All The Books I Read This Year (So Far) - Part 4

This is meant to be a quarterly article but then I ran out of space so here is August, September and October's reading list

Welcome to my quarterly list of everything I am reading at the moment. As an author myself, I have been reluctant to be honest about books on the internet. I am very sensitive to my own reviews and therefore I do not like talking negatively about books when the author could potentially see it and that’s why… this has become a paid feature. If you would like to see what I’m reading, you can become a paid subscriber for as little as £1.65 a week with an annual subscription and if money’s tight right now, become a free subscriber anyway and you can get a peek at 2 of my reviews out of the 10 in this list. As a free subscriber, you’ll still get an article every other week as well as the ability to ask questions to my community in our chat so it’s worth joining in! Hit the button below.

---

A Renaissance Of Our Own - Rachel Cargle

And this is why I wanted to tackle my To-Be-Read list! Yes, most of them are gifted books and therefore there are some books in there that I wouldn’t buy but there are absolutely some gems and this is one of them. I met Rachel many years ago (I think in 2017) and have been following her ever since so this was doubly fascinating to me to be able to hear her own thoughts about things that I saw publicly like the photo of her and Dana going viral. The reason I adore Rachel is she is one of the first activists who talks about joy, peace, relaxation and ease. She starts the books with her top three values: ease, opportunity and abundance, and it is just such a beautiful way to live your life. A lot of activism has the stereotype that activists must struggle, be exhausted and not ask for anything in return for their work (like money). She is rewriting this narrative. I also learned a lot about how the leaders of first-wave feminism said many racist things and as someone who thought they were well-read on the topic, it horrified me that this has been erased from that history. I took so much away from this book that I will be putting in my own life and I am so proud of Rachel for her journey and evolution that has landed her deciding that her work will centre on Black joy, ease and rest, instead of trying to change the minds of people who are not interested in learning or being better.

The Road Trip - Beth O’Leary

This book is exact proof that you find the right book at the right time. I have tried starting this book many times and could never get past the first chapter. I would say I don’t know why but I do. I was burned out and focusing on any book with multiple characters was impossible for my brain when it was tired and wired. I brought this book on holiday to Morroco and that ended up being the perfect timing and with a relaxed brain, I whizzed through it. It was sweet, romantic and just a lovely gentle book to ease me back into fiction. The only word of caution is that do not read this if you have broken up with an ex and are contemplating reuniting. It might be a possibility for Addie and Dylan but that does not mean it will work out for you. Next time I want my brain to take a holiday, I will definitely consider one of Beth’s other books!