the devil takes away her place in the world, cursing her to be forgotten by everyone. Addie flees her tiny home town in 18th-Century France, beginning a journey that takes her across the world, learning to live a life where no one remembers her and everything she owns is lost and broken. Existing only as a muse for artists throughout history, she learns to fall in love anew every single day. Her only companion on this journey is her dark devil with hypnotic green eyes, who visits her each year on the anniversary of their deal. Alone in the world, Addie has no choice but to confront him, to understand him, maybe to beat him. Until one day, in a second hand bookshop in Manhattan, Addie meets someone who remembers her. Suddenly thrust back into a real, normal life, Addie realises she can’t escape her fate forever.
My rating: ★★★
I don’t know if it’s because I recently read a time-travelling/time-hopping book about someone that was immortal and didn’t age, but I just really couldn’t get into this book. I had heard SO many great things, and was so excited to finally get to read the book, but it just didn’t live up to expectations for me. Maybe a little over-hyped for me, but then again I could have been making too many comparisons to How To Stop Time, but the book is 500+ pages long and it just wasn’t the five-star bestseller that I was expecting.
4. The $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau
You no longer need to work nine-to-five in a big company to pay the mortgage, send your kids to school and afford that yearly holiday. You can quit the rat race and start up on your own – and you don’t need an MBA or a huge investment to do it. The $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau is your manual to a new way of living.
My rating: ★★★★
A relatively short book but filled with a lot of great information. The book showcased many examples of businesses that started by accident, that started by transferring online or by turning a hobby into a full-time job. I personally felt quite inspired by the book and took some things away that I can implement into my own projects. The overall message from the book that I took away was that a lot of these entrepreneurs were working in very high-paying jobs but took large pay-cuts to work in their hobbies instead, because money doesn’t equal happiness. Especially when it’s in a job that you plan to do for the rest of your life. Often, it is worth the risk to do something you love and put all of your passion and energy into it.
5. Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
Fresh from a brief stay at a psych hospital, reporter Camille Preaker faces a troubling assignment: she must return to her tiny hometown to cover the unsolved murder of a preteen girl and the disappearance of another. For years, Camille has hardly spoken to her neurotic, hypochondriac mother or to the half-sister she barely knows: a beautiful thirteen-year-old with an eerie grip on the town. Now, installed in her old bedroom in her family’s Victorian mansion, Camille finds herself identifying with the young victims—a bit too strongly. Dogged by her own demons, she must unravel the psychological puzzle of her own past if she wants to get the story—and survive this homecoming.
My rating: ★★★★
A very twisted tale which is exactly what Gillian Flynn is known for. The author of Gone Girl, Flynn is famous for suspense crimes with a lot of twists and turns, and Sharp Objects did not disappoint on that front. I was almost disappointed as nearing the end I thought it far too easy to have guessed the murderer in this case, but a very sharp twist in the final pages reassured that Gillian Flynn is a great author and that I need to read more of her work.
6. Ladies Get Paid by Claire Wasserman (Gifted)
Filled with Claire’s personal stories and straightforward advice, this is a must-read for anyone who wants to take their career to the next level. If you’re looking to get a raise, navigate a promotion, or break the glass ceiling, Ladies Get Paid will show you how. Part how-to guide, part manifesto, Ladies Get Paid encourages the self-advocacy and activism that will help you close the gender pay gap and take the power back in your career.
My rating: ★★★★
I’ve been questioning my own career of late; am I where I want to be right now? Is this what I want to be doing for the next year or more? Does this job fulfil my passion? Reading this book made me realize that I shouldn’t settle for what I don’t deserve when it comes to my career, and as a woman, I need to speak up in the workplace and make sure that I am treated as an equal to my male counterparts. Ladies Get Paid features different stories from various women in the working world who faced discrimination, toxic managers, salary-bias and racism. We are in the year 2021. Women before us fought for us to be at the same table as male CEOs and Executives, yet we still represent such a small percentage of this number. Progress still needs to be made and we cannot settle for less than we deserve.
7. Ghosts by Dolly Alderton
32-year-old Nina Dean is a successful food writer with a loyal online following, but a life that is falling apart. When she uses dating apps for the first time, she becomes a victim of ghosting, and by the most beguiling of men. Her beloved dad is vanishing in slow motion into dementia, and she’s starting to think about ageing and the gendered double-standard of the biological clock. On top of this she has to deal with her mother’s desire for a mid-life makeover and the fact that all her friends seem to be slipping away from her…
My rating: ★★
Ok. We have lots to talk about. I loved Dolly Alderton’s debut novel, Everything I Know About Love and expected more great things from this second novel, Ghosts. I had heard great things and seen many great reviews. However, I just didn’t get the hype whatsoever. I felt that the book was a little all over the place with so many random storylines and plots – the part with her downstairs neighbour in the last 30 pages – where did that come from?? What happened to Max? What was the ending with her dad? I have so many unanswered questions. I hate to say that I just really didn’t enjoy this book – would love to know your thoughts if you’ve read it!
8. Liberation by Emma Eker (Gifted)
Framed by an incredibly rousing story about entering rehab at the age of 28, Emma Eker’s Liberation is a story of breakdown to breakthrough and everything in between. This solution-based memoir, with its easily digestible teachings and guidance, will help the reader to forge a deeper connection with them Selves, allowing them to move through challenges and suffering. Liberation demonstrates that with a change of thinking, we can relinquish all mental barriers and truly thrive.
My rating: ★★★★
Emma Eker combines a memoir with spiritual guidance and advice in her debut book, Liberation. After suffering from many different demons throughout her life, addictions, disorders, and breakdowns, Emma realized that the only person that was going to make her better was herself. However, Emma also teaches that from everything that she went through, she was always learning more about herself and why things were happening to her. Liberation teaches that life is to be lived, and to do so, we must always show up as our highest self. This is definitely a book for fans of The Secret, A New Earth and The Power of Now.
9. Thin Air by Michelle Paver
The Himalayas, 1935. Kangchenjunga. Third-highest peak on earth. Greatest killer of them all. Five Englishmen set off from Darjeeling, determined to conquer the sacred summit. But courage can only take them so far – and the mountain is not their only foe. As the wind dies, the dread grows. Mountain sickness. The horrors of extreme altitude. A past that will not stay buried. And sometimes, the truth does not set you free.
My rating: ★★★
An easy-going read of a ghost story set in the early 1900s. It didn’t grip my attention like I thought it would and I think it may be suited for a more younger audience as the fear and suspense wasn’t quite there for me. It still made for a nice Sunday read and is also based on some true characters and expeditions in the Himalayas.
10. Love Is An Ex-Country by Randa Jarrar (Gifted)
Queer. Muslim. Arab American. A proudly Fat woman. Randa Jarrar is all these things. In this provocative memoir of a cross-country road trip, she explores how to claim joy in an unravelling and hostile world.
My rating: ★★★
A very raw and emotive book, Jarrar writes so openly about her experiences with her religion, identity and relationships with her family and partners. I did feel a little confused as to where the ‘road-trip across America’ came into the book, as it was a little jumbled for my liking. The book didn’t seem to have much direction but I did enjoy how honest and bluntly Jarrar writes.
11. Crushing It by Gary Vaynerchuk
In this lively, practical, and inspiring book, Gary dissects every current major social media platform so that anyone, from a plumber to a professional ice skater, will know exactly how to amplify his or her personal brand on each. He offers both theoretical and tactical advice on how to become the biggest thing on old standbys like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, and Snapchat; podcast platforms like Spotify, Soundcloud, iHeartRadio, and iTunes; and other emerging platforms such as Musical.ly. For those with more experience, Crushing It! illuminates some little-known nuances and provides innovative tips and clever tweaks proven to enhance more common tried-and-true strategies. Crushing It! is a state-of-the-art guide to building your own path to professional and financial success, but it’s not about getting rich. It’s a blueprint to living life on your own terms.
My rating: ★★★★
I really enjoyed Gary’s book that focuses on different social media platforms and how to crush it on each. The books gives examples from real-life people that have used Gary’s advice to make it big on social media and how they’ve elevated their businesses, quit their day-jobs and become online influencers through digital marketing and putting themselves out there on different social platforms. This was my first read of Gary Vee’s and I think I might have needed to read Gary’s first book Crush It in order to get the most out of this one.
12. Almost Mortal by Christopher Leibig (Gifted)
Emerging criminal defense attorney Sam Young has always known he had a gift. Or a curse. He thinks of them as minor psychic abilities. When Sam is hired by an attractive young nun named Camille Paradisi, he agrees to help discover the identity of a serial killer in order to prevent Camille’s pastor from being exposed for not reporting the man after a confession – thereby allowing another murder to occur. While Sam’s psychic abilities increase as he investigates the case and gets closer to Camille, he realizes that the enigmatic nun is not revealing the complete truth.
My rating: ★★★★
I love watching courtroom dramas, serial killer investigations and criminal investigation-type series on TV – think The Fall, The Night Stalker or Suits (not criminal law, but a lot of law-type drama). Almost Mortal was all of this combined, which made for a very engaging read. There was a lot going on throughout the book with many characters which took a few seconds each time to try and register who was who. I will say that the ending took me by surprise, but it did fit in with the title and overall premise of the book. I can’t wait to read the second instalment, Almost Damned!
13. The Score Takes Care of Itself by Bill Walsh
Bill Walsh is a towering figure in the history of the NFL. His advanced leadership transformed the San Francisco 49ers from the worst franchise in sports to a legendary dynasty. In the process, he changed the way football is played. Prior to his death, Walsh granted a series of exclusive interviews to bestselling author Steve Jamison. These became his ultimate lectures on leadership. Additional insights and perspective are provided by Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana and others. Bill Walsh taught that the requirements of successful leadership are the same whether you run an NFL franchise, a fortune 500 company, or a hardware store with 12 employees. These final words of ‘wisdom by Walsh’ will inspire, inform, and enlighten leaders in all professions.
My rating: ★★★
A great book on leadership and how Bill Walsh took the worst team in the NFL to win the Super Bowl three times under his reign. I loved how the book showed Bill’s more vulnerable side as a leader; when he broke down and almost quit, to bad relationships within the management and when it finally came for him to retire from the game. The book is told in short lectures as Bill passed away before the book was released. I would have loved a book completely written from Bill himself, but the lectures put together by his son and Steve Jamison were insightful and relatable to business and sport.
14. NICK by Michael Farris Smith (Gifted)
Before Nick Carraway moved to West Egg and into Gatsby’s world, he was at the centre of a very different story – one taking place along the trenches and deep within the tunnels of World War I. An epic portrait of a truly singular era and a sweeping, romantic story of self-discovery, this rich and imaginative novel breathes new life into a character that many know only from the periphery. Charged with enough alcohol, heartbreak, and profound yearning to transfix even the heartiest of golden age scribes, Nick reveals the man behind the narrator who has captivated readers for decades.
My rating: ★★★
I was very excited to read this book as I’ve probably read Gatsby five or more times. I love F. Scott Fitzgerald’s writing and read Tender is the Night towards the end of 2020. However, this book didn’t quite live up to expectations. NICK tells the story of Nick Carraway before he met Gatsby and what shaped his character beforehand. Through the war, being in France, traveling back to America and a stay in New Orleans. I enjoyed the writing of the book, but was often confused by the characters and where the story was going. I think I may have expected too much from the book, but it was a pleasant read all the same.
15. Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki
Rich Dad Poor Dad is Robert’s story of growing up with two dads — his real father and the father of his best friend, his rich dad — and the ways in which both men shaped his thoughts about money and investing. The book explodes the myth that you need to earn a high income to be rich and explains the difference between working for money and having your money work for you.
My rating: ★★★★
Rich Dad Poor Dad has been sitting on my bookshelf since 2019, when I first saw it recommended on Siobhan O’Hagan’s Instagram story. It has sat collecting dust for two years and I was never really in the right frame of mind to read it. I actually think it’s lucky that I didn’t pick the book up back then as I probably wouldn’t have gotten anything out of it. I really do think that we often pick up books at the right exact time, just when we needed to read it – like when I read #GirlBoss and Atomic Habits. Everything written in this book makes perfect sense. Instead of working for money, make money work for you. The book shows what real assets and liabilities are, as you might think you have more assets than you really do. I don’t imagine myself to be in the real-estate game any time soon, but maybe that’s me thinking with a closed, ‘I don’t know about it so I’m not going to venture into it’ mindset. After all, no one knows anything until they learn about it, do they?
16. How Women Rise by Sally Helgesen and Marshall Goldsmith (Gifted)
Do you hesitate about putting forward ideas? Are you reluctant to claim credit for your achievements? Do you find it difficult to get the support you need from your boss or the recognition you deserve from your colleagues? If your answer to any of these is ‘Yes’, How Women Rise will help get you back on track. Inspiring and practical by turns, it identifies 12 common habits that can prove an obstacle to future success and tells you how to overcome them. In the process, it points the way to a career that will satisfy your ambitions and help you make the difference you want to make in the world.
My rating: ★★★★★
How Women Rise identifies 12 habits that women should avoid or remove from their career and work life. These habits are often ones that we don’t even notice, like making ourselves too small, not speaking up about our achievements and also not letting our boss know what we’ve worked on or how we’ve continually helped others in the business. Many of these habits come naturally to our male counterparts and can be the cause of men accelerating in their career when women stay in positions for too long. A great read for anyone starting out or in the midst of their career!
17. A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson
The case is closed. Five years ago, schoolgirl Andie Bell was murdered by Sal Singh. The police know he did it. Everyone in town knows he did it. But having grown up in the same small town that was consumed by the crime, Pippa Fitz-Amobi isn’t so sure. When she chooses the case as the topic for her final project, she starts to uncover secrets that someone in town desperately wants to stay hidden. And if the real killer is still out there, how far will they go to keep Pip from the truth…?
My rating: ★★★★
This book has been sitting on my shelf for months. I had first seen it all over book Instagram along with rave reviews along with the sequel (which I also purchased and is gathering dust on my bookshelf as we speak). Unlike Ghosts by Dolly Alderton, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder actually was worth all the hype and it was a nice escape into teen fiction for me again. I used to love this genre of books when I was younger and so it made for some light reading at the beginning of the month. The author, Holly Jackson, is a young writer who appears to have a very promising future ahead of her. I can’t wait to read the second book in the series, Good Girl Bad Blood hopefully sooner rather than later.
18. 100 Million Hair Ties and a Vodka Tonic by Sophie Trelles-Tvede (Gifted)
This is the remarkable, at times funny, story of a young entrepreneur who, aged 18 and with $4,000 and no other funding, started up invisibobble the revolutionary hair ties that have taken the haircare industry by storm. Today, Sophie Trelles-Tvede’s company has sold over 100 million hair ties around the world and turns over $15 million. As a first-year university student, getting ready for a party, Sophie spotted an old telephone cord and decided to use it to tie her hair with. The next morning, she noticed something different with her hair: she did not have a headache after untying the cord and there was not much of a mark (or kink) in her hair. The genius idea of invisibobble was born right there! This is the story of the idea and thereafter the ups and downs, funny and serious moments, of an entrepreneur s journey that will inspire others and reveal what it takes to succeed.
My rating: ★★★★★
I loved this book. A lot of people would dream of building a business, selling in retail outlets all around the world and making a lot of money from an idea like a hair bobble. Sophie was 18-years-old when she had this idea and started her business. However, what makes this book so great is that she goes through every trial and tribulation that her business has faced, and wow there are many. Sophie’s raw telling of her life in business from copycat fakes, legal battles, shipment issues, fines and more, it would soon turn someone off thinking about starting a business. But this is vital reading for anyone that wants to start a business as it may seem like founders such as Ben Francis and Grace Beverley are living their best lives as owners of million-dollar businesses, but I can guarantee that their real-life situation is a lot like Sophie’s.
19. Such A Fun Age by Kiley Reid
When Emira is apprehended at a supermarket for ‘kidnapping’ the white child she’s actually babysitting, it sets off an explosive chain of events. Her employer Alix, a feminist blogger with a ‘personal brand’ and the best of intentions, resolves to make things right. But Emira herself is aimless, broke and wary of Alix’s desire to help. When she meets someone from Alix’s past, the two women find themselves on a crash course that will upend everything they think they know – about themselves, each other, and the messy dynamics of privilege.
My rating: ★★★★
This book reminded me of Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty, in the way that the book was so vividly told, I could imagine this becoming a TV series in the near future. The book was incredibly realistic along with the characters and mannerisms of each individual. A modern book that covers racism, classism and being in your 20s with no idea what you want to do with your life while friends get engaged, promoted and buy their own houses. Such A Fun Age is a book that a lot of people in their 20s will relate to and very much enjoy.
20. Wonder Women: Inspiring Stories and Insightful Interviews with Women in Marketing by Giles Lury & Katy Mousinho (Gifted)
Every marketer knows the stories of Lord Lever, Charles Revson and Steve Jobs, has probably read Al Ries and Jack Trout, and seen the works of Bill Bernbach and John Hegarty. What’s interesting about these ‘Masters of Marketing’, is that they are all MEN. In Giles Lury’s and Katy Mousinho’s WONDER WOMEN, are the stories and insights from women who have had a tremendous influence on the marketing industry. There are stories of Brownie Wise who transformed Tupperware, Mary Wells Lawrence who founded the advertising agency Wells, Rich, Greene. Pulling the insights together to not only celebrate their success, but to provide role models and insights for great marketers to come.
My rating: ★★★★★
As someone working in influencer marketing, I’ve only just come to the realization that I am no longer really in the public relations sphere, but more in marketing. Something I never imagined that I’d be working in, but I’m finding it extremely interesting and loving how fast-paced it is. Wonder Women was a great book to read before starting my new influencer marketing role as I learnt the stories of many great women in the marketing world and what they have learnt in the industry, especially as a woman. The topic of having children during a successful career came up quite a lot, and was something I wrote about recently. I’m definitely feeling very empowered after reading so many great women-inspired books this month!
21. The Choice by Edith Eger
In 1944, sixteen-year-old Edith Eger was sent to Auschwitz. There she endured unimaginable experiences, including being made to dance for the infamous Josef Mengele. Over the coming months, Edith’s bravery helped her sister to survive, and led to her bunkmates rescuing her during a death march. When their camp was finally liberated, Edith was pulled from a pile of bodies, barely alive. In The Choice, Dr Edith Eger shares her experience of the Holocaust and the remarkable stories of those she has helped ever since. Today, she is an internationally acclaimed psychologist whose patients include survivors of abuse and soldiers suffering from PTSD. She explains how many of us live within a mind that has become a prison, and shows how freedom becomes possible once we confront our suffering.
My rating: ★★★★★
I had been recommended this book by a friend on numerous occasions and I can see why. After reading The Tattooist of Auschwitz and Cilka’s Journey, I realized that you can’t read enough of these books recounting the Holocaust to truly understand what these people went through and how they felt. Each book retells a different version of the same story, and each story doesn’t get easier to read. The Choice is an amazing book by an amazing woman who looks at her past experiences and knows that she has a choice in how she deals with it.
22. Binge Marketing by Carlijn Postma (Gifted)
How do you build a brand in a time of information overload where the media are so fragmented that you can barely get the attention of your audience? And how do you ensure that everyone tells the same story on all those channels? Carlijn Postma takes you to the place where content is the product and where people know how to attract and retain an audience: Hollywood. Binge Marketing is not another stuffy marketing book, but a refreshing look at marketing in the 21st century.
My rating: ★★★★
A very interesting book about looking at your brand content like that of someone who binge watches streaming services such as Netflix or Disney+. What makes viewers keep watching? What gets them hooked? What do great series and episodes have in common? The book takes you through the creation of television, gives examples of others that we can learn from and makes you think about the content you are sharing and on which platforms. A great book for content marketers, especially in this age.
23. Corporate Social Responsibility is Not Public Relations by Sangeeta Waldron (Gifted)
Research shows that CSR improves long-term business performance and that consumers prefer to patronise organizations with strong histories of social responsibility. Customers and employees are speaking with their values as well as their wallets! But consumers especially are sensitive to empty promises and want brands to be committed to the planet, sustainability and other social issues. This book argues that trust is at stake for every organization and is the reason why communications strategies must respond authentically. If you can’t be authentic about social initiatives, then don’t do it because CSR is not a publicity tool! Yet some see the relationship as nothing but a marketing trick – an organization’s blatant self-promotion. This book will define the real role of PR in CSR and what that relationship should be.
My rating: ★★★★
This is a must read for anyone working in communications, PR or CSR. Or even anyone that wants to think more about their own personal social responsibility. The book takes us through examples of company that haven’t operated well in this arena and also examples to learn from. Sangeeta includes interviews with various business owners from around the world to discuss their CSR and their opinions of CSR in general, which gave a great edge to the book. Reading this definitely made me consider how I’m treating the planet and what I could be doing better. I’ve been influenced to change my ways starting right now!
24. The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell
In a large house in London’s fashionable Chelsea, a baby is awake in her cot. Well-fed and cared for, she is happily waiting for someone to pick her up. In the kitchen lie three decomposing corpses. Close to them is a hastily scrawled note. They’ve been dead for several days. Who has been looking after the baby? And where did they go?
My rating: ★★★★
I hadn’t read a thriller in quite some time, so it was good to get back to reading something a little darker than usual. I bought this secondhand from World of Books and it did not disappoint. Lisa Jewell is a well-known author but this was the first of hers that I have read. A mysterious and twisted tale of murder, estranged families and cults. A great book that had me really hooked by the halfway point.
25. No Filter by Sarah Frier (Gifted)
Frier draws on unprecedented access–from the founders of Instagram, as well as employees, executives, and competitors; Anna Wintour of Vogue; Kris Jenner of the Kardashian-Jenner empire; and a plethora of influencers worldwide–to show how Instagram has fundamentally changed the way we show, eat, travel, and communicate, all while fighting to preserve the values which contributed to the company’s success. “Deeply reported and beautifully written” (Nick Bilton, Vanity Fair), No Filter examines how Instagram’s dominance acts as a lens into our society today, highlighting our fraught relationship with technology, our desire for perfection, and the battle within tech for its most valuable commodity: our attention.
My rating: ★★★★
I first thought No Filter would talk through the Instagram app and it’s effects on society through the years, but the book takes a deep dive into the beginnings and creation of the app, its development from the point of view from its employees and its progress under Mark Zuckerberg’s ownership. No Filter was incredibly insightful for me to know about the deep ins and outs of the company and how much of an effect Facebook has and had on the app while it was gaining popularity. The book was published before the birth of Reels and Instagram shop, so it will be very interesting to see the sequel of this book in a few years!
26. After You by Jojo Moyes
Lou Clark has lots of questions. Like how it is she’s ended up working in an airport bar, spending every shift watching other people jet off to new places. Or why the flat she’s owned for a year still doesn’t feel like home. Whether her close-knit family can forgive her for what she did eighteen months ago. And will she ever get over the love of her life. What Lou does know for certain is that something has to change. Then, one night, it does. But does the stranger on her doorstep hold the answers Lou is searching for – or just more questions? Close the door and life continues: simple, ordered, safe. Open it and she risks everything. But Lou once made a promise to live. And if she’s going to keep it, she has to invite them in…
My rating: ★★★
Even though this genre isn’t my usual go-to for reading, I really enjoyed Me Before You when I read it last year. I will say that although it makes for very wholesome reading, I don’t know if the sequel was needed. And I will also say that Louisa being offered a job in New York with visa and accommodation included that she kept turning down aggravated me a lot. Not that I’m bitter about no longer living in New York or anything…
27. The Actuality by Paul Braddon (Gifted)
Evie is a near-perfect bioengineered human. In a broken-down future England where her kind has been outlawed, her ‘husband’ Matthew keeps her hidden. When her existence is revealed, she must take her chances on the dark and hostile streets, where more than one predator is on the hunt.
My rating: ★★★
I will say that I’m not usually one for sci-fi or futuristic kinds of books or movies, but I was intrigued since the rise of virtual influencers/AI people, and of course, robots. The Actuality follows a robot-of-sorts called Evie who was made to look like her owner’s deceased wife. However, these ‘robots’ are extremely rare and so Evie remains hidden for most of her robotic life until she is one day discovered. The book follows Evie whilst on the run from captors to find her ‘family’. I gave this book a 3/5 as I didn’t get overly excited by the plot and didn’t find it as intense as I thought it could have been.
28. Milkman by Anna Burns
At the book’s heart, a teenager – whose only means of escape is literature – is slowly ground down by the unwanted attentions and creeping psychopathy of a paramilitary many years her senior. This is the secret state, a place where gossip and hearsay are weaponised methods of control, contained in a novel written with both a sad humour and a certain kind of fury. Eschewing mention of Belfast and cloaking every character in nameless anonymity, this is contemporary history rewritten as dystopia, where power and fear are wrought by rumour and half-truth. ‘It’s a novel,’ remarked an astute Irish Times, ‘about failing to remember and failing to forget; failing to speak and failing to remain silent.’
My rating: ★★★★
I picked this book up in Golden Hare Books in Edinburgh, in the mystery novel section. The book was wrapped with only a tag of a minor description of the book. Once it mentioned The Troubles, I was naturally intrigued after reading another book about this last year. I won’t lie that it took me a little longer than usual to get through the book, and I didn’t love that there was a grand total of five chapters in all, but I understand the concept of it. Even though the location was never mentioned, it was a little reminder of home with all its little quips and colloquialisms. I find it really interesting to read about a time that I never went through but was only ten years before I was born; a very different world that I was brought up in, but amazing to learn about all the same.
29. Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson
Pip Fitz-Amobi is not a detective anymore. With the help of Ravi Singh, she released a true-crime podcast about the murder case they solved together last year. The podcast has gone viral, yet Pip insists her investigating days are behind her. But she will have to break that promise when someone she knows goes missing. Jamie Reynolds has disappeared but the police won’t do anything about it. And if they won’t look for Jamie then Pip will, uncovering more of her town’s dark secrets along the way… and this time everyone is listening. But will she find him before it’s too late?
My rating: ★★★★
After reading Milkman and The Actuality, I wanted a bit more of an easy read as Milkman took me a lot longer than expected, so I thought some light-hearted young adult fiction would do the trick. I read A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder back in March and thoroughly enjoyed, so expected nothing less from Good Girl, Bad Blood. I got through the book rather quickly and it was exactly what I needed to get me out of my reading funk. One I would definitely recommend if you’re into young adult/light-hearted detective work.
30. A Trip of One’s Own by Kate Wills (Gifted)
If Joan Didion was right, and we do tell ourselves stories in order to live, then a travel story is the best story of them all. Kate Wills wasn’t expecting to be divorced after less than a year of marriage. She hadn’t anticipated restarting a life that had, for the last 12 years with her partner, seemed so stable. Luckily, her job as a travel journalist offered her the perfect opportunity to escape from it all. But this time, her jet-setting felt different. Kate felt more alone, particularly against a backdrop of never-ending hen dos, weddings and baby showers. So she began to search history for female travellers to inspire her.
My rating: ★★★★★
As someone who is currently travelling around the UK and extremely missing being able to travel further afield, this book definitely filled the travel-void in my life. Reading about solo female travellers dating as far back to 300 BC inspired me to get out as soon as I can and make more of my own adventures (as soon as we’re able). The life of a travel journalist sounds enviable, and one I’m going to further investigate as to how I can become one myself. I loved how Kate was able to intertwine her own life and experiences into these stories of the women who have come before her and I also found the little breaks of tips and tricks for solo travellers extremely useful.
31. The Switch by Beth O’Leary
Eileen is sick of being 79. Leena’s tired of life in her twenties. Maybe it’s time they swapped places…
When overachiever Leena Cotton is ordered to take a two-month sabbatical after blowing a big presentation at work, she escapes to her grandmother Eileen’s house for some overdue rest. Eileen is newly single and about to turn eighty. She’d like a second chance at love, but her tiny Yorkshire village doesn’t offer many eligible gentlemen. Once Leena learns of Eileen’s romantic predicament, she proposes a solution: a two-month swap. Eileen can live in London and look for love. Meanwhile Leena will look after everything in rural Yorkshire. But with gossiping neighbours and difficult family dynamics to navigate up north, and trendy London flatmates and online dating to contend with in the city, stepping into one another’s shoes proves more difficult than either of them expected.
My rating: ★★★★
Just like Beth O’Leary’s debut novel, The Flatshare, I found The Switch equally as pleasurable. Easy, chick-flick and leisurely reading, this is a great one to help switch off from your day and engross yourself in the world of Leena and Eileen. The book follows granny and granddaughter duo, the two Eileens, who switch lives for six weeks. I was mighty impressed at the 79 year old moving to London and navigating the city when I found it so hard at 20. But that’s the world of fiction for you. A lovely read, and I can’t wait to get my hands on Beth O’Leary’s most recent book, The Road Trip.
32. The Disconnect by Roisin Kiberd (Gifted)
We all live online now: the line between the internet and IRL has become porous to the point of being meaningless. Roisin Kiberd knows this better than anyone. She has worked for tech startups and as the online voice of a cheese brand; she’s witnessed the bloated excesses of tech conferences and explored the strangest communities on the web. She has traced the ripples these hidden worlds have sent through our culture and politics, and experienced the disorienting effects on her own life. In these interlinked essays, she illuminates the subject with fierce clarity, revealing the ways we are more connected than ever before, and the disconnect this breeds.
My rating: ★★★
This one took me quite a while to read, as it was made of many short and long essays written by Roisin Kibberd. The book opened with how social media and the internet had a severe effect on Kibberd, almost driving her to take her own life. The book explains how Dublin is the Silicon Valley of Europe, with many tech companies opening their headquarters there, making everyone on dating apps in the city a software engineer for a ‘well-known tech company’, but are always reluctant to tell you which one. Kibberd’s addiction to Monster Energy drinks reflected my own addiction to Diet Coke, so who knows, it may inspire me to write a memoir about Diet Coke in the future.
33. Caught by Harlan Coben
Seventeen-year-old Haley McWaid never gave her parents a moment’s worry. Until one morning her mother wakes to find that Haley didn’t come home the night before. Three months quickly pass without a word, and everyone assumes the worst. Wendy Tynes is a reporter on a mission: to identify and bring down sexual predators via televised sting operations. Her latest target is Dan Mercer, a social worker known as a friend to troubled teens. But his story soon becomes more complicated than Wendy could have imagined.
My rating: ★★★★
This is my third Harlan Coben book and just like the previous two that I’ve read, I thoroughly enjoyed. Coben writes detective/thriller novels so well with many twists and turns and chapter endings to keep you hooked and wanting to keep reading. I don’t know how Coben keeps churning out book after book to such high quality, but I’ll definitely keep reading.
34. Slay by Brittney Morris
By day, seventeen-year-old Kiera Johnson is a college student, and one of the only black kids at Jefferson Academy. By night, she joins hundreds of thousands of black gamers who duel worldwide in the secret online role-playing card game, SLAY. No one knows Kiera is the game developer – not even her boyfriend, Malcolm. But when a teen in Kansas City is murdered over a dispute in the SLAY world, the media labels it an exclusionist, racist hub for thugs. With threats coming from both inside and outside the game, Kiera must fight to save the safe space she’s created. But can she protect SLAY without losing herself?
My rating: ★★★★★
I picked this up in a Free Little Library in Edinburgh, and even though it seemed like a Young Adult-type fiction book, it intrigued me all the same. I was after some easy reading, after some heavy non-fiction and this is exactly what this offered. I got through the book rather quickly, and as expected there were a few parts of the book that were quite juvinile for a young audience, but the book still covered important topics about race and discrimination and the plot was different to what I’ve ever read before.
35. The Whole Marketer by Abigail Dixon (Gifted)
As marketing roles continue to evolve, expand and embrace the complexities of the modern world of business, marketers are under increasing pressure to perform as individuals and teams. The Whole Marketer argues that now is the time to take stock of technical skills required, examine the latest thinking, identify capability gaps and discover how to be fulfilled in a professional context and as a human. Abigail Dixon looks at functions of a marketing team through a lens of personal development. Her rich experience comes from leading marketing teams, and training hundreds of marketers at varied stages of their career to achieve formal qualifications. She is passionate to help marketers to be a better version of themselves tomorrow.
My rating: ★★★★
As an influencer marketer, I always find reading books about marketing extremely helpful as I start out on my career journey. The Whole Marketer couldn’t have come at a better time for me as I passed my probation at my new job. Even though I’ve only been there three months, it already feels like more than a year as I’ve settled in so quickly. The Whole Marketer outlines everything a marketer would need to understand the industry they have entered, but I will say that the booked lack information on digital marketing and social media/influencer marketing which are becoming huge sectors for the marketing industry.
36. Brooklyn by Colm Toibin
It is Ireland in the early 1950s and for Eilis Lacey, as for so many young Irish girls, opportunities are scarce. So when her sister arranges for her to emigrate to New York, Eilis knows she must go, leaving behind her family and her home for the first time. Arriving in a crowded lodging house in Brooklyn, Eilis can only be reminded of what she has sacrificed. She is far from home – and homesick. And just as she takes tentative steps towards friendship, and perhaps something more, Eilis receives news which sends her back to Ireland. There she will be confronted by a terrible dilemma – a devastating choice between duty and one great love.
My rating: ★★★★
I’m not usually one for reading books set back in the 1930s-1960s, except if it’s written by Fitzgerald, but I have to say I really enjoyed Brooklyn. Not that I’m pining for my life in New York (understatement) but it was really nice to read about places in Dublin that I recognized (they still exist today!), reading about Liverpool and then reading about Eilis’s life in Brooklyn. My two home cities plus my favourite place in Ireland, the book couldn’t have offered me much more really. Now I’m left wishing I was born back in the 1940s so I could get myself a green card.
37. Still Me by Jojo Moyes
Lou Clark knows too many things. . . She knows how many miles lie between her new home in New York and her new boyfriend Sam in London. She knows her employer is a good man and she knows his wife is keeping a secret from him. What Lou doesn’t know is she’s about to meet someone who’s going to turn her whole life upside down. Because Josh will remind her so much of a man she used to know that it’ll hurt. Lou won’t know what to do next, but she knows that whatever she chooses is going to change everything.
My rating: ★★★★
Are you sensing a theme here? The third book in the Me Before You series is set in New York, following Louisa Clark’s new life in the Upper East Side. Again, it was lovely to vividly picture everything mentioned in the book since I had been to most places. Although again I was left pining for life in New York, you do have to wonder how these fictional characters manage to nab a green card in five minutes. Another easy and enjoyable read by Jojo Moyes, I’m just sad the series has now come to an end.
38. The Island Child by Molly Aitken (Gifted)
Twenty years ago, Oona left the island of Inis for the very first time. A wind-blasted rock of fishing boats and turf fires, where girls stayed in their homes until they became mothers themselves, the island was a gift for some, a prison for others. The Island Child tells two stories: of the girl who grew up watching births and betrayals, storms and secrets, and of the adult Oona, desperate to find a second chance, only to discover she can never completely escape. As the strands of Oona’s life come together, in blood and marriage and motherhood, she must accept the price we pay when we love what is never truly ours…
My rating: ★★★
The Island Child was a beautifully written book telling the story of Oona as a young child and as a mother, with both young and old stories merging together towards the end. Parts reminded me of To Kill A Mockingbird, hearing the story told from the perspective of a troubled child, but it appears that those troubles led into Oona’s later life, after leaving Ireland for Canada. An intriguing book to say the least but I really enjoyed how the book was written.
39. The Guest List by Lucy Foley
On an island off the windswept Irish coast, guests gather for the wedding of the year – the marriage of Jules Keegan and Will Slater. Old friends. Past grudges. Happy families. Hidden jealousies. Thirteen guests. One body. The wedding cake has barely been cut when one of the guests is found dead. And as a storm unleashes its fury on the island, everyone is trapped. All have a secret. All have a motive. One guest won’t leave this wedding alive…
My rating: ★★★★
I don’t know what the odds would be of picking up this book and for it to be set on the same island off the west coast of Ireland that The Island Child was set, but I’d say they would be extremely high odds. Nevertheless, we find ourselves back on the remote island of Inis for Lucy Foley’s The Guest List.
40. Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam
Amanda and Clay head to a remote corner of Long Island expecting a holiday: a quiet reprieve from life in New York City, quality time with their teenage son and daughter and a taste of the good life in the luxurious home they’ve rented for the week. But with a late-night knock on the door, the spell is broken. Ruth and G. H., an older couple who claim to own the home, have arrived there in a panic. These strangers say that a sudden power outage has swept the city, and – with nowhere else to turn – they have come to the country in search of shelter. But with the TV and internet down, and no phone service, the facts are unknowable. Should Amanda and Clay trust this couple – and vice versa? What has happened back in New York? Is the holiday home, isolated from civilisation, a truly safe place for their families? And are they safe from one another?
My rating: ★★★
I had heard so many great things about this book and was really looking forward to being blown away, but I must admit that I simply wasn’t. The book had such a great plot that kept me reading constantly, but I feel like the ending just left the book a little high and dry. I got to the end and thought, ‘that’s it?’. I think the book had great premise to continue and I wouldn’t be surprised if this is turned into a TV series in the future, but I think the writers may want to change the ending a little.
41. Stay Close by Harlan Coben
A suburban wife and mother of two – with a dark and dangerous past. A promising photographer who now panders to celebrity-obsessed rich kids. A detective who can’t let go of a cold case… Three ordinary people, who discover that when the past refuses to stay buried, the American dream can be a nightmare…
My rating: ★★★★
Looks like I’m back to reading one Harlan Coben book per month… I really enjoy Harlan Coben’s writing and find his books incredibly easy to read but with twists and turns that I never expect. Stay Close was exactly that with surprising connection and ending that I didn’t expect. Now to tick off the rest of his books.
42. My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell
All he did was fall in love with me and the world turned him into a monster. An era-defining novel about the relationship between a fifteen-year-old girl and her teacher. Vanessa Wye was fifteen-years-old when she first had sex with her English teacher. She is now thirty-two and in the storm of allegations against powerful men in 2017, the teacher, Jacob Strane, has just been accused of sexual abuse by another former student. Vanessa is horrified by this news, because she is quite certain that the relationship she had with Strane wasn’t abuse. It was love. She’s sure of that. Forced to rethink her past, to revisit everything that happened, Vanessa has to redefine the great love story of her life – her great sexual awakening – as rape. Now she must deal with the possibility that she might be a victim, and just one of many.
My rating: ★★★★
This is one I’ve had on my shelf for quite a while after being influenced on Instagram to buy it. It wasn’t what I was expecting at all. It was twisted, creepy, a little weird but still an enjoyable read. I won’t give any spoilers, but I think I need to read Lolita to really understand what was going on in this book.
43. The Accidental Billionaires by Ben Mezrich
Eduardo Saverin and Mark Zuckerberg – an awkward maths prodigy and a painfully shy computer genius – were never going to fit in at elite, polished Harvard. Yet that all changed when master-hacker Mark crashed the university’s entire computer system by creating a rateable database of female students. Narrowly escaping expulsion, the two misfits refocused the site into something less controversial – ‘The Facebook’ – and watched as it spread like a wildfire across campuses around the country, along with their popularity. Yet amidst the dizzying levels of cash and glamour, as silicon valley, venture capitalists and reams of girls beckoned, the first cracks in their friendship started to appear, and what began as a simple argument spiralled into an out-and-out war. The great irony is that Facebook succeeded by bringing people together – but its very success tore two best friends apart.
My rating: ★★★
The story behind the movie, The Social Network and an insight into the life of Mark Zuckerberg when building Facebook. After reading No Filter back in April, I really wanted to read this to find out a little more about Mark Zuckerberg. Probably one of the most powerful people on the planet, and for such a young age, who knows what’s to come for the guy that runs the internet.
44. The Existence of Amy by Lana Grace Riva
Amy has a normal life. That is, if you were to go by a definition of ‘no obvious indicators of peculiarity’, and you didn’t know her very well. She has good friends, a good job, a nice enough home. This normality, however, is precariously plastered on top of a different life. A life that is Amy’s real life. The only one her brain will let her lead. A fictional story that depicts the reality of mental illness behind a perception of normality.
My rating: ★★★
The Existence of Amy really reminded me of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine that I read back in August last year. It covered the same kind of issues of anxiety and depression in the workplace and how people like Amy and Eleanor cope with other people and outside events. This book gave a great insight into the mind of someone with OCD and severe anxiety, which is something I haven’t come across that often. An enjoyable read for the summer.
45. Watching the Door by Kevin Myers
Watching the Door is the memoir of an ordinary young man who drifted into a war zone, made it his home and, somehow, emerged unscathed. After Kevin Myers graduated from university in 1969, a chance job application landed him a position as a journalist in Belfast. There, he was absorbed quickly into the local community. Soon he became privy to the secrets of Protestant and Catholic paramilitaries alike. In his darkly funny account of life on the streets, Myers evokes with searing clarity a society on the brink of civil war. His memoir is a remarkable portrait of those divisions, from the dedicated violence of loyalist gangs and provos to the behaviour of paratroopers, squaddies, Northern Ireland’s police force and the wider population. Raw, candid and courageous, Watching the Door recalls the bloodiest time in Northern Ireland’s recent past. It is a coming-of-age story like no other.
My rating: ★★★★
I think this is my third book about the Troubles this year, and again I picked this book up in a Little Free Library in Edinburgh of all places, just down the street from our AirBnB. I enjoyed the perspective from Kevin Myers who was an English journalist, studied in UCD Dublin and was stationed in Belfast to report for RTE. The book only covered two-three years of the Troubles and so didn’t give the full scope of what went on, but it was a good indication of the first few years and what initiated the next 20 or so years. I would definitely recommend for a perspective from both sides, and an outsider.
46. Run Away by Harlan Coben
You’ve lost your daughter. She’s addicted to drugs and to an abusive boyfriend. And she’s made it clear that she doesn’t want to be found. Then, quite by chance, you see her busking in New York’s Central Park. But she’s not the girl you remember. This woman is wasted, frightened and clearly in trouble. You don’t stop to think. You approach her, beg her to come home. She runs. And you follow her into a dark and dangerous world you never knew existed. Where criminal gangs rule, where drugs are the main currency, and murder is commonplace. Now it’s your life on the line. And nowhere and no one is safe.
My rating: ★★★★★
You’ll notice that Harlan Coben has started popping up more regularly in my monthly reviews as I keep coming across more and more of his books in charity shops and snapping them up. I really enjoy his writing with so many unexpected twists and turns, as well as some reappearing characters and the fact that all of his books seem to be set in New York/New Jersey. Run Away in particular was full of twists, gore and unexpected endings. Thoroughly enjoyed.
47. The Canning Town Murder by Mike Hollow
September, 1940. As the Blitz takes its nightly toll on London and Hitler prepares his invasion fleet just across the Channel in occupied France, Britain is full of talk about enemy agents. Suspicion is at an all time high and no one is sure who can be trusted. In Canning Town, rescue workers are unsettled when they return to a damaged street and discover a body that shouldn’t be there. When closer examination of the corpse reveals death by strangling, Detective Inspector John Jago is called upon to investigate. But few seem to really care about the woman’s death, not even her family. As Jago digs deeper he starts to uncover a trail of deception, betrayal, and romantic entanglements.
My rating: ★★★
I received The Canning Town Murder in a Christmas box (I know, I’m a bit late) but it’s actually book number 2 in a series. However, it didn’t actually take away from the book at all. I did find it a bit freaky that while I was reading this, we found our apartment for London and our nearest tube stop is Canning Town… anyway, the book is set back in World War II and is every bit London/Cockney as you’d expect. I enjoyed, but found the characters a little confusing and the ending a little bit expected.
48. The Country Village Summer Fete by Cathy Lake (Gifted)
Emma Patrick’s life is spiralling out of control. On the cusp of her 50th birthday, she realises that she’s been so focused on work that she’s lost any real connection to people. When Emma’s ageing father needs her help, she decides to go back home to the countryside to spend some time with him. But returning to Little Bramble after years away is filled with complications and people she’d rather avoid. To her surprise, as Emma settles in she finds herself loving village life. When the opportunity to get involved in the running of the summer fête comes her way, soon she’s embracing jam making, cake baking and bunting. And with romance brewing, Emma begins to doubt the glamorous city life that she worked so hard to build…
My rating: ★★★
This is the perfect summer read for the beach or a lounger by the pool. It did remind me a little bit of The Switch by Beth O’Leary as it centres around a woman leaving the hustle and bustle of London to return to her little village and falling in love with someone from her past. Quite cliche, but still a lovely read for summer.
49. The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley
Everyone’s invited. Everyone’s a suspect. Bristling with tension, bitter rivalries, and toxic friendships, get ready for the most hotly-anticipated thriller of 2019. In a remote hunting lodge, deep in the Scottish wilderness, old friends gather for New Year. The beautiful one, the golden couple, the volatile one, the new parents, the quiet one, the city boy, the outsider. The victim. Not an accident – a murder among friends.
My rating: ★★★★
I really enjoyed The Guest List by Lucy Foley, so had high expectations for The Hunting Party. One thing I noticed right away was that it was laid out very similar to The Guest List, where an event has taken place and the book tells the story from the run-up to the event but also mixed in with the post-event happenings. And that each chapter is told from a different perspective. It’s very Agatha Christie/whodunnit kind of book, but it really makes you engage with the characters and try to suss out who the guilty person is. I really hope she continues to bring out some similar books in the future.
50. Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty
Six responsible adults. Three cute kids. One small dog. It’s just a normal weekend. What could possibly go wrong? Sam and Clementine have a wonderful, albeit, busy life: they have two little girls, Sam has just started a new dream job, and Clementine, a cellist, is busy preparing for the audition of a lifetime. If there’s anything they can count on, it’s each other. Clementine and Erika are each other’s oldest friends. A single look between them can convey an entire conversation. But theirs is a complicated relationship, so when Erika mentions a last minute invitation to a barbecue with her neighbors, Tiffany and Vid, Clementine and Sam don’t hesitate. Having Tiffany and Vid’s larger than life personalities there will be a welcome respite. Two months later, it won’t stop raining, and Clementine and Sam can’t stop asking themselves the question: What if we hadn’t gone?
My rating: ★★★★
I usually make my way through Liane Moriarty’s books with lightening speed, but I will admit it took me over two weeks to finish this – probably the longest I’ve taken to read a book all year! However, I do think recently moving to London had a lot to do with this and not because the book was hard to read. This is the third Liane Moriarty book I’ve read and I will say that I probably preferred the previous two more (Big Little Lies and The Husband’s Secret) however, there were many twists and turns that I loved in this book and just when you thought you knew the whole story, something else was revealed to change that.
51. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig (Gifted)
Between life and death there is a library.When Nora Seed finds herself in the Midnight Library, she has a chance to make things right. Up until now, her life has been full of misery and regret. She feels she has let everyone down, including herself. But things are about to change. The books in the Midnight Library enable Nora to live as if she had done things differently. With the help of an old friend, she can now undo every one of her regrets as she tries to work out her perfect life. But things aren’t always what she imagined they’d be, and soon her choices place the library and herself in extreme danger. Before time runs out, she must answer the ultimate question: what is the best way to live?
My rating: ★★★★★
I had seen this book everywhere on social media and had also heard quite a lot of mixed reviews (but mostly 5/5 ratings) and was very grateful to have been gifted a review copy by the team at Canongate. I loved this book. I read it over three days and fully related to the messages within the book and I think it’s a very important book for our time. Thinking of everything your life could be instead of making the most of the one you have is where most of us are going wrong. Realising that every small decision you make each day alters the course of your life completely is quite something to wrap your head around, but is so, so true.
52. The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg (Gifted)
The Power of Habit makes an exhilarating case: the key to almost any door in life is instilling the right habit. From exercise to weight loss, childrearing to productivity, market disruption to social revolution, and above all success, the right habits can change everything. Habits aren’t destiny. They’re science, one which can transform our businesses, our communities, and our lives.
My rating: ★★★★
After reading Atomic Habits by James Clear and that book then changing my life forever, I had very high hopes for this book The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg to also change my life. However, The Power of Habit looks at the science behind habits and why it is we have habits, how they form and how we can change them. This wasn’t so much a self-help book, but instead showed how companies, people and leaders have changed the habits of people around them over the years and how you can alter your habits and those that you surround yourself with. It was a great insight into the science behind a habit and if I ever come across a bad habit that I have (hello, this is your friend Diet Coke calling) then I will know how to notice the cue, change my action and still reap the reward.
53. The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri
In the midst of war, he found love. In the midst of darkness, he found courage. In the midst of tragedy, he found hope. Nuri is a beekeeper; his wife, Afra, an artist. They live a simple life, rich in family and friends, in the beautiful Syrian city of Aleppo – until the unthinkable happens. When all they care for is destroyed by war, they are forced to escape. As Nuri and Afra travel through a broken world, they must confront not only the pain of their own unspeakable loss, but dangers that would overwhelm the bravest of souls. Above all – and perhaps this is the hardest thing they face – they must journey to find each other again.
My rating: ★★★★★
The book tells the story of a Syrian husband and wife making their journey to the UK to seek asylum. We often see and hear news stories of refugees coming to the UK on small life rafts, with stories of others who weren’t successful in their journey. Reading this story from the Syrian couple’s point of view really details the trials and difficulties that these people go through and why they leave their countries to come to the UK. This is one of the reasons I love to read, as it opens your eyes to other worlds and other lives that are so different to your own that we are often oblivious or ignorant to. Hugely recommend reading this.
54. Nobody’s Perfect by Stephanie Butland (Gifted)
When her daughter was born with cystic fibrosis, Kate Micklethwaite vowed that Daisy would never be defined by her health issues. Kate is determined that her perfect little girl will be known for her love of butterflies, croissants and bouncing on trampolines, not for her condition. Kate does all she can to be the perfect mother – whatever that means – and yet, somehow, has started seeing herself the way others see her: single parent, source of small-town scandal, drop-out, former mistress. Half a family. When Daisy starts school, Kate meets her new teacher, the kind and charming Mr Spencer Swanson. Now, with more time on her hands Kate can finally start thinking about her own future. With her Open University dissertation deadline looming, Kate needs to decide what she wants next. But as she and Spencer get to know each other, Kate notices that people are whispering behind her back once more…
My rating: ★★★★
I didn’t know anything about Cystic Fibrosis before reading this book, but I’m now much more educated on the condition. I thought this book was going to take more of a twisted turn than it did, so I would say I was a little disappointed as it could have turned into a thriller-type novel but I don’t think that was intended for the plot. This might be because I’m watching the new series of You at the minute. However, the book was a lovely read to see from the point of view of a mother with a child who has CF and wants her to live as normal a life as possible. However, I will say that the love interest was showing too many red flags for my liking and I’m not a fan of how the book ended – but I won’t spoil it for you.
55. Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney
Alice, a novelist, meets Felix, who works in a distribution warehouse, and asks him if he’d like to travel to Rome with her. In Dublin, her best friend Eileen is getting over a break-up, and slips back into flirting with Simon, a man she has known since childhood. Alice, Felix, Eileen and Simon are still young—but life is catching up with them. They desire each other, they delude each other, they get together, they break apart. They have sex, they worry about sex, they worry about their friendships and the world they live in. Are they standing in the last lighted room before the darkness, bearing witness to something? Will they find a way to believe in a beautiful world?
My rating: ★★
Ok, unpopular opinion – this was awful. I gave it two stars as the writing at points is quite beautiful and I could tell Sally Rooney was almost writing about herself at times through one of the characters. However, I was confused at the beginning as to who was who, who was living where and who the male characters were. There was no real plot to the story and there was a lot of NSFW content which I felt quite awkward reading on the tube, I won’t lie. I highly doubt this will be made into any series/movie any time soon as quite frankly, nothing really happens other than looking at people in their mid-twenties/thirties navigate their quite boring and ordinary love lives. This is what Sally Rooney is known for, and she does really delve into her characters quite well but the lack of quotation marks didn’t work for me in this book and nor did the story in general.
56. Dreams From My Father by Barack Obama (Gifted)
The son of a white American mother and a Black Kenyan father, Obama was born in Hawaii, where he lived until he was six years old, when he moved with his mother and stepfather to Indonesia. At twelve, he returned to Hawaii to live with his grandparents. Obama brings readers along as he faces the challenges of high school and college, living in New York, becoming a community organizer in Chicago, and traveling to Kenya. Through these experiences, he forms an enduring commitment to leadership and justice. Told through the lens of his relationships with his family—the mother and grandparents who raised him, the father he knows more as a myth than as a man, and the extended family in Kenya he meets for the first time—Obama confronts the complicated truth of his father’s life and legacy and comes to embrace his divided heritage. On his journey to adulthood from a humble background, he forges his own path through trial and error while staying connected to his roots. Barack Obama is determined to lead a life of purpose, service, and authenticity. This powerful memoir will inspire readers to examine both where they come from and where they are capable of going.
My rating: ★★★★
I was so excited when this landed in the mailroom for me as I’ve been wanting to read this ever since reading Becoming by Michelle Obama. I have A Promised Land on my bookshelf but have you seen the size of the book? Intimidating. So this was a much gentler introduction to the writing of Barack Obama and learning about his upbringing, childhood and family. If you’re a fan of Obama you’ll really enjoy this book and the tales within it. It’s extremely interesting to learn how and where he grew up and the people he met along the way before getting into politics (which the book doesn’t really cover).
57. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now? Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband has left her, and her professional life is going nowhere. Regardless of why Evelyn has selected her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career. Summoned to Evelyn’s luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story. From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the ‘80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way, Evelyn unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love. Monique begins to feel a very real connection to the legendary star, but as Evelyn’s story near its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways.
My rating: ★★★★★
This may have been my favourite book of 2021. Even though this book is a work of fiction, I really wish it wasn’t. I wish this powerhouse Evelyn Hugo really did exist and I could delve further into the news articles and stories as well as her acting career. This is the most beautiful love story between two people amidst seven marriages and a very famous life in Hollywood. I hope this is turned into a movie or TV series because I’ll be right there on my sofa when it’s released on Netflix. Make sure you read this as soon as possible!
58. How to Save A Life: The Inside Story of Grey’s Anatomy by Lynette Rice (Gifted)
A cultural touchstone, it introduced the unique voice and vision of Shonda Rhimes, it made Ellen Pompeo, Sandra Oh and T.R. Knight household names, and injected words and phrases into the cultural lexicon like ‘McDreamy,’ and ‘you’re my person.’ And the behind-the-scenes drama has always been just as juicy as what was happening in front of the camera, from the high-profile firing of Isaiah Washington to Katherine Heigl’s fall from grace and Patrick Dempsey’s shocking death episode. The show continued to haemorrhage key players, but the beloved hospital series never skipped a beat. Lynette Rice’s How to Save A Life takes a deep dive into the show’s humble start, while offering exclusive intel on the behind-the-scenes culture, the most heartbreaking departures and the more polarizing plotlines. It’s the perfect gift for all Grey’s Anatomy stans out there.
My rating: ★★★★
This caused another ‘oh my God!’ reaction when I received it in the post room. My favourite TV show of all time (so good I’m making my boyfriend rewatch with me from season one – yes I know it’s a feat, but a feat I’m happy to dive into over these oncoming winter months) has been wrapped up in a book full of interviews and quotes from everyone involved in the show. From actors to writers, to producers, to reporters, extras, to anyone that had any involvement with the show over the last fifteen or more years. I learnt a lot about what happened behind the scenes, why certain people were fired or axed from the show and surprising to me, a lot of relationships off screen that weren’t too pleasant. If you like Grey’s Anatomy, I would definitely recommend this to find out so much more!
59. The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet weekly in the Jigsaw Room to discuss unsolved crimes; together they call themselves The Thursday Murder Club. Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron might be pushing eighty but they still have a few tricks up their sleeves. When a local developer is found dead with a mysterious photograph left next to the body, the Thursday Murder Club suddenly find themselves in the middle of their first live case. As the bodies begin to pile up, can our unorthodox but brilliant gang catch the killer, before it’s too late?
My rating: ★★★
I have seen this book everywhere over the past year, so finally had to get my hands on it. Richard Osman is currently sitting at number one and two in the bookseller’s charts with his second edition of this series seemingly another roaring success. I have heard however, that the second book is better than the first so did go into this read a little apprehensive. It took a while to get into, but I was eager to keep reading halfway through and to work out the answers. A classic ‘who-dunnit’ read starring some pensioners which did make it laugh out loud funny at parts. A wholesome and easy read.
60. The Understudy by David Nicholls
For Josh Harper, being in show-business means everything he ever wanted – money, fame, a beautiful wife, and a lead role on the London stage. For Stephen C. McQueen, it means a disastrous career playing passers-by and dead people. Stephen is stuck with an unfortunate name, a hopeless agent, a daughter he barely knows, and a job as understudy to Josh Harper, the 12th Sexiest Man in the World. And when Stephen falls in love with Josh’s clever, funny wife Nora, things get even more difficult. But might there yet be a way for Stephen to get his Big Break?
My rating: ★★★
Since I finished The Thursday Murder club on Friday morning, a few days before the end of the month, I needed a quick read that would fit in just before November started. Add in that the weekend was spent in Cardiff, I didn’t have high hopes in finishing the book, however, a three hour train journey each way was just the right amount of time to consumer The Understudy. This book was a light-hearted easy read about working in the arts industry and life not living up to expectations. I could imagine watching this on screen as a quirky romcom on a Sunday afternoon starring Emilia Clarke and Hugh Grant. Didn’t knock my socks off, but was a pleasant read all the same.
61. The Coward by Jarred McGinnis (Gifted)
After a car accident Jarred discovers he’ll never walk again. Confined to a ‘giant roller-skate’, he finds himself with neither money nor job. Worse still, he’s forced to live back home with the father he hasn’t spoken to in ten years. Add in a shoplifting habit, an addiction to painkillers and the fact that total strangers now treat him like he’s an idiot, it’s a recipe for self-destruction. How can he stop himself careering out of control? As he tries to piece his life together again, he looks back over his past – the tragedy that blasted his family apart, why he ran away, the damage he’s caused himself and others – and starts to wonder whether, maybe, things don’t always have to stay broken after all.
My rating: ★★★★
I really enjoyed this book, but the one thing it did leave me with one huge question. The author and main character in the book, share the same name – but is this a work of fiction, or a memoir of sorts? The book follows Jarred coming to terms with life in a wheelchair after a car accident and having to move back home with his dad who he doesn’t have a great relationship. There are many questions to be answered throughout the book as to why Jarred left home when he was younger, what happened to his mother, who the girl in the car was and other happenings in his life before the accident. The book is full of wit and sarcasm (I did laugh out loud a few times), but also touches on really sad and emotional subjects. I would definitely recommend!
62. Circe by Madeline Miller
In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. Circe is strange – not powerful and terrible, like her father, nor gorgeous and mercenary like her mother. But she has a dark power of her own: witchcraft. When Circe’s gift threatens the gods, she is banished to the island of Aiaia where she hones her occult craft, casting spells, gathering strange herbs and taming wild beasts. Yet a woman who stands alone cannot live in peace for long – and among her island’s guests is an unexpected visitor: the mortal Odysseus, for whom Circe will risk everything.
My rating: ★★
Wow, was I glad when I finished this book. I was almost tempted to give the book one star, but considering I finished the book, I edged it up to a two star. I have seen this book everywhere on TikTok and Instagram, and especially Madeline Miller’s other book The Song of Achilles which I also bought based on the hype on social media. After reading Circe, I’m tempted to put The Song of Achilles on the bottom of my 50+ to-be-read pile. Madeline Miller is known for writing about Greek mythology, but in a modern and fictitious way, so I did really enjoy learning a little bit more about Greek mythology but there were just so many names, a lot happening at once, then nothing for a while, then a lot, and it was very hard to keep up and know who was who, and where we were at in the book. I didn’t enjoy the book at all, but if you’ve read it – let me know what you think!
63. It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover
Sometimes it is the one who loves you who hurts you the most. Lily hasn’t always had it easy, but that’s never stopped her from working hard for the life she wants. She’s come a long way from the small town in Maine where she grew up — she graduated from college, moved to Boston, and started her own business. So when she feels a spark with a gorgeous neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid, everything in Lily’s life suddenly seems almost too good to be true. As questions about her new relationship overwhelm her, so do thoughts of Atlas Corrigan — her first love and a link to the past she left behind. He was her kindred spirit, her protector. When Atlas suddenly reappears, everything Lily has built with Ryle is threatened.
My rating: ★★★★★
I really enjoyed It Ends With Us, but I think this is more young adult fiction than adult fiction and if you changed the characters in this to members of One Direction, it would just be like reading fanfiction back when I was 13, so I can see why it’s very hyped on TikTok. But I did enjoy it. And I may have another three of her books on my shelf.
64. The Girl With the Louding Voice by Abi Dare
All you have are your words. Meet Adunni, a teenage girl born into a rural Nigerian village. Aged fourteen, she is a commodity, a wife, a servant. She is also smart, funny, curious, with a spirit and joy infectious to those around her. And despite her situation going from bad to worse, she has a plan to escape: she will find her ‘louding voice’ and get her education, so that she can speak up for herself – and all the girls who came before her. As she turns enemies into friends and superiors into aides, Adunni will take you with her on a heart-breaking but inspiring journey from a small village to the wealthy enclaves of Lagos, and show you that no matter the situation, there is always some joy to be found.
My rating: ★★★★★
This is one that I’ve been wanting to read for a while. The Girl With the Louding Voice follows a girl in a Nigerian village, who is set to marry at the age of 14. However, Adunni wants to be educated and make her own way in the world and speak up against what is wrong. The story follows her journey to making a better life for herself and all that she has to endure to get there. A great book that looks at life in Nigeria and one that I would very much recommend.
65. Hag-Seed by Margaret Atwood
Felix is at the top of his game as Artistic Director of the Makeshiweg Theatre Festival. His productions have amazed and confounded. Now he’s staging a Tempest like no other: not only will it boost his reputation, it will heal emotional wounds. Or that was the plan. Instead, after an act of unforeseen treachery, Felix is living in exile in a backwoods hovel, haunted by memories of his beloved lost daughter, Miranda. And also brewing revenge. After twelve years, revenge finally arrives in the shape of a theatre course at a nearby prison. Here, Felix and his inmate actors will put on his Tempest and snare the traitors who destroyed him. It’s magic! But will it remake Felix as his enemies fall?
My rating: ★★★
I had two Margaret Atwood books on my shelf, Hag-Seed and The Testaments. I do need to get my hands on The Handmaid’s Tale, but for now I will start with these two. Hag-Seed was the shorter option, so I chose to dive in first with this one. The story follows Felix, a theatre director who has been let go from his position and feeling like he can’t show his face again, goes to live in the middle of nowhere before taking a job at a prison, working with inmates to teach them theatre. This is a story about revenge, insanity and holding a very large grudge. I will say that I learnt a lot about Shakespeare’s The Tempest and it was an easy read, however I don’t think it’s one of the best books I’ve ever read and I may hold off on The Testaments a little while longer.
66. November 9 by Colleen Hoover
Fallon meets Ben, an aspiring novelist, the day before her scheduled cross-country move. Their untimely attraction leads them to spend Fallon’s last day in L.A. together, and her eventful life becomes the creative inspiration Ben has always sought for his novel. Over time and amidst the various relationships and tribulations of their own separate lives, they continue to meet on the same date every year. Until one day Fallon becomes unsure if Ben has been telling her the truth or fabricating a perfect reality for the sake of the ultimate plot twist. Can Ben’s relationship with Fallon—and simultaneously his novel—be considered a love story if it ends in heartbreak?
My rating: ★★★★
Oh look, it’s Colleen Hoover again. I really liked the concept of this book, however I will say that once again this felt very fanfiction/a young adult style of writing. It was extremely cheesy, and at times I did almost gag at some of the lines in the book, but isn’t that Wattpad for you? I mean, the books are incredibly easy to read and I can sit and read the whole thing in one sitting, so I did enjoy it. I just don’t think these books are going to win any Pulitzer Prizes any time soon. But I’ll still read and enjoy them.
67. Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
Lydia is dead. But they don’t know this yet. So begins this exquisite novel about a Chinese American family living in 1970s small-town Ohio. Lydia is the favourite child of Marilyn and James Lee, and her parents are determined that she will fulfil the dreams they were unable to pursue. But when Lydia’s body is found in the local lake, the delicate balancing act that has been keeping the Lee family together is destroyed, tumbling them into chaos.
My rating: ★★★★
I picked this up as I had read Celeste Ng’s Little Fires Everywhere last year and enjoyed it – I still need to watch the TV series. I think I preferred this book a lot more as I feel the characters went a lot deeper and you really got to know each individual very well which led to understanding their actions later in the book. It’s almost a murder mystery, trying to figure out why and how Lydia died, but also a story of family and loss and being a parent.
68. Text Me When You Get Home by Kayleen Schaefer
After joyful nights out together, female friends say this to one another as a way of cementing their love. It’s about safety but, more than that, it’s about solidarity. A validation of female friendship unlike any that’s ever existed before, Text Me When You Get Home is a mix of historical research, the author’s own personal experience, and conversations about friendships with women across the country. Everything Schaefer uncovers reveals that these ties are making us, both as individuals and as society as a whole, stronger than ever before.
My rating: ★★★★
I picked this up in a charity second-hand bookshop right next to my office for £3. I thought the title of this book was very appropriate in regards to recent events and campaigns, particularly in London, so I was very intrigued to read it. The book wasn’t entirely about women’s safety, although it did touch on this at the beginning of the book, but more-so about female friendships and looking back at how women stayed in touch and the role of a woman, mother and her friends over the years. It was an extremely thought-provoking book for me and one that has created a few ideas for blog posts that I’m going to write over the next few months. I would really recommend this book to get you thinking about the relationships and friendships in your life. I would almost consider this a self-help book in a strange, roundabout way.
69. Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo
Camino Rios lives for the summers when her father visits her in the Dominican Republic. But this time, on the day when his plane is supposed to land, Camino arrives at the airport to see crowds of crying people… In New York City, Yahaira Rios is called to the principal’s office, where her mother is waiting to tell her that her father, her hero, has died in a plane crash. Separated by distance—and Papi’s secrets—the two girls are forced to face a new reality in which their father is dead and their lives are forever altered. And then, when it seems like they’ve lost everything of their father, they learn of each other.
My rating: ★★★★★
Clap When You Land is one of my first library books and what a book to start with. It didn’t help that I was quite confused until over 100 pages in when I realised there were two people telling the story (note to reader: read the blurb before beginning). The book is written in poetry form, so I was able to read the entire book in one day. It’s a unique way of writing that I haven’t yet come across, but it tells the story so well and there were so many well written verses that made me stop and re-read. A book I would thoroughly recommend (it’s also Young Adult).
70. Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
For a while, Daisy Jones & The Six were everywhere. Their albums were on every turntable, they sold out arenas from coast to coast, their sound defined an era. And then, on 12 July 1979, they split. Nobody ever knew why. Until now. They were lovers and friends and brothers and rivals. They couldn’t believe their luck, until it ran out. This is their story of the early days and the wild nights, but everyone remembers the truth differently. The only thing they all know for sure is that from the moment Daisy Jones walked barefoot, on to the stage at the Whisky, the band were irrevocably changed. Making music is never just about the music. And sometimes it can be hard to tell where the sound stops and the feelings begin.
My rating: ★★★★★
Ok, I’m obsessed with Taylor Jenkins Reid. Give me any of her books and I will sit down and try to read in one sitting. Like The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Daisy Jones & The Six is apparently loosely based on celebrities (this time, Fleetwood Mac) and knowing this just makes you so much more invested in the story and wishing it really was a biography. I’m so glad that this is being made into a TV series or movie soon as I can’t wait to see it come to life on screen. One of my favourite reads this year for sure.
71. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Set in the deep American South between the wars, The Color Purple is the classic tale of Celie, a young black girl born into poverty and segregation. Raped repeatedly by the man she calls ‘father’, she has two children taken away from her, is separated from her beloved sister Nettie and is trapped into an ugly marriage. But then she meets the glamorous Shug Avery, singer and magic-maker – a woman who has taken charge of her own destiny. Gradually Celie discovers the power and joy of her own spirit, freeing her from her past and reuniting her with those she loves.
My rating: ★★★★
I found this in my local library and instantly recognised the name, although didn’t know the storyline or the year that it was written. The Color Purple centers around poverty and slavery in the south of America in the 1900s, but also shows what a force women can be when they fight for themselves in terms of education, being treated fairly and wanting a better life for themselves. A great book, especially for its time.
72. The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood
As a third-year Ph.D. candidate, Olive Smith doesn’t believe in lasting romantic relationships–but her best friend does, and that’s what got her into this situation. Convincing Anh that Olive is dating and well on her way to a happily ever after was always going to take more than hand-wavy Jedi mind tricks: Scientists require proof. So, like any self-respecting biologist, Olive panics and kisses the first man she sees. That man is none other than Adam Carlsen, a young hotshot professor–and well-known ass. Which is why Olive is positively floored when Stanford’s reigning lab tyrant agrees to keep her charade a secret and be her fake boyfriend. But when a big science conference goes haywire, putting Olive’s career on the Bunsen burner, Adam surprises her again with his unyielding support and even more unyielding… six-pack abs. Suddenly their little experiment feels dangerously close to combustion. And Olive discovers that the only thing more complicated than a hypothesis on love is putting her own heart under the microscope.
My rating: ★★★
This was another one of my Booktok purchases and I think this will be the end of me buying books based on teen TikTokers and stick to my usual book guru of Jack Edwards on YouTube. Once again, it was like reading fanfiction on Wattpad and it reminded me of Grey’s Anatomy, were the characters still in Medical school. It was just too predictable and lovey-dovey for me, but if you like a cliche romance novel, look no further.
73. Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover
When Tate Collins meets airline pilot Miles Archer, she knows it isn’t love at first sight. They wouldn’t even go so far as to consider themselves friends. The only thing Tate and Miles have in common is an undeniable mutual attraction. Once their desires are out in the open, they realize they have the perfect set-up. He doesn’t want love, she doesn’t have time for love, so that just leaves the sex. Their arrangement could be surprisingly seamless, as long as Tate can stick to the only two rules Miles has for her. Never ask about the past. Don’t expect a future. They think they can handle it, but realize almost immediately they can’t handle it at all.
My rating: ★★★★
Ok, so this is my third Colleen Hoover book, after I bought quite a few based on TikTok recommendations (lol) and once again, you can tell the exact audience that Colleen Hoover is writing for. I feel like Colleen Hoover is the Danielle Steele for the younger generation, churning out books as quickly as teens are running to the stores to buy them. Don’t get me wrong, I did enjoy it and Colleen Hoover does write very well to make you want to keep reading, it just had me retching at some of the gooey lines at all which I don’t think I will ever hear uttered in real life (or would I want to).
74. Conversations With Friends by Sally Rooney
Frances, Bobbi, Nick and Melissa ask each other endless questions. As their relationships unfold, in person and online, they discuss sex and friendship, art and literature, politics and gender, and, of course, one another. Twenty-one-year-old Frances is at the heart of it all, bringing us this tale of a complex menage-a-quatre and her affair with Nick, an older married man.
My rating: ★★★
My love affair with Sally Rooney continues. I’ve now read all of Sally Rooney’s novels and like Beautiful World, Where Are You, I just didn’t really get this one either. It was all just a bit boring for my liking since the plot didn’t really go anywhere. But, as I’ve said before, apparently this is a theme with Sally Rooney’s writing in that she doesn’t go for plot but really goes for character development and you can see that in the writing as all of her work is beautifully written. For me, I much prefer a book that has a great plot line that will keep me reading a book and not wanting to put it down, not the opposite where I don’t want to pick the book back up again.
75. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
The Bell Jar chronicles the crack-up of Esther Greenwood: brilliant, beautiful, enormously talented, and successful, but slowly going under—maybe for the last time. Sylvia Plath masterfully draws the reader into Esther’s breakdown with such intensity that Esther’s insanity becomes completely real and even rational, as probable and accessible an experience as going to the movies. Such deep penetration into the dark and harrowing corners of the psyche is an extraordinary accomplishment and has made The Bell Jar a haunting American classic.
My rating: ★★★★
The Bell Jar doesn’t have the most upbeat plot, but for this book written in the 1960’s, it was well ahead of its time writing about women with depression, thoughts of suicide, their future careers and the treatment of mental health in asylums and with shock therapy and lobotomies. It’s a hugely insightful book for anyone that’s interested in mental health and how it was handled years ago in America.
76. One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston
For cynical twenty-three-year-old August, moving to New York City is supposed to prove her right: that things like magic and cinematic love stories don’t exist, and the only smart way to go through life is alone. She can’t imagine how waiting tables at a 24-hour pancake diner and moving in with too many weird roommates could possibly change that. And there’s certainly no chance of her subway commute being anything more than a daily trudge through boredom and electrical failures. But then, there’s this gorgeous girl on the train.
My rating: ★★★★
This was a book I had seen recommended on Good Reads quite a lot and I just happened to stumble upon it in a Little Free Library in Brooklyn. The storyline for this book wasn’t anything I expected and I think this is what kept drawing me back to reading the book every day. It’s a unique book in the way that it’s told, but I also loved the parts about Brooklyn and where the Q train travels to since I hopped on and off of it when I was in New York a few days ago.
77. The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger
When Andrea first sets foot in the plush Manhattan offices of Runway she knows nothing. She’s never heard of the world’s most fashionable magazine, or its feared and fawned-over editor, Miranda Priestly – her new boss. A year later, she knows altogether too much: That it’s a sacking offence to wear anything lower than a three-inch heel to work. That you can charge cars, manicures, anything at all to the Runway account, but you must never, ever, leave your desk, or let Miranda’s coffee get cold. And that at 3 a.m. on a Sunday, when your boyfriend’s dumping you because you’re always at work, if Miranda phones, you jump. But this is Andrea’s big break – it’s going to be worth it in the end. Isn’t it?
My rating: ★★★★
A title that won’t be unfamiliar to anyone, this is one that I definitely wanted to read in New York since the entire book was set in New York, mentioning different locations, streets, buildings and restaurants that I could wander around while reading the book. I was quite surprised that the book was quite different from the movie with the order of events, some characters and names had all been changed but the main characters of Andrea and Miranda were identical to the movie which I did like.
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