Monthly Book Stack Review June

Learning to be more fully ourselves, to have the courage to face whatever is thrown at us, and to never stop believing in magic seems to have been what I was yearning for this month.

Plenty of fairytale themes, strong women, and poignant words in the top books from my stack. I think you’ll enjoy them.

One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London

I needed a little light-hearted chic lit and this body-positive focused spin on putting the reality back into reality television was a perfect choice.

We’ve all seen the multitude of programming that claims to be ‘real’ but is everything but, not least because of the lack of diversity in size, shape and colour of contestants.  

In ‘One to Watch’ a popular plus size blogger posts a scathing rant about her favourite reality series which surprisingly leads to her being offered a chance to star on the show.

It’s funny and fast paced but as we follow Bea through her experience we share her vulnerability, self-doubt and attempts to find love ultimately and most importantly from herself.

How to Stop Time by Matt Haig

Only picked up because of a book club, this work of fiction was a provocative glimpse into what it would really mean to live forever. When we say we want to live forever, I think we get caught up in the forever and forget about the living part, because the truth is we can live right now, if we are brave enough to know what we want and then go after it.

It seems I have a pattern with finding books to escape into that bring me right back to the deepest questions I have for myself, and no real escapism at all. And ‘How to Stop Time’ was no exception. What would it take to truly live, and to relish the time we have rather than crave more? Listening to the main character ask and answer these questions and more over their lifetimes, finding the patterns in the way we experience the world around us, and perhaps the ways we distract ourselves from the things we want the most, gave me much to think about long after the satisfying resolution.

Scarlett by Marissa Meyer (Lunar Chronicles Series)

As you know retellings of the fairy tales are something I am always drawn to and the Lunar Chronicles are a brilliant re-imagining. Scarlett takes the bones of the Little Red Riding Hood story and transforms it into something very different. Still present are the red hood, the wolf and the trip to grandma’s house, but there the similarities end.

Part of a saga involving Cinder from the first book in the series, Scarlett exists in a futuristic world of cyborgs, and beings from Luna, but the dilemmas of relationship, of finding courage and trust in oneself are the same no matter the setting and this is where Marissa Meyer excels.

I have the third book on my bedside table as I write this, and the fourth ready on my bookshelf, this is an unputdownable series.

The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Dare

Storylines of courage seem to be a theme for me at the moment, and this book fits perfectly. Empowering people is a central part of almost everything I do for my work, in my writing, and in the spaces I hold and create both online and in person. More than that I hope to help create inside ourselves, space to find the calm, centered place from which we can empower ourselves.

Adunni is a young woman who refuses to be defeated by the life she is forced to live through. She refuses to be silenced and holds a strength I believe lives in all of us.

I don't just want to be having any kind voice . . .

I want a louding voice.

Following her story, the reader can’t help but feel inspired.

Live Loud, Love Loud by J.Iron Word

Poetry collections are new to me and for the most part I like dipping into them only rarely, and when I do, finding a connection and a resonance that soothes.

There is a magic in finding your experiences and emotions in someone else’s words. Perhaps things so private they remained in a felt sense only, unexpressed even in the pages of a journal.

J. Iron Word’s work is simple, heart-felt and beautiful. I loved this piece…

You are.

You are the water in

the vase, the green in

the stem and the color

in the petals. Your

beauty has always been

there and will continue

to be and if you let me

I will be the table you

rest upon.

Darkest Part of The Forest by Holly Black

We’ve all heard a fairytale of a beautiful woman sleeping in a coffin of glass waiting for her true love to break a curse and awaken her. But what if the person sleeping was a Faerie prince, what if the people of a village lived alongside the fae in a fragile and unspoken truce? What if you could wake him?

Holly Black is a great writer. Her words flow past you almost without you having the effort of reading them. Fast-paced, engrossing, perfect escapist fun!

I hope your own book stack isn’t in as much danger of toppling over as mine is! Don’t forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter so we can continue this conversation!