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I haven’t blogged at all this year, for a number of reasons. Partly (and I hate to admit this) because I’ve lost my blogging mojo.
That’s not really a surprise though, is it? For the past few years my posts have been sporadic at best. Finding my way in a new career that I’ve always dreamed of has been exciting and challenging and time-consuming and draining, and blogging has sort of taken a back seat.
But there’s nothing like a worldwide crisis, one that’s forcing us all to stay inside and find new ways to entertain ourselves, to make me want to get words down. And as I’m between books, and the only thing I can even begin to think about writing about right now is a too-close-to-the-bone medical dystopian story, I found myself here, back in my WordPress dashboard, fingers tripping across the keys. It’s like riding a bike, but without any of the screaming muscles or tender sit bones.
Once I was here, though, I wasn’t sure what to write about. There’s so much I could say, so much I’d love to delve into.
But as many of us are stuck in our homes for the foreseeable future, I figured, what better to talk about than books?
If anything is going to get us through these uncertain and, let’s face it, fairly boring times, it’s going to be great stories.
I’ve read a few of those already this year. After a dismal couple of years of reading (I honestly don’t know if I’ve ever read less in my life. Writing does weird things to my brain sometimes), I set a goal for myself to read 52 books in 2020. One a week. It’s ambitious for me, but I knew it’d be possible if I actually prioritised reading.
So far I’m on track, and I’m loving it. I might even be slightly ahead of my goal, which is surprising and lovely. And I’ve read some absolute crackers, too. So if you’re looking for a book to get you a period of isolation, look no further than these five stories that offer the perfect form of escapism!
1. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
As well as setting myself a tough reading goal for 2020, I’ve also set myself a running challenge: to run 1,000km this year. This may be screwed up by the virus-that-shall-not-be-named, but regardless of how far I get, setting such aggressive goals made me wonder if I could combine the two. Rather than listening to music while I run (lovely, but not particularly exciting), I thought I’d give audiobooks a go.
I signed up for an Audible free trial, and thanks to a fantastic recommendation by Tracy Fenton, I downloaded The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid. Daisy Jones and the Six was one of my favourite books of last year, so I was pretty confident that I’d enjoy this one, too, although I wasn’t sure how much I’d like the audio format.
I’m pleased to say that I loved both the format and the content! This book is utterly brilliant. It tells the story of Evelyn Hugo, an ageing, secretive Hollywood starlet, whose seven husbands were the source of many a headline back in her heyday. The format is unusual in that we learn Evelyn’s story as it’s told to Monique, a New York journalist who’s as surprised as her boss when Evelyn Hugo asks specifically for Monique to be the one to write a piece for fashion magazine Vivant.
Taylor Jenkins Reid sprinkles the same magic on this book as she did on Daisy Jones, bringing characters and scenes to life so vividly that I found myself wanting to Google them as if they were real. It’s a peek into the glamour and grit of old Hollywood, as well as being a study into the decisions and characteristics of a complex and often misunderstood woman.
There’s a mystery at the heart of the story: why does Evelyn want her story to be told to Monique? What is their connection? I thought I had it all figured out but I was not expecting the big reveal. And that final line … utter perfection! I’d say it left me breathless, but I’ll be honest, that was probably the 5km I’d already run that day!
Get the audiobook here (not an Audible member? You can get a free trial here)
Order from Hive to have The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo delivered to your door while supporting an independent bookshop
2. Found Her by NJ Mackay
It’s no secret that I’m a fan of Niki Mackay’s writing (I, Witness and The Lies We Tell are both fantastic reads, and if you haven’t read them already, what are you waiting for?), but Found Her (written under the pseudonym NJ Mackay) is her best book yet.
Niki’s writing is fast-paced, and the tension mounts as the story unfolds, with characters that are complex and flawed and oh-so-human. I found myself comparing the writing style and voices to those in Dark Places by Gillian Flynn (which, for the record, is one of my all-time favourite books).
Found Her follows Eve, whose adult life has always been haunted by her sister Belle’s disappearance when she was a teenager. So when Belle turns up, badly injured and in a coma, Eve’s life is once again thrown upside-down. When the threats begin, Eve starts to wonder if the danger is really over for Belle, and whether it’s just beginning for her.
This page-turner will keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish – perfect for times like these!
3. The Whisper Man by Alex North
You know how some books are so incredibly hyped that by the time you read them, it all feels like a bit of a let down?
THIS IS NOT ONE OF THOSE BOOKS! It may well be one of the most hyped books of 2019/2020, but it is worth every tiny bit of hype it gets, and then probably some more.
I was a little scared to pick up The Whisper Man, not just because of the hype factor, but also because I understood that it was incredibly creepy – like, supernatural creepy – which I don’t deal with very well. But as soon as I started it I was hooked. Absolutely sucked in. And even though it was creepy as hell, and even though I was house-sitting in a strange, big house, by myself, during a crazy storm, I couldn’t stop reading.
Not only is The Whisper Man a brilliant mystery, it’s also a beautiful story of a man doing his best to love his son while trying to live with grief. It’s moving, terrifying, gripping, and with an ending that is completely satisfying.
Believe the hype. Read this book. Maybe just don’t do it in a creaking, unfamiliar house, during a storm. That would be a stupid thing to do.
Order from Hive to have The Whisper Man delivered to your door while supporting an independent bookshop
4. Beartown by Fredrik Backman
A bookstagrammer I follow posted about this book some time ago, and the idea of it tickled my fancy: Scandinavian forest? Crime? Ice hockey? Checks all the boxes, to be honest (I used to live in Vancouver and became an ice hockey fan when I lived there because it’s almost impossible not to). I’d not heard of Fredrik Backman before, which apparently means I’ve been living under a rock because he’s HUGE, and for great reason.
I was expecting a lot more of a crime-y book, if I’m honest. I thought there would be a murder in the first three chapters or something. But it’s not that kind of book (lol, side note: remember when I thought Daisy Jones and the Six was crime?!). Instead, it builds slowly and perfectly, painting the picture of each character, the culture they live in, and how they fit into it. And then the crime happens. And then the all-too-real repercussions. And then the brilliant, wonderful ending.
What I loved most is the way Backman portrays his characters. He doesn’t shy away from exposing their deepest flaws, but he does it so deftly that you can’t help but empathise with everyone, even in the midst of their brokenness. Beartown is completely beautiful and heartbreaking, and I’m now going to check out the rest of Backman’s work, because he is an exceptional writer!
Order from Hive to have Beartown delivered to your door while supporting an independent bookshop
5. Paper Ghosts by Julia Heaberlin
I loved Black Eyed Susans by Julia Heaberlin, so I was thrilled to discover that she’d written another: Paper Ghosts.
The concept of this book is brilliant and so original. The main character is a woman whose sister disappeared many years ago, leaving no trace. She’s spent her life obsessing over who took her sister, and whether she could still be alive, and her search has led her to Carl Feldman, a famous photographer, once suspected of murder, now suspected of having dementia.
What follows is a road trip through Texas – a woman on a mission for the truth and the man she believes killed her sister. Carl is a complex character, at times sweet and charming, at others strange and erratic. Is his behaviour an indication of his guilt? Or is it the dementia … if, indeed, he has dementia at all?
I loved every moment of this book. The sense of place is incredible (I almost whooped in delight when I saw a mention of Gourdough’s, a doughnut place I fell in love with in Austin), the tension is delicious, and the ending is just perfect. I can’t wait for more from this author!
Order from Hive to have Beartown delivered to your door while supporting an independent bookshop
I still have almost forty books to read this year, so I’d love to hear your best books of 2020 so far. What should I add to my list?
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