Over the summer I regained my passion for reading. It got lost during my English Undergraduate; however, with some amazing releases this summer my world has been filled with books!
I'm not usually a person for (auto)biographies. Neither genre has ever struck me but recently I have read Kenneth Williams's and Victoria Wood's authorised biographies. These two books have led me down the route of wanting to read more books alike.
Pageboy is the first biography I've read of a living person under the age of seventy (yes I've also read Sir David Jason's) and it was worth the read.
This book carries big statements and messages that I wish everyone in society would see and hear, but alas not everyone will read this brilliant book and not everyone will see it the same way I did. Though I wish those who will read it or have read it, do.
The book shows the true side of Hollywood and Elliot Page shows the true side of society. In this horrible world where people within the LGBTQIA+ community feel unsafe, it is books like this where you can read about real life experiences that can make the world better - even if these experiences shouldn't have happened in the first place.
2. Yellowface, by Rebecca F. Kuang
Yellowface is a novel that I've seen many people read this summer. I just had to read it for myself too - partly to join the club of people who were talking about it... Who am I to judge without having read it?
I honestly thought I would know where Kuang would take this novel, especially after I spoke to people who had already read it. Well... I was wrong! Though it probably isn't a spoiler to say that it was no surprise when June took Athena's manuscript - what happens when her secret is compromised is something to behold.
There is no wonder Reece Witherspoon has made it her Book Club pick for these glorious summer months. It is also no surprise I got into this book over the summer after finding a love for reading again. Something about someone stealing a book manuscript whilst finding your love of reading again, somehow really gives this book more.
It is also no surprise I got into this book over the summer after finding a love for reading again
This is a novel that I preordered purely because Alice Oseman said they "loved it" - to quote the front cover - and throughout 2023 I have been OBSESSED with Alice Oseman.
When I got this book back in May, I knew it was my holiday, summer read. Once I started reading this book I couldn't put it down. It is one of the first LGBTQIA+ books that I've read set in the medieval period and it did not disappoint. The idea of people being a part of the LGTBQIA+ community hundreds of years ago is not uncommon; however, novels set around this period are. Or at least to my knowledge.
It has single-handedly become one of my obsessions over summer and, after eight years of being out as bisexual myself, helped me understand some parts of me I didn't already understand. Just because it is set in a world I cannot relate to does not mean it is unrelatable.
Lex Croucher wrote their first YA novel and it happens to be one of the best YA novels I've read in a long time. I highly recommend reading Gwen and Art are Not in Love for the descriptions of jousting, drinking and fighting, as well as the stereotypical romance that you no doubt thought the book was about.
