Thank you so much Mamie, such a kind thing to say I really appreciate it! If you enjoy SK culture I think you would love Love In The Big City! Let me know what you think of it once you’ve read it. I hope you enjoy being here on Substack. Take care also xx
You’re welcome to link my piece if you’d like Mamie, that would be more than okay. Writing confidence comes with time and practice! I feel more confident in my writing with every Substack piece I write, I hope the same feeling happens for you too! X
I started Know My Name on audio and struggled with it - I understand why authors want to read their own material when it is so personal but this one would have benefitted from a professional. Based on your review I think I need to switch to the physical copy! Also thanks for sharing The Book of Gaza, it sometimes feels so hard to face these stories but its so important.
Oh wow, I can imagine listening to Know My Name on audio is a lot more confronting than the book (which is already very confronting) especially coming from Chanel’s own voice too! I think when a book is as emotionally intense as one like Know My Name, sometimes it’s easier to digest at your own pace & hear it in your ‘own’ voice in your head? I think listening to it would definitely have been a totally different experience. I endorse giving a physical copy a go!
And I agree, so hard but so important to face these stories, as reading them will never be as horrific as living them. We owe it to all those individuals to read their lived experiences.
I have seen quite a few memoirs come through recently with the authors reading the material, and I thought it was weird too? Maybe its just a memoir thing!
What an absolutely delightful advent calendar! I also loved reading your thoughts on Land of Milk and Honey. The awareness it brought to how fragile our food systems are was quite frightening.
The advent calendar is such a delight - I need another advent calendar just to count down November until I am able to start!! And I totally agree, it brought so much awareness about the fragility of our food systems. Made me consider how food scarcity might not slowly emerge overtime, but instead very abruptly with no warning. It is a completely terrifying thought. Makes me want to own a farm and become self reliant.
That is so valid Nicole, there’s a lot of heavy reads in this post!! (I wonder if my gravitation to such emotionally intense reads is a subconscious choice to reflect the state world right now) The stories will still be there for you when your heart is ready 💖
Martha!!! Slay!!!!! I’m adding The Possessed and Battle Royale to my list NOW!!!!! Funny story I was out in Atlanta, Georgia last weekend and the bouncer at the bar we went to was literally reading Battle Royale as he checked IDs at the door 😂😂 if that’s not an endorsement I don’t know what is!
Eve!!!! Thank you haha (slay always) Do you know what when I was reading The Possessed I thought of you!!!! Written in the 20th century AND a bit of romance? This is an Eve book! I think you’d really enjoy it. And the bouncer reading Battle Royale is so funny what an endorsement, goes to show how gripping it is! 600 pages would keep you company all night long on the door 😂 happy to have given you two new recs 🤩
Ooh, so many on this list sound great! I've had Love in the Big City on my list for a while now and everything I've read from Tilted Axis Press has been excellent. I'd not heard of Ring Shout and it sounds right up my street. October was a fab reading month for me - A few favourites: Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa (which increased my desire to visit Japan), A woman in the polar night by Christiane Ritter (an absolutely incredible memoir from a woman who spent a year with her husband on a remote Arctic island in the 30s) and Severance by Ling Ma (I love a good end of the world novel).
Yes I love Tilted Axis Press too! I did a big order a few weeks ago so have a few more titles of theirs to read! Ring Shout was very very good I think you’d enjoy! And your October reading month sounds epic!!! I am so intrigued by the memoir about spending a year on a remote artic island, that’s something I can’t even fathom? I bet it’s full of lots of poignancy about pace of life? And Severance has been on my tbr for some time - if you recommend it so much it’ll definitely inspire me to get my hands on it soon! Thank you so much for sharing your reads with me 💜
Ooh, what did you order? I think where the wild ladies are might be next on my list from them. I've read Tokyo Ueno Station by Yu Miri and Abandon by Sangeeta Bandyopadhyay - both beautiful.
The arctic memoir was totally not what I expected - all a lot more brutal and gruelling but moments of trememendous beauty too - made me gasp in horror and wonder frequently. I don't read a lot of books that aren't contemporary so I thought I'd be daunted by the sriting style and language but it was entirely readbale and really poetic in style.
So Distant From My Life by Monique Ilboudo (which I'm reading right now) and Father May Be An Elephant And Mother Only A Small Basket, But.. by Gogu Shyamala. I want to read Abandon so I'm glad you enjoyed it so much, I'll order that one next. I guess it doesn't surprise me an artic memoir would be so brutal and gruelling as I guess its a bit inherent to the landscape. I'm intrigued by it and I really love memoirs so I'm going to look into it. Thank you for putting it onto my radar!
I ordered the same book advent and I’m so so excited for it! I absolutely love this idea! Based on Know My Name, I recommend Eggshell Skull by Bri Lee - although it’s probably hard to get in the UK as it’s Australian. Also the skill of a novella is amazing isn’t it? We read Small Things Like These for book club and we’re all blown away by the depth and emotion in a 150-ish page book
Oh Michelle I’m so excited for us both!! I can’t wait for us to open our first doors tomorrow!! Thank you so much for the recommendation of Eggshell Skull - I’ve never heard for it. The skill of a novella is so remarkable, they’re my favourites - so much depth and skill in such short books are remarkable.
Thank you so much Mamie, such a kind thing to say I really appreciate it! If you enjoy SK culture I think you would love Love In The Big City! Let me know what you think of it once you’ve read it. I hope you enjoy being here on Substack. Take care also xx
You’re welcome to link my piece if you’d like Mamie, that would be more than okay. Writing confidence comes with time and practice! I feel more confident in my writing with every Substack piece I write, I hope the same feeling happens for you too! X
I started Know My Name on audio and struggled with it - I understand why authors want to read their own material when it is so personal but this one would have benefitted from a professional. Based on your review I think I need to switch to the physical copy! Also thanks for sharing The Book of Gaza, it sometimes feels so hard to face these stories but its so important.
Oh wow, I can imagine listening to Know My Name on audio is a lot more confronting than the book (which is already very confronting) especially coming from Chanel’s own voice too! I think when a book is as emotionally intense as one like Know My Name, sometimes it’s easier to digest at your own pace & hear it in your ‘own’ voice in your head? I think listening to it would definitely have been a totally different experience. I endorse giving a physical copy a go!
And I agree, so hard but so important to face these stories, as reading them will never be as horrific as living them. We owe it to all those individuals to read their lived experiences.
Interesting! It’s actually pretty rare for authors to read their own work and often they need to audition to read the audio
I have seen quite a few memoirs come through recently with the authors reading the material, and I thought it was weird too? Maybe its just a memoir thing!
I’ve had my eye on love in the big city for so long now I know I must read it one day!
You’d love it Amani! It was so good, very funny too. A real joy to read 💜
What an absolutely delightful advent calendar! I also loved reading your thoughts on Land of Milk and Honey. The awareness it brought to how fragile our food systems are was quite frightening.
The advent calendar is such a delight - I need another advent calendar just to count down November until I am able to start!! And I totally agree, it brought so much awareness about the fragility of our food systems. Made me consider how food scarcity might not slowly emerge overtime, but instead very abruptly with no warning. It is a completely terrifying thought. Makes me want to own a farm and become self reliant.
Love the diversity of your reads ❤️
Thank you Nicole ❤️❤️ I hope there’s something that interests you!
I want to read the Gaza one (and the other recs you mentioned but my heart is not ready rn 😔)
That is so valid Nicole, there’s a lot of heavy reads in this post!! (I wonder if my gravitation to such emotionally intense reads is a subconscious choice to reflect the state world right now) The stories will still be there for you when your heart is ready 💖
Martha!!! Slay!!!!! I’m adding The Possessed and Battle Royale to my list NOW!!!!! Funny story I was out in Atlanta, Georgia last weekend and the bouncer at the bar we went to was literally reading Battle Royale as he checked IDs at the door 😂😂 if that’s not an endorsement I don’t know what is!
Eve!!!! Thank you haha (slay always) Do you know what when I was reading The Possessed I thought of you!!!! Written in the 20th century AND a bit of romance? This is an Eve book! I think you’d really enjoy it. And the bouncer reading Battle Royale is so funny what an endorsement, goes to show how gripping it is! 600 pages would keep you company all night long on the door 😂 happy to have given you two new recs 🤩
What a diverse read! 💕
Ooh, so many on this list sound great! I've had Love in the Big City on my list for a while now and everything I've read from Tilted Axis Press has been excellent. I'd not heard of Ring Shout and it sounds right up my street. October was a fab reading month for me - A few favourites: Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa (which increased my desire to visit Japan), A woman in the polar night by Christiane Ritter (an absolutely incredible memoir from a woman who spent a year with her husband on a remote Arctic island in the 30s) and Severance by Ling Ma (I love a good end of the world novel).
Oh, and a book advent calendar?! How tremendous...
I know!!
Yes I love Tilted Axis Press too! I did a big order a few weeks ago so have a few more titles of theirs to read! Ring Shout was very very good I think you’d enjoy! And your October reading month sounds epic!!! I am so intrigued by the memoir about spending a year on a remote artic island, that’s something I can’t even fathom? I bet it’s full of lots of poignancy about pace of life? And Severance has been on my tbr for some time - if you recommend it so much it’ll definitely inspire me to get my hands on it soon! Thank you so much for sharing your reads with me 💜
Ooh, what did you order? I think where the wild ladies are might be next on my list from them. I've read Tokyo Ueno Station by Yu Miri and Abandon by Sangeeta Bandyopadhyay - both beautiful.
The arctic memoir was totally not what I expected - all a lot more brutal and gruelling but moments of trememendous beauty too - made me gasp in horror and wonder frequently. I don't read a lot of books that aren't contemporary so I thought I'd be daunted by the sriting style and language but it was entirely readbale and really poetic in style.
So Distant From My Life by Monique Ilboudo (which I'm reading right now) and Father May Be An Elephant And Mother Only A Small Basket, But.. by Gogu Shyamala. I want to read Abandon so I'm glad you enjoyed it so much, I'll order that one next. I guess it doesn't surprise me an artic memoir would be so brutal and gruelling as I guess its a bit inherent to the landscape. I'm intrigued by it and I really love memoirs so I'm going to look into it. Thank you for putting it onto my radar!
I ordered the same book advent and I’m so so excited for it! I absolutely love this idea! Based on Know My Name, I recommend Eggshell Skull by Bri Lee - although it’s probably hard to get in the UK as it’s Australian. Also the skill of a novella is amazing isn’t it? We read Small Things Like These for book club and we’re all blown away by the depth and emotion in a 150-ish page book
Oh Michelle I’m so excited for us both!! I can’t wait for us to open our first doors tomorrow!! Thank you so much for the recommendation of Eggshell Skull - I’ve never heard for it. The skill of a novella is so remarkable, they’re my favourites - so much depth and skill in such short books are remarkable.
So exciting!!
I’ll come back to these comments in a week or so to share our experience with it!