October Books

October seemed like such a fast month, it was as if I blinked on the 1st and suddenly when I opened my eyes again it was the 31st. I also hit a bit of a reading slump this month as I only managed to finish 2 books.

Exciting Times by Noaise Dolan

Touted as the next Sally Rooney, Noaise Dolan’s debut novel Exciting Times has been sitting on my TBR list for quite some time. I finally got round to reading it and found that while it was a little like Rooney’s work it was also very different in many ways. While I enjoyed the book and its presentation of modern relationships and sexuality, I did think that it could have perhaps been a little more concise.

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

I really enjoyed this book, and I was actually quite surprised at how readable Brave New World is considering that it was written in 1931. The concept of control through pleasure and complete balance in society is utterly compelling and quite scary and I really enjoyed Huxley’s witty jabs at consumerism and modern life which eerily seems more and more accurate nowadays! My one criticism about the book would be the idea of the “Savage Reservation”, this hasn’t aged very well at all and could be seen as highly offensive to Native Americans. While I am aware that the Savage Reservation represents an antithesis to the highly controlled World State and is most likely used as a satirical device Huxley nevertheless descends into damaging stereotypes of Native American culture.

September Books

Full disclosure, I have been reading a little less recently because I have been watching too many films (although the Swedish master director Ingmar Bergman would disagree, the man was known to watch three films a day when he was alive!) but nevertheless I did manage to read four books in September.

Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert

I really liked this novel and I feel like I am going to devour more of Flaubert’s prose ASAP as I really enjoyed his realism and wit. I also found Madame Bovary to be a bit alarming too as I found myself sympathising with Emma quite a bit even though she was ungrateful, adulterous and selfish. But I could understand her distaste for the banality of marriage and provincial life because of all the exciting and sweeping romantic novels she read in her youth.

Diary of an Oxygen Thief by Anonymous

This is quite a naked novel, in the sense of rawness that is. However, a review on the blurb does claim it to be a ‘kinky, artsy’ novel which I didn’t really see myself, but perhaps that’s because I’ve watched far too many European films for me to consider something like this ‘kinky’. Mostly, I am intrigued by the fact that this novel (and its sequels) was published anonymously, I wonder what possessed the author to detach themselves from the work.

All in all, Diary of an Oxygen Thief is not spectacular writing but it’s an interesting portrait of humiliation and human fragility and that was enough for me.

Venus in Furs (Venus im Pelz) by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch

Yes, the surname of this author is why Masochism is called Masochism. And while you might think Venus in Furs must be a rather depraved book as a result, you must remember that this was published in 1870, so by modern standards, it’s pretty tame. Go read Bataille if your looking for something more transgressive. Overall, I found this book rather dull, in some places the writing was beautiful but for the most part, it was too repetitive and I found myself willing the story to end.

Colourless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage (色彩を持たない多崎つくると、彼の巡礼の年) by Haruki Murakami

Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve read Murakami, which was completely intentional as I want to slowly plod through his work as he is one of my favourite authors. However, I found Colourless Tsukuru Tazaki to be quite a mediocre entry into the author’s oeuvre, sure I read it all and enjoyed it but it didn’t hit me with anything new or particularly profound (not that all literature needs to do that) which I guess I was expecting. I don’t know, there was a great passage towards the end but, the novel as a whole…it was fine, I guess.

Autumn Reading List

I have rustled up a collection of books that I want to get through this Autumn and curiously enough they all fit together aesthetically, a coincidence (I think not!).

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (Das Parfum: Die Geschichte eines Mörders) by Patrick Süskind

Set in Paris, Perfume follows Jean-Baptiste Grenouille as he tries to sniff out the perfect scent (do or don’t excuse the pun it’s your choice) to help him concoct perfumes. However, he discovers the perfect ingredient is innocence and well I’m sure you know what the only way for him to acquire it is…yes it’s murder, naturally. I feel like this is a perfectly creepy read to keep me entertained as the northern hemisphere gets colder and darker and descends into the depths of Autumn.

La Compagnie des Loups (published as The Bloody Chamber in English) by Angela Carter

I have read and reread this short story collection many times but this will be my first time reading it in French. Yes, I am going to attempt to read it in French for the sake of language practice and the fact that I know the stories quite well should help my comprehension tantamount. If you’ve never read The Bloody Chamber I completely and wholeheartedly recommend it as Carter reimagines famous fairytales and folktales in such a magnetic and creative way.

Diary of an Oxygen Thief by Anonymous

I came across this book because of Anniken Jørgensen (a Norwegian Blogger and Author who I’ve been following and reading for a few years) as she frequently refers to it as her favourite book and I must say I feel like it’s the kind of book that I would like as its a bit morally corrupt and dark (go me for my weird taste in Literature!)

Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy

I recently watched the Thomas Vinterberg adaptation of this book and fell in love with the story and the Autumnal aesthetic of the gorgeous cinematography within the film. So low and behold it’s found itself quite high on my reading list as I want to delve deeper into the story and recapture the mood from the film.

Far from the Madding Crowd follows Bathsheba Everdene as she is courted by three different men, William Boldwood a respectable landowner and farmer, Sergeant Troy a 19th-century F*ckboi, and Gabriel Oak a loyal farmhand firmly planted in the friend zone.

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

A classic ‘Dark Academia’ book, this novel just feels like it was made for me. Set in a New England university a group of classics students test the boundaries of morality under the tutelage of a charismatic professor. When I was deciding what to study at Uni I did flirt with the idea of Classics for a while before I settled on English Lit. So for me, this novel will be even more fascinating to explore due to my interest in the subject they are studying and how that will link to the overall narrative.

The Master and Margarita (Мастер и Маргарита) by Mikhail Bulgakov

The devil comes to Moscow (naturally) under the guise of being a magician and starts messing with the lives of the upper echelons of society. There is a talking cat, something to do with Pontius Pilate and a whole lot of other wacky stuff in this satirical work. An absolute classic of Russian Literature, this book has been on my shelf for aeons! And the reason why is that I know I will love it but there is a part of me that is worried that I won’t (Dune turned out to be mediocre and I thought I was really going to fall in love with it!). But the time has come and I am pretty confident that this bonkers book will be a new favourite (well, I hope anyway).

The Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler

Butler is the Queen of science fiction and is criminally under-read. I myself have been meaning to read her work for some time and when I came across this beautiful edition of Parable of the Sower I knew it was time to take a dive into this iconic black authors work.

Set in 2025, in our now very near future, Parable tells the story of a hyper-empath Lauren Oya Olamina as she navigates an America crumbling due to climate change, political unrest and a growing economic wealth gap. Yikes, this feels like Butler was in communion with the future all the way back in the ’90s!!!

Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset

This book is a mammoth and that’s mainly because it is actually a trilogy of novels all compiled into one. This is a classic of Norwegian Literature and also helped Undset win the Nobel Prize in 1928! It’s a historical epic set in Medieval Norway and depicts Kristin Lavransdatter’s life as she grows up, gets married and becomes a mother.

August Books

The Summer Book (Sommarboken) by Tove Jansson

Jansson is perhaps most famous for creating the Moomins but the Swedish speaking Finnish author and illustrator was very much an accomplished writer outside her world-famous children’s books. The Summer Book is an episodic account of summers spent on a Finnish island between an elderly woman and her granddaughter Sophia. It’s a slow poetic book that is rooted in moments and observations. Nothing substantial happens but that’s what makes it so enjoyable. I felt lighter and more present after reading it and I will probably revisit the book again in the future.

Fair Play (Rent spel) by Tove Jansson

Following on from The Summer Book I decided to read more of Jansson’s work and luckily my library (using the Libby app) had another book ready to borrow which was Fair Play. This slightly shorter novel feels very much in the same vein of The Summer Book in the fact that it’s written episodically and has that peaceful feel to the flow of the narrative. Fair Play follows two artistically inclined women Mari and Jonna as they watch movies, create art, talk, spend a summer on an island and travel to America. Again Fair Play is not such a plot-heavy book it’s more about creating a mood and I liked that.

Naïve. Super (Naiv. Super.) by Erlend Loe

Continuing my sudden exploration of Nordic literature I next read Loe’s Naïve. Super. This Norwegian novel follows an unnamed narrator who goes through something of a mental breakdown in his twenties. Besides this, the narrator is definitely different to most people and part of me suspects that he is written as someone who falls on the Autistic spectrum. When reading from this angle Naïve. Super. is a really compelling story and I finished it in one day.

Things fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

Achebe’s novel is heralded as a modern classic and it certainly is. The story follows Okonkwo and his daily life in his tribe until something tragic happens and his life changes forever. This novel also touches on European colonialism and how it changed the face of Africa forever. Religion also plays a massive part in the narrative and Achebe immerses his readers into the tribes spiritual practises and juxtaposes them with the importing of Christianity by the colonists. At its heart, Things Fall Apart is a study on identity and its definitely worth a read if you are wanting to explore African literature and the effects of colonialism.

July 2020 Books

Seasons of Migration to the North (موسم الهجرة إلى الشمال) by Tayeb Salih

This book is amazing. It’s lyrical, emotive and surprising. Salih has crafted a book that is not only intriguing, it’s also educational, and it explores the dark side of colonialism (more and more I’m finding it hard to see any positives) in Sudan and how orientalism and fetishisation of a culture and its people is utterly deplorable. A must-read for anyone wanting to educate themselves on Black Arab culture and the aftermath of white colonialism.

Adèle (Dans le jardin de l'ogre) by Leïla Slimani

Well, this is one disturbing novel. Adèle tells the story of a woman who engages in extramarital affairs and flings with numerous men, some she knows, some her husband knows and others who are complete strangers. Adèle is essentially a sex addict and her life soon descends into chaos as her liaisons become more and more frequent and risky. What makes this novel disturbing is the psychology behind Adèle’s actions and then some things that happen that are quite clearly spoilers so I won’t divulge them to you. But give this a read if you're into thrillers.

The Prophet by Khalil Gibran

This is one wise book. Gibran teaches through poetry in The Prophet and I felt like I had gained some invaluable wisdom by the end of its rather short page count. If you only read one book out of this blog post make it this one as you’ll come out the other side a better person to be around. Guaranteed.

Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 (82년생 김지영) by Cho Nam-joo

While this novel is powerful in its raw and honest offloading of gender inequality in South Korea it isn’t really a good novel. It’s very simply written and feels more like a report at times but I did find it very moving and also quite concerning as I identified (as do most women who read it no doubt) with a lot of what is discussed within it. It is a watershed book for Korea and it caused a massive uproar when published, so perhaps that is all that counts, and maybe the simplicity of it is necessary to get it into as many hands and minds as possible.

Dubliners by James Joyce

It has taken me quite the time to read this collection of short stories, I started them last year as part of my uni course and naturally only read the stories I needed to read for an essay. Seeing as I have recently finished my degree I thought it was high time to actually finish the collection. Some stories I liked, ‘A Painful Case’ being my favourite and the story I actually wrote about. But for the most part, they were well written but ultimately forgettable snapshots of life…I guess maybe that is the point and I will be reading more Joyce as I like his style.

Social Creature by Tara Isabella Burton

I got this book a while back from a book subscription box and I finally decided to pick it up and read it. I mainly read it as I was going through my books and deciding what to keep and what to get rid of (after reading of course!). This book was on the get rid of pile and after reading it I feel no different, it was an average thriller with average characters. Slimani’s Adèle is a much better thriller in my opinion.

The Humans by Matt Haig

This book very much has an agenda…an agenda to make you laugh constantly at the absurdity of human life. Haig has such a brilliant way of capturing all the minutiae of everyday life and turns it into a treatise on how and why life is brilliant and should be celebrated, all through the eyes of an alien as he learns how to be human. If your feeling down then this is a book to read as it will help you recapture your appreciation for life, and it’s also powerful to know that Haig wrote this book after getting through depression and anxiety.

Heroes and Villains by Angela Carter

Every time I read more of Carter’s work I fall a little more in love with her writing, the art of writing and literature overall. She was a master at her craft and every sentence she weaves is brilliant. Heroes and Villians is 164 pages of feral poetry, it's a gothic fairytale set in a post-apocalyptic world that will leave you considering it long after you close the book. I think I just found another new favourite this month.