Book recommendations

because absolutely nobody asked.

Hello all,

I hope you are on a beach somewhere or in a park feeling all daydreamy and unproductive.

I’m just going to pretend that I didn’t drop off this newsletter for six months and send you book recommendations like you asked for them. Which you didn’t.

I will do a fuller letter again at some point but for now favourite books from this year:

Strong Female Character by Fern Brady. Brady is a stand up comedian who is also autistic. She writes about getting this diagnosis in her thirties (I think). Her honesty, brilliantly sharp mind and savage humour is invigorating but also this book felt like an act of generosity. She shares things that do not make her look good and she does it so that nobody feels ashamed of how they are. Fern Brady is like the light you hold a dodgy tenner up to - she sees through everything and she is an example of why neuro-diversity makes the world better. Couldn’t recommend it more.

Women without Kids by Ruby Warrington. This is an excellent book about why growing numbers of women, including Warrington, are choosing not to have children. It helped me understand things about myself that I had never understood before. If you are either unsure about having kids or haven’t done and feel mixed about it I highly, highly recommend.

Big Swiss! Oh this book is a DELIGHT!!!! It’s a fictional tale of a woman who moves to a small town in upstate New York and is paid by the local therapist to transcribe all his sessions! Such a good premise for a book. She becomes obsessed with one of his patients and then one day they meet in real life… It’s funny and clever and I zipped through it.

The Guest by Emma Cline. A good beach read about a woman trying to make her way in a rich world.. was a bit disappointed by the end but I really liked the writing. I interviewed Cline a million years ago when her first book The Girls came out. I really liked that book if you haven’t read it - it’s about a cult in the sixties. Atmospheric page turner.

A Renaissance of her Own by Rachel E Cargle. I saw this because Elizabeth Gilbert mentioned it on Insta. I read it in one sitting and keep referring back to it. It’s about how to build a life of your own design rather than follow the path society tells us we should follow. Inspiring, practical, helpful.

Destination Fabulous by Anna Murphy. Don’t love the name but really enjoyed this book about embracing age. Alas, it turned out to be an expensive read because I wanted to buy everything that she recommends including Soveral Face Oils and a jade stone that you rub your face with.

The Well Lived Life by Gladys McCarey Gladys is 102! 102! And she has written a book about her life lessons. It’s gorgeous. She was a female doctor at a time when women didn’t go to medical school and she became one of the first practitioners of alternative medicine the US but this isn’t a medical book, it’s about how to life a good life which usually leads to good health.

The Odd Woman and the City, Vivian Gornick. Non-fiction about Gornick’s relationship with her difficult mother and their eccentric upbringing in the Bronx. Funny, honest and so so smart. I loved it so much I downloaded everything else she has written and am working through them.

All about love, bell hooks - but basically everything and anything that bell hooks has written. The black feminist writer died this year and that led me to read her books (a bit like I imagine many of us have been listening to Sinead O Connor this last week) and what a woman. She is clever but down to earth so the books read like your smartest friend calling you out on your blind spots. I also adored Communion which is her book on the importance of female friendships and sisterhood.

Ok that’s it for now…

Except to say more to come and we are also back to the workshops which are a joy.

WORKSHOPS

I’m away a bit in August so the Saturday sessions are on pause but there will be one on Monday 7th August 7.30-9pm. It would be lovely to see you. A reminder that this is a session for all humans, not just humans who like to write. We don’t read anything out loud and the people who come are LOVELY. Just come and have a scribble and a chat.

Love hugs and summer joy. xx