April Book Club

All the books I read this month

I’m writing this with sunglasses on - not because I’m relaxing in the warm spring sunshine, but because I’m currently weaning myself off my sertraline, the anti-depressant I have been taking since Olive was born. The pre and postnatal hormones affected me big time, but fortunately, a small dose of sertraline has allowed me to enjoy motherhood and feel relatively stable for the last three years. It does, however, also feel a bit numbing sometimes, taking away the high highs as well as the low lows.

For the last few months my mood has been consistently improving and I decided I wanted to start feeling properly like myself again, so for the next few weeks I’m spreading out my last doses at a nice, slow pace. My mood has been fine since weaning off, but I’ve been hit with the weirdest side effect known as ‘brain zaps’, which someone accurately described as like ‘being able to hear your eyes move’. I get these painless but uncomfortable zaps going through my head whenever I move or look around, and I’m also super sensitive to sunlight, so it’s sunglasses on for the next few days until my head feels normal again.

Anyway, welcome to the April edition of my monthly book round-up! This month I’ve been enjoying a few hooky audiobooks, as well as revisiting two stories from my university days and reading an early copy of a book so good, it’s made my Book of the Month. Let me know if you’ve enjoyed any of these titles, too!

BOOK OF THE MONTH
Nature’s Ghosts: The world we lost and how to bring it back by Sophie Yeo
(HarperCollins, 23 May 2024)

If you love nature and you enjoy feeling in the loop on current conservation issues, you may already be subscribed to Sophie Yeo’s Inkcap Journal. Not only is she a brilliant writer and storyteller, I have never know such conscientious reporting and meticulous attention to detail. I was lucky enough to receive an early copy before publication next month, and I am urging everyone to preorder it. It’s full of forward-thinking intelligence and hope in the face of ecological catastrophe, and it’s just a really well-written, enjoyable book to curl up with.

An Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen
(Skyhorse, originally published in 1882)

I actually read two versions of this because the library had both Ibsen’s original (translated from the Norwegian) and Arthur Miller’s adaptation of the play from 1950. Both are scathingly relevant in this golden era of populism and fake news. If you find it irritating when politicians prioritise short-term economics over the long-term survival of people and planet, you’ll find this one extra relatable.

Daisy Jones and The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
(Cornerstone, 2020)

This book was talked about everywhere, and I’m not saying I didn’t enjoy it, but I think perhaps it just isn’t my kind of book? I found the writing style a bit jarring and kept taking me out of the story, although the characters were well fleshed out and believable. It follows a fictional band from the 1970s as they rise in fame, and the complicated relationships between them all, with (assumed) inspiration from the history of Fleetwood Mac.

The Go-Between by L. P. Hartley
(Penguin, originally published in 1953)

One of my favourite books from undergraduate degree! I picked this one up again as research for my own novel, particularly around the class divide of the characters and the way Hartley captures the heavy, claustrophobic heat of the weather as the background for the story. It’s such a good story, highly recommend.

The Castaways by Lucy Clarke
(HarperCollins, 2021)

The third Lucy Clarke book I’ve read in as many months, but man this one was weird. I listened to it on BorrowBox so it was quite enjoyable to have on in the background, but the blurb was so strange, it didn’t really match what the story was really about? It was like the marketing department got hold of it and didn’t think it sounded trendy enough so just completely reimagined the synopsis. At first it sounded like a good old murder mystery type story, just like Clarke’s One of the Girls which I really enjoyed. But without revealing too much, it was actually just really depressing and traumatic to listen to, there weren’t really any murders in it, it dragged on quite a lot and it just made me a bit sad. Plus it was full of loopholes, which I don’t mind if the story is entertaining, but all in all it was just a bit disappointing.

The Search Party by Hannah Richell
(Simon & Schuster, 2024)

Maybe I’ve just read too many ‘un-put-down-able’ thrillers lately, but again, I was a bit blurgh with this one. It was well-paced and the story was pretty good most of the way through - I definitely wanted to keep listening - but the ending wasn’t quite there for me. I didn’t really believe the reason why it had all happened, so while it was an enjoyable read, it didn’t have the satisfying oomph that would make me pick it up again. Nice descriptions of the Cornish landscape, though. Very immersive.

If you’re looking for books to read, might I suggest preordering my next one?

Ebb and Flow: A Guide to Seasonal Living is an illustrated guide to slowing down and tuning into the rhythm of the year. I’ve poured many happy hours into it, illustrating every page and writing essays, poems, crafts, recipes and other tidbits, all designed to help you embrace each season and find peace, mindfulness and joy throughout the year. I really feel like there’s a little piece of my soul in this book!

The hardback is published with Bloomsbury on 12 September 2024, and it can be preordered anywhere you buy your books, including Bloomsbury, Bookshop, Amazon and Waterstones.