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You are here: Home / Archives for Recommendation Lists

Recommendation Lists

Poetry to Listen To

21st March 2022 By Julianne Leave a Comment

I’ve always enjoyed poetry but found it hard to fit in to my life – poetry books are so short I don’t feel them demanding my time in the same way that my piles and piles of unread novels do. But late last year I discovered that my local library had added several recently published contemporary poetry audiobooks to their catalogue. Having had huge success using audiobook fiction as a way to fit more reading into my life, I decided to give some of them a go.

It was a total revelation! Not only are poetry audiobooks convenient, but hearing the poet read their own words is a total treat. I can know I’m hearing the words exactly as they wished to communicate them, with all the right tone and emphasis. It’s gorgeous. So without any further ado, here’s what I’ve been enjoying:

Surge by Jay Bernard

This debut collection by Jay Bernard won the Ted Hughes Award for New Work in Poetry 2018 and came out in audio a year later. It’s described as ‘a queer exploration of the black British archive’, and focuses on two events in recent Black British history, the New Cross Massacre (1981) and the Grenfell Tower fire (2017), drawing connections between them, looking at the wider political situation as well as the emotions evoked by both atrocities. Hearing Jay read their work was completely enthralling, some of the poems are sung, and that wouldn’t come across the same way in print so I would definitely recommend listening to this over reading it!

Buy: Amazon | Bookshop.org (affiliate links)

My Darling from the Lions by Rachel Long

This is another collection that deals with themes of race and sexuality, though it has a much more autobiographical tone, despite the author taking on different characters’ voices. It was very interesting listening to it after Surge. They are both Black British writers, so the same history explored in Surge echoes through the background of these poems, but while Surge directly tackles the wider history and politics at a national/local level, My Darling from the Lions takes you on a coming of age journey, each poem like a portrait of a woman at a particular time in her life. Rachel Long has an absolutely beautiful voice, it was a delight to listen to.

Buy: Amazon | Bookshop.org (affiliate links)

Black Girl, Call Home by Jasmine Mans

For this one I crossed the pond – Jasmine Mans is an American poet, and this collection is very clearly aimed at Black American women and girls. As I’m a white British woman I’m obviously very far from that target audience, and after reading it and experiencing its power, I felt passionately that it’s the kind of book that needs to get into the hands of the people Jasmine Mans most wants to speak to, the people who will feel the greatest force of what it offers and communicates. The Goodreads reviews back this up, with many Black American reviewers expressing how personal this collection felt for them. It’s nice that I could read it and enjoy it, but that’s a fringe benefit, you know? It’s for its particular audience above all else so I hope librarians across the pond are investing in copies. It’s gorgeous and confrontational at the same time, tackling a range of very difficult subjects – I recommend checking content warnings.

Buy: Amazon (affiliate link)

Poor by Caleb Femi

Back to London for my latest listen – this time from the perspective of a Black man talking about class and poverty as well as race and life and passion for his community and home. Again it is read by the poet himself, and it’s brilliant and immersive. What is particularly good about this collection is the sense of place, as Caleb Femi evokes life on his Peckham council estate. The poems are visceral and emotional and can be hard to listen to, but very rewarding when you do.

Buy: Amazon | Bookshop.org (affiliate links)

The Half-God of Rainfall by Inua Ellams

This novel in verse was absolutely epic and awesome – a story of battling gods and demi-gods across cultures, about colonialism and power and revenge and basketball! I loved following the twists and turns in the story and seeing how the author brought together the Greek pantheon with Yorùbá deities, building a new mythology and then bringing it crashing down in a moment of beautiful catharsis. It was just fabulous and I will be buying my own copy in print when I get the chance!

Buy: Amazon | Bookshop.org (affiliate links)

I borrowed all these books from The Libraries Consortium’s OverDrive catalogue.

Filed Under: Book Chat, Poetry, Recommendation Lists

My Favourite Books Read in 2021

19th January 2022 By Julianne Leave a Comment

Video version of this post

Would you believe it’s been three years since I last had a favourite book of the year?

I was looking back at my posts from previous years to see which books made my top lists, and I was surprised it had been so long since I had a standout winner. I’ve read loads of great books in that time, but in 2020, 2019, and 2018 I didn’t read one that I adored above all the others. In 2021, however, there was a standout lead:

My Absolute Most Favourite Book I Read This Year

The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri, first in the Burning Kingdoms series

God, this book was incredible. I hadn’t read an epic fantasy in so long, and this made me want to explore more of the genre. I always think the sign of a really good book is when it sets off a craving not just to read more of the same series or more by that author, but more of the genre it fits within.

This is an absolutely stunning epic Indian-inspired fantasy with a huge and fascinating cast of characters. Malini is a princess who refused to burn on a ritual pyre and as a result has been exiled to a ruined temple by her emperor brother, where she is being slowly poisoned to death. Maidservant Priya is secretly a former child of the temple, keeping her history and knowledge close to her chest. The determination to survive draws them together, and magic, destiny and political machinations drive them forward. I am so excited to read the rest of this trilogy when it comes out.

Buy: Amazon | Bookshop.org (affiliate links)

The best of the rest:

Beginners: The Joy and Transformative Power of Lifelong Learning by Tom Vanderbilt

The only non-fiction book on the list, this is a must for lifelong learning enthusiasts. The author is clearly very privileged because he can afford to hire people to teach him, but still there is a lot of useful information that can apply to you even if you can’t afford tutors or class and are attempting to teach yourself. He meets and interviews experts on specific skills and learning in general, providing information about how adults learn best. Apparently learning multiple things at once is easier than learning one thing –  who knew!

Read an edited extract of Beginners at the Guardian
Buy: Amazon | Bookshop.org (affiliate links)

The Midnight Lie by Marie Rutkoski

This is a fascinating fantasy set in a land with seemingly arbitrary divisions in society. The High Kith live in luxury, while Nirrim has always lived in poverty in the Ward and has never questioned the system. After she is arrested while trying to do the right thing, Nirrim meets a mysterious stranger from another land and sets out to discover why her country is so divided, and if there’s anything she can do to change that. I could not put this down. The world is vividly described and the relationships between Nirrim and the other characters are deeply compelling. The ending made me gasp in horror and amazement and I’m really looking forward to finding out what happens next.

Buy: Amazon | Bookshop.org (affiliate links)

Rescue Me by Sarra Manning

This is an adorable, poignant romance about a man and a woman who co-adopt (‘co-pawrent’) a dog. As they both fall in love with Blossom, a shy little Staffy who needs patience and care, they develop feelings for each other, but are those feelings compatible? I was so tempted to read it again as soon as I finished, the emotional journey the characters go on is just that compelling.

Buy: Amazon | Bookshop.org (affiliate links)

A Spoonful of Murder by Robin Stevens, sixth in the Murder Most Unladylike series

The seventh book and sixth novel in the Murder Most Unladylike series and my favourite so far! I didn’t think anything could beat First Class Murder as I loved the mystery on the Orient Express so much, but the setting of A Spoonful of Murder knocked it out of the park! 1930s teenage detectives  Daisy and Hazel go to Hong Kong to visit Hazel’s family after the death of her grandfather, but find a surprise awaiting them – Hazel has a new little brother! Having been the most important child in her family until now, Hazel has mixed feelings about his arrival due to the sexism in Hong Kong society. She is worried that now her brother has replaced her in her father’s eyes. But everything changes when Hazel’s brother is kidnapped and his maid (formerly Hazel’s) is murdered! Despite Hazel’s complex emotions and grief, Daisy cannot let them leave any mystery unsolved… The story was gripping and the details about Hong Kong in the 1930s were so intriguing, I long to read more about this time period.

Buy: Amazon | Bookshop.org (affiliate links)

Trumpet by Jackie Kay

Despite the blurb on my copy sounding quite dated in the way it describes this novel, the story hasn’t dated at all since its original publication in the 90s, it covers love, gender and privacy in ways that are still fresh today. After the death of legendary jazz trumpeter Joss Moody, his grieving son Colman learns that the man he’s always known was assigned female at birth, and in anger, tells the press, who go wild over the revelation that Joss was a woman (how Joss personally identified is not revealed).  Millie, Colman’s mother and Joss’ wife, the only person who knew Joss’ secret, leaves their London home to hide in their Scottish holiday cottage and deal with her grief privately. Meanwhile, Colman makes a deal with tabloid journalist Sophie Stones, who wants to write a sordid sex-scandal-exposé type book about Joss. The novel features several different points of view – Millie’s, Colman’s, Sophie’s – plus short snippets from various other people, all of whom have some connection to Joss in life or death. As you would expect from a novel from such a talented poet as Jackie Kay, the characters’ voices are all unique andcompelling, and the book is a truly beautiful read.

Buy: Amazon | Bookshop.org (affiliate links)

Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

I stayed up far too late one night reading this! Bee is trying to figure out where her mother Bernadette has gone, piecing together emails, notes, and letters from her father, the other mothers at her school, and Bernadette herself, a one-time architecture genius who struggled to find her place in the world after becoming a mother. It’s part first-person narrative, part-epistolary novel (a novel told in written communications) and found the way the story was told so compelling. It’s funny, moving, and challenging. The different characters in the book come across so vividly through their writing, and as a huge fan and devoted student of the art of the compelling first-person voice, I thought it was wonderful.

Buy: Amazon | Bookshop.org (affiliate links)

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green

This novel combines some of the best bits of contemporary and sci-fi genres to make a fascinating story that also questions the nature of celebrity, community, and hope. April May is on her way home one night when she spots a giant robot, and, assuming it’s a strange new (and very impressive) work of art, she calls her friend who makes YouTube videos and gets him to come over and shoot some footage with her. When she wakes up the next morning she discovers they’ve gone viral and these robots have popped up in places all over the world. April May sets out to investigate the mysterious origins of the robots, whilst also trying to turn herself into a kind of celebrity, setting out to become a sort of spokesperson for the  robots.

Buy: Amazon | Bookshop.org (affiliate links)

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir, first in The Locked Tomb series

This is an really strange book – it’s a sci-fi-fantasy locked room mystery with an idiosyncratic narrative style that’s very funny and delightful. It’s also about friendship that was forged in very very strange circumstances! Gideon is a servant of an aristocratic house of gloomy necromancers who kind of worship death and is desperate to get out. Her latest foiled escape plan leads to the revelation that Harrowhark, mistress of the house and heir to the whole situation, has been summoned by the Emperor. Harrow needs a cavalier, a swordsperson, to assist her but the official cavalier wimps out and Gideon ends up taking his place. When they arrive, they are presented with a puzzle to solve, which gets scarier and weirder when murders start happening. They have to investigate whilst also trying not to get killed themselves! It’s kind of got this weird decadent gross faded glamour wealth privilege thing going on but also it’s bizarre and magical! It’s extremely entertaining and very very odd – you will get it or you won’t, and I very much get it.

Buy: Amazon | Bookshop.org (affiliate links)

Whistle by E. Lockhart (writer) and Manuel Preitano (illustrator)

Willow has a lot going on – her mother has cancer and can’t afford the treatment, and she’s also involved in local politics and activism to help save their neighbourhood in Gotham City. Between going to protests, school, and her job at a dog shelter, she’s too exhausted to function. To her rescue, comes her mother’s long-lost friend E. Nigma who offers her a job helping to run his very illegal poker nights. This seems to solve all her problems until she ends up finding herself in hot water with various super villains! There are some interesting new takes on these villains you might recognize from Batman. There is also an adorable dog! I don’t want to say more than that because it’s a graphic novel length book and I could easily spoil the joy you’ll find, but I loved it.

Buy: Amazon | Bookshop.org (affiliate links)

Want to learn about more of my favourite books?

My Favourite Books Read in 2020

My Favourite Books Read in 2019

My Favourite Books Read in 2018

My Favourite Books Read in 2017

My Favourite Reads of 2016

Filed Under: Book Chat, Recommendation Lists, Reviews, YouTube

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Hi! I'm Julianne and this is my book blog. Click my picture to read more about me.

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