The joy and simplicity of the act of reading a book cannot be disputed. Whether it’s sitting in the sun, sipping an ice cold Diet Coke, or curled up on the couch while the rain falls outside, a book is the ultimate companion. It’s sturdy, it’s reliable, and it’s an ever-giving source of entertainment, knowledge. Sometimes, it’s an escape.
We’re bringing you a monthly series of some books we know you’d love; whether you’re an avid and dedicated bookworm or a reluctant reader eager to stretch those reading muscles of yours… we’ve got something for you.
Plus, we’ve given you a quote from each book to entice you to read more.
Giovanni’s Room, James Baldwin
Published in 1956, Giovanni’s Room by legendary Black American author James Baldwin turned the literary world on its head. This fictional tale, set in the 1950s, follows the events of a young American man living in Paris, navigating masculinity, romance and identity – particularly when he meets an Italian bartender named Giovanni.
When the book was sent to a publisher, it was rejected. A story about white men by a Black man was considered unreadable material.
There’s a reason this book has made many must-read lists and has been deemed as one of the most influential novels of the 20th century. Baldwin taps into concepts such as toxic and fragile masculinity, the fluidity of sexuality (particularly, bisexuality in men) and cultural contrasts between American and European attitudes of that time. (pub. 1956, 224 pages).
Who’d Like This?
An essential read for absolutely anyone, but those looking for LGBTQIA+ fiction from the 20th century would particularly enjoy it.
Quote
“Perhaps he is a fool or a coward but almost everybody is one or the other and most people are both.”
My Year of Rest and Relaxation, Ottessa Moshfegh
If you’re an up-to-date or new novel lover, then definitely you’ve heard of this book; and if you aren’t a very frequent reader but know someone who is – then you’ve definitely heard of this book.
American born, Croatian and Iranian Moshfegh has been on the scene since 2015, since the release of her debut novel Eileen. Known for her unapologetically dislikeable, layered and disgustingly honest female characters, My Year of Rest and Relaxation sees Moshfegh shine in a novel unlike any other out there.
Readers get a deep, uncensored and at times, uncomfortable glimpse of the life of a young woman who seemingly has everything. It’s the year 2000, and a recent Columbia graduate working in a hip art gallery and living in a paid-for apartment in the Upper East Side, decides to embark on a year of rest and relaxation. How? By our narrator’s mix of drugs, alcohol and lack of desire for a world that seemingly has given her everything – but has taken everything too, including her parents.
It’s a dark tale, but one I couldn’t put down, desperate to see the toxic and sadomasochistic relationship between our narrator and her supposed best friend, her run-ins with her misogynistic Wall Street boyfriend – or the next mental or physical extreme she’s willing to take to simply just rest. (pub. 2018, 289 pages).
Who’d Like This?
A read for those prepared to sink their teeth into a dark, witty but tender novel that will leave you contemplating what the hell you’ve just read for the next week.
It’s also a great one for those who love dark and unhinged female protagonists.
Quote
“Sleep felt productive. Something was getting sorted out. I knew in my heart—this was, perhaps, the only thing my heart knew back then—that when I’d slept enough, I’d be okay. I’d be renewed, reborn. I would be a whole new person, every one of my cells regenerated enough times that the old cells were just distant, foggy memories.”
Life Ceremony, Sayaka Murata
Sayaka Murata is one of the most exciting authors of the past few years. The Japanese author has won four awards since her first release in 2003 and is known for challenging taboos in her work. Her work focuses on nonconformity and how its consequences differ between men and woman, as well asexuality and the complexities of gender roles.
Life Ceremony is Murata’s first collection of short stories to ever to be translated into English, and features twelve unique, unusual and at times terrifying fiction stories.
The stories focus on individuals who feel alone or are deemed as outcasts, while turning traditions on their head and making readers question what truly is “normal”.
In these short stories, horror, humour and human understanding are amalgamated to create a snapshot of other worlds that draw you in – and in less than 20 pages, too. Favourite stories were Hatchling, The Time of the Large Star and Eating the City. (pub. 2019, 256 pages).
Who’d Like This?
If you haven’t read in a while and feeling like warming up those reading muscles of yours, short stories are a great way to get you back into reading again! They don’t feel too daunting and can sometimes satisfy that itch for a concise story that is full of depth.
This is also one for lovers of the explorations of cultural norms and rupturing them with no shame.
Quote
“If they tried it, the memories of the wild rooted in their flesh would come back to them, and they would discover that eating the city like this would connect the earth between the gaps in the concrete and their own body.”
Our Wives Under The Sea, Julia Armfield
If you decide to read only one of the books in this list, this should be the one.
Our Wives Under The Sea is English author Julia Armfield’s debut novel, and it’s phenomenal. A work of modern fiction that is so tender that it feels like the story and its characters are about to slip out from the pages and down your arms. It is rare to find a story like this, and it has changed me after reading it.
Miri and Leah have had a beautiful relationship, until Leah returns from a deep-sea mission that has changed her. Miri spends her days caring for Leah, attempting to unravel what happened on Leah’s mission, and trying not to unravel their relationship to a point where it cannot be fixed.
A beautiful horror story that breaks and mends your heart almost every chapter, while leaving you in suspense and keeping you hanging on every sentence. Armfield writes poetry in her words, cold sea air and lukewarm bath water splashing you through her sentences, and heartbreak and hope, simultaneously sitting in your chest like a wedge – is simply evoked by a phrase.
“Our Wives Under The Sea” is one of the best modern works of fiction to be released in past five years.
Who’d Like This?
If you’re ready to be heartbroken by a work of fiction, this is for you – but be warned, getting over Leah and Miri and their story is no easy feat, and it’s story you’ll be telling everyone you know about.
Quote
“My heart is a thin thing, these days – shred of paper blown between the spaces in my ribs.”