rosie abigail

This was my first  five star read of the year and was a contentious one at that! When I posted that I was finally reading this, I was hit with two types of messages; “girl, you are going to love this”, or “yeah it was an absolute ‘Did Not Finish’ for me”. I think you can guess which team I sided with. 

Without giving anything away, it is dark and twisted and provides a really intriguing look into the idea of humanity and our morals. In all honesty, I’m not sure it would be for everyone, as sections of it can be quite dry. However, those moments really act as a foil to the story and the darker plot points that develop. In fact, it’s one of the only thrillers I have ever found, well, thrilling. 

The second five star book of the year goes to this absolute beauty of a memoir. It’s called ‘Crying in H Mart’ but it had me crying in my living room, bedroom, bath, on the train, on break at work. It’s not a memoir in the traditional, historic sense, but it’s a glimpse into a daughter’s relationship with her mother as they both follow the path that life had set. 

It’s also an emotive look into how food ties into cultures and grief practices. Beautifully written by Michelle Zauner of Japanese Breakfast, it’s a personal story that is yet so universal.

After reading this, I immediately went and made a pot of cawl (Welsh stew), to celebrate my family and the love we share. 

I wish this book had been published whilst I was at university. It’s everything I ever wanted to write about as an undergraduate. Now, as a grown, chronically ill woman, I’m going to be making this my manifesto. Every time someone asks “what’s wrong with you?” or “why are you so angry at the world?”, I’ll throw them a copy and say “speak to me after this”. 

To put it simply, this book is a historical look at how women’s health has been treated across the ages and covers into modern day. It’s not just a historic look, but social, political, and cultural too. Plus, it’s very intersectional across the board and that makes my academic heart so happy.

This book came into my life at a necessary time; I had fallen out of reading for a few months thanks to stress and health problems, and then I picked this up for a family trip away. When I say this book broke me into a million pieces, I mean it. And I would let it to me all over again. 

The most marvellous aspect of tis novel is actually two fold. Firstly, it is a real celebration of platonic love; the twists and turns that come with it, but also how necessary it is – perhaps even more so than romantic love. Secondly, it honours the power of being a nerd, a geek, a techie. Coding and computer games and knowledge! As a proud little nerd, aspects of this book really made me feel empowered. Before breaking my heart of course.

This novel is Bonnie Garmus’ debut novel and she had it published in 2022 when she was sixty-five years old. In 2023, it was adapted into a TV series for Applie, starring Marvel icon Brie Larson. Now that’s a success story. 

When I say the literary term ‘contemporary classic’, this is the kind of book I mean. It fits well into the culture we have, challenges aspects of it, and shakes your world once you’ve read it. And that’s exactly what Lessons in Chemistry did. I won’t get into the novel too much, as I feel spoiling anything would take the heart out of the book, but it both honours science and magnifies the experience of women in sixties America. Big up Bonnie Garmus and the novel’s protagonist, Elizabeth Zott, for breaking the mould!