Hi gang! Merry everything and a happy always <3 I hope you all had a restful festive season? Christmas and new year is all about taking time off for me, which means plenty of time to read (and horse into the Christmas choccies) so it was pretty successful all round.
Long gone are the days where I would make new year’s resolutions (I honestly dread to think about past-me’s aspirations), but I actually saw a book-related one that I’m thinking of adopting myself. I’m usually first at the front of the ‘book buying ban’ queue and find myself failing by the second week of January (willpower, who is she), so when I saw someone on Insta say that they’re only going to buy a new book when they’ve read five that they already own, I felt like this was something I could aim for in 2023.
So, here’s what I read in December. It was a top reading month, I self-medicated my seasonal depression with graphic novels and also got hold of some cracking new releases via the Borrowbox app (hard recommend).
As always, please let me know if you’ve read any of these books and what you thought. What have you been reading lately? Did you get any books for Christmas? What was your fave book of 2022? WHERE IS DR EVIL’S SECRET LAIR?!
What I read in December
The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House - Audre Lorde
You do not need me to give you a ‘review’ or tell you what I think of Audre Lorde’s work. This essay collection showcases her vision and her sheer skill with the written word, reading about women’s anger should be mandatory and I would wholeheartedly encourage you to read this book.
Single, Carefree, Mellow - Katherine Heiny
God I LOVE Katherine Heiny. She’s on my list of favourite writers, her stories and her characters just seem so fully formed? Idk. I’m not an English Literature graduate or whatever, but I just think she is so funny and she seems to be able to write in such a relatable fashion that I was genuinely annoyed when I finished this book. Heiny’s new book is out in April and you better believe I’ve pre-ordered the heck out of it.
Talking to my Daughter: A Brief History of Capitalism - Yanis Varoufakis
What’s that? She quit her job because she felt undervalued and now she’s questioning work in general? Groundbreaking. I was doing some Christmas shopping at Shelf Life and a couple of books may have accidentally fallen into my basket, including this one. It’s a great place to start if you’re interested in reading about capitalism and our relationship with work, so I would highly recommend it, especially if, like me, you often feel a bit out of your depth with anything relating to economics or politics in general.
A recommendation from Saskia, top friend and fantastic illustrator at Edinburgh Letters, O Caledonia is a darkly comic coming-of-age story (so many of my favourite things) about the amazing Janet and her short life. I loved this book, I didn’t really know what to expect, but if Saskia AND Maggie O’Farrell are fans, then that’s all I need to know. I’ve also since fallen down an Elspeth Barker wormhole and I am OBSESSED.
Turtles All The Way Down - John Green
My first ever John Green book, I’ve never really known where to start, but I found this in the YA section of my local Waterstones and it sounded right up my street. I think I would have really identified with parts of this story when I was growing up, particularly the narrative around intrusive thoughts, and it was so nice to read it in my 30s and know that books like this are available to young people growing up now (ok grandma, lets get you to bed).
Get a Life, Chloe Brown - Talia Hibbert
Another recommendation, this time from the only person I know who loves Winnie the Pooh as much as my husband, it’s ya gal Bethany @bethanylouiselord. I loved this, it was perfect romantic escapism and you can bet your bottom dollar the other books in the series will appear in this newsletter later in the year.
The Gifts of Reading - Various
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; I love books about books and reading. I bought this one because it had essays from the likes of Robert MacFarlane, Candice Carty-Williams and Max Porter, but I discovered so many more writers, both those who had contributed to the book and those that they had written about.
I Didn’t Do The Thing Today - Madeline Dore
If you read one “self help” book in 2023, it should be this one. Madeline Dore writes about the way we glorify busyness and productivity, and how we beat ourselves up about not achieving whatever it is we think we should be achieving along the way. I’ve always struggled with feeling like everything I do (particularly in work) needs to be “perfect” and this book was a permission slip I never knew I needed to slow down and take care of myself before anything else.
The Magic Fish - Trung Le Nguyen
A brilliant graphic novel, The Magic Fish uses fairytales to explore themes of identity as our main character struggles to communicate to his parents about his own sexuality; they don’t speak much English and he doesn’t know how to say it in Vietnamese. The story is wonderful, and I really loved the use of colour to differentiate between the different storylines.
The Mysterious Affair at Styles - Agatha Christie
I watched the Lucy Worsley documentary about Agatha Christie and, because I have OCD and an obsessive personality, immediately became fascinated by Agatha Christie. This, the first of Christie’s books to be published, found its way under the Christmas tree and it was really interesting to read her first Poirot novel to see how her work developed over the years she was writing.
Glorious Wrestling Alliance - Josh Hicks
I bought this graphic novel for my husband for Christmas (again, from Shelf Life) and read it as soon as he’d finished it. A graphic novel about wrestling with a strong female character? Colour me interested.
Lumberjanes: A Terrible Plan - Stevenson / Watters / Nohawk
I’ve written about my love for the Lumberjanes before (some might say incessantly) but if you’re looking for a gateway into graphic novels, I’d recommend getting involved. Will never stop wishing I could be as cool as a Lumberjane.
Another Christmas pressie, Flake is a story about rival ice-cream men in the North of England. Funny and melancholy, this book is the perfect balance of escapism and life lessons. Waterstones describe it as “…a tale of a skirmish…” and honestly, I think we should be using ‘skirmish’ more in daily conversation.
The Satsuma Complex - Bob Mortimer
The first of three new releases that I luckily managed to get on the library app, Borrowbox, over Christmas… some people might even call it a Christmas miracle?! Bob Mortimer’s first foray into fiction, The Satsuma Complex tells the story of normal, everyday Gary and how he accidentally gets caught up in murder and intrigue thanks to a girl he met in the pub.
Scattered Showers - Rainbow Rowell
Featuring nine short love stories, Scattered Showers is the perfect read if you’re looking for something warm and low-stakes. It’s funny, imaginative and easy to read, I reckon it would be a great read if you were in a bit of a reading slump.
Carrie Soto is Back - Taylor Jenkins Reid
I think I might have a lot of thoughts on this one, so I’ll try and keep it brief. I flew through Taylor Jenkins Reid’s latest novel, but I didn’t *love* it the way I enjoyed Daisy Jones and the Six. That’s ok though! It’s perfectly reasonable that I might not love every single one of an author’s books, and it definitely wasn’t bad, I didn’t hate it. It’s kind of hard to talk of books that you thought were fine?! I thought the plot was a bit predictable, and I just didn't find it quite as exciting as I’d hoped. All that being said, did I love that it was about a female athlete? Yes. Do I wish we had more books about sportswomen? Also yes.
Other things I’ve been loving lately
Here’s a quick fire list of other things I have been enjoying lately that aren’t books. Ok, one of them’s a book. She’s nothing if not on brand.
These crispy tofu tacos, which I may or may not have made twice in the last week AND YOU CAN’T STOP ME!
Ann Patchett’s essay ‘There Are No Children Here’ from her essay collection These Precious Days
As always, thank you so much for signing up to this newsletter and an extra special thank you to those that actually read it. I’m thinking of upping my Substack game in 2023, but first of all I have to work out what that looks like. I’m thinking more writing, not necessarily about books, but if there’s anything you’d like to see / would be interested in reading about, please let me know. Iona x