Review: 10 Minutes, 38 Seconds in this Strange World by Elif Shafak

Elif Shafak is a Turkish-British activist and award-winning novelist who regularly speaks on women's rights, minority rights and freedom of speech. Her eleventh novel, '10 Minutes, 38 Seconds in this Strange World' is about Leila, a Turkish sex worker, who is found dead in a rubbish bin on the outskirts of Istanbul. In the 10 minutes and 38 seconds it takes for her mind to shut down, the reader is taken with her on a journey through her memories, from a little girl living in the countryside to the woman murdered on page one.

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Review: How to Be Right by James O’Brien

Okay, you're either going to love or hate the title of this book - but I promise it is so worth the read. 

Review: Notes to Self by Emilie Pine

As an Associate Professor in Modern Drama at the University College Dublin, Emilie Pine is an established academic, but Notes to Self is her debut collection of personal essays. And what a debut. In a beautiful collection that reads more like a memoir, Pine translates messy, raw and emotional experiences into thought provoking and meaningful prose.

Review: The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

*SOUND THE SPOILER KLAXON!* If you haven’t read The Handmaid's Tale (or seen the first season of the TV show) stop right there, as this post contains spoilers. Lots and lots of spoilers.

Review: Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

Emily St. John Mandel's fourth novel, Station Eleven is a haunting and atmospheric read that will stay with you long after you finish the last page.

Review: Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Published in March 2019, Daisy Jones and the Six was all over social media for a hot minute. This is partly thanks to Reese Witherspoon snapping up the TV rights faster than you can say "it's all happening," but also - who doesn't enjoy a frolic in the 70s heyday of sex, drugs and rock 'n roll, while safely snuggled up on the sofa sipping tea! I had to give the book a read myself to see if it really was worth the hype. 

Review: Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie

Winner of the 2018 Women's Prize for Fiction, it is not hard to see why Kamila Shamsie's seventh novel, Home Fire, touched so many readers. This is a beautiful, heart-breaking and thought-provoking deep dive into the social injustices faced by Muslims in Britain, and how the values of society, family and faith can clash in catastrophic ways. 

Review: This is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay

Adam Kay delivers his first novel: a hilarious, heartbreaking, eye-opening and award winning collection of diary entries that span his five year career as an NHS doctor.