Another month had drawn to a close (where is 2019 going!), which means we have a load more book recommendations for you from our virtual book club. This month, our Founder Chloe and one of our brilliant staff writers Katie, give you theirs. Keep reading for everything we loved in March, from 100 Women I Know’s eponymous book, to a gripping new thriller Skin Deep.
Chloe’s Recommendations…
100 WOMEN I KNOW: Candid accounts of rape and sexual assault.
100 Women I Know is one of the most important, inspiring and emotive movements we’ve ever come across. Their events are needed, and some of the best we’ve ever been to. Their book of accounts is one that I’ve picked up and put down multiple times over the last six months – it’s a hard read. It will bring up a wave of emotion and healing, but it’s a necessary and affirming book. This brave book “for all of the women who have spoken up and for the women who are still finding their voice, we hear you”, and it truly is for every woman. For me, it felt validating to hear the spectrum of experiences and hear my own in them, simply, it made me feel less alone
Brilliant, Brilliant, Brilliant Brilliant Brilliant by Joel Golby
I rarely recommend books from men, because of the various sexist bullshit the publishing industry pushes -for example, women’s books are typically priced 45% lower than men’s.
But, that being said, Golby’s new book is too good not to share. So this is my one-off recommendation. Brilliant, Brilliant, Brilliant Brilliant Brilliant (yes that’s 5 Brilliants) is a collection of essays that are eclectic, snort-laughingly funny and, at times, really sad. There are chapters on his time at a camel festival, irrational-but-kind-of-rational hatred of Wayne Rooney and the death of both his parents. Maybe when I said eclectic earlier that was an understatement.
This Will Only Hurt a Little by Busy Philipps
This New York Times bestseller is every bit as glorious as the reviews say. Her voice is the one we know and love, and her writing style is to-the-point and energetic. From insights into what it was like working with James Franco (not good, which isn’t a surprise), to the struggle of asking for help, her family and upbringing and how she was sexually assaulted at 14. I read this on a plane ride and sobbed my heart out at some bits, then found myself giggling and crying with laughter – the man next to me definitely thought I was having a breakdown.
Katie’s Recommendations…
The Dreamers by Karen Thompson-Walker
This book was gifted to me by a really good friend with the words “this has Piscean written all over it”. Not only does this friend know my penchant for all things astrological but she also has my taste in good reads down to a tee. From the author of the Sunday Times bestseller The Age of Miracles, The Dreamers is a dystopian fiction worthy of getting lost in. A strange illness induced sleep that heightens dreams, sweeps through a small isolated college town in Southern California and what follows is a fascinating, original tale of the capabilities of the human mind. A beautiful, captivating and completely immersive novel, I devoured it in a matter of days.
Skin Deep by Liz Nugent
Make way for your new fave gripping thriller. Apparently, I am late to the party with Liz Nugent’s addictive book Skin Deep, which topped most charts last year for its brilliance. If you’re a fan of unputdownable gritty crime dramas, this is for you. Think Girl on the Train addiction levels mixed with the darkness of an Ian Rankin classic. Nugent’s tale of beauty, crime and the past coming to haunt you is chilling, mesmerising and completely absorbing. I didn’t know which character to love or to hate, I cried twice, and I have told everybody I know to read it too.
Got any more recommendations? Let us know on Twitter.
