One of the most brilliant books I‘ve ever read! Incredible plot, prose that was just perfection... what most surprised me was how thrilled-like some scenes (and one particular character!) read! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

🌟🌟🌟 A challenging read, but incredibly honest and eye-opening!

Starting this one on audiobook today... looks like harrowing but important content!

🌟🌟🌟🌟 A great reflection on eating locally and seasonally, and conscious consumption- I learnt a lot from this!

🌟🌟🌟🌟 Full review : https://sixminutesforme.com/2018/08/22/the-incendiaries-by-r-o-kwon/

🌟🌟🌟🌟 full review: https://sixminutesforme.com/2018/08/20/ponti-by-sharlene-teo/

🌟🌟🌟🌟 https://sixminutesforme.com/2018/08/17/call-them-by-their-true-names-by-rebecca-...

🌟🌟🌟 https://sixminutesforme.com/2018/08/16/still-lives-by-maria-hummel/

🌟🌟🌟🌟If there was ever a love letter to reading and being a bookworm, this is it! This pint-sized essay collection had me thinking about how my own reading life has developed over the years, and how being a reader has shaped my life. Thanks, Anne, for reminding me that I‘m not alone and that there are kindred spirits out there ready to leave their mark on my reading life.

Loving this mystery so far!!

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 https://sixminutesforme.com/2018/08/07/putney-by-sofka-zinovieff/

I‘m finding this much more readable than I expected, and like the way that the narrative is actively engaging with the obvious Lolita comparisons being drawn (Ralph expressly distinguishes himself from Humbert Humbert), and I‘m intrigued to see where this heads in light of it being a more modern narrative than Lolita. Already I‘m feeling Daphne‘s perspective shift with hindsight and I can‘t wait to see what she does when armed with this.

The story is a fusion of magic, a broken society, a future political struggle, and is a unique take on an over-saturated genre. Personally, I found the gore a bit gratuitous and couldn‘t stomach some of the descriptions of the beheadings. Such a shame as I think the concept behind this novel was quite unique, I just got lost in the violence which didn‘t always feel like it needed to be there to get the point across

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 I absolutely adored this essay collection, it is a real breath of fresh intersectional feminist air 🙌🏻 I think it works so well as each essay looks at the author‘s first encounter with feminism not connecting with other parts of her or their identity, and I think is a collection that many will feel included by.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 I‘m now aboard the Backman fan train and not getting off until I read more of his books! This lives up to the hype and more!

This modern poetry collection spans the author‘s childhood & experience growing up in New Orleans, to adulthood at Harvard University. Two standouts for me were Counterfactual (in which he recounts playing with waterguns in the street as a child with white friends, and his father‘s subsequent ‘reprimand‘ of this), Ode to The Only Black Kid in Class (which describes the weight of having to be a voice for a group when you‘re the only member present)

🌟🌟🌟💫 This was creepy AF!! Twisty mother daughter psychological thriller with some horror thrown in for good measure toward the end! Full review here: https://sixminutesforme.com/2018/07/17/baby-teeth-by-zoje-stage/

This stems from a 2005 national oral history project commissioned by the American Bar Association‘s Commission on Women in the Profession, where 100 senior women were interviewed by junior colleagues on their personal and professional histories... fascinating concept and it covered women lawyers from various racial, cultural, educational and social backgrounds who went on to have an equally diverse range of careers (full review on my blog)

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I would recommend reading the translator‘s note prior to starting the novel – not only is it fascinating but it also explains the use throughout the novel of Creole language particularly. So much of Chamoiseau‘s writing is an homage to the language itself, and at times I felt I was wading through its literary density, much as our title character was making his way through the unforgiving landscape on his run to freedom.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Roxane Gay has such a command of the short story format that she is able to bring such depth and complexity in such a short word count. I loved the sensual ‘forbidden‘ love in Of Ghosts and Shadows, but was also floored by the harrowing multigenerational story of life born in conflict in In The Manner of Water or Light. This was a brilliant collection and a great starting point for those new to Gay‘s fiction.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ Interesting concept and very well written, but the pacing felt too slow for me - read if you liked Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro or Only Ever Yours by Louise O‘Neill - full review https://sixminutesforme.com/2018/07/07/suicide-club-by-rachel-heng/

Personally, I felt like I was left at the end of this still unsure of what the author‘s central thesis was (why does TKAM matter?), however it did raise a lot of interesting questions. The chapter looking at whether TKAM is racist is probably the best example of this, and I think it would make an excellent book club choice for that reason. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I was completely blown away by this memoir! Full review at https://sixminutesforme.com/2018/06/28/eggshell-skull-by-bri-lee/

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ https://sixminutesforme.com/2018/06/25/sing-unburied-sing-by-jesmyn-ward/

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 Like all short story collections, not every story will work for each reader, but for me my overall impression was buoyed by the standouts in the collection, namely ‘In The Dark‘ and ‘Margaret and Mary at the End of the World.‘ The latter touched on quite dark content in an otherwise very whimsical collection, but it‘s the one that has stayed with me since finishing this book!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (this was fabulous as an audiobook!) https://sixminutesforme.com/2018/06/22/the-book-of-m-by-peng-shepherd/

Tastefully steamy rom-com that had me up past my bedtime finishing! Highly recommend! Full review https://sixminutesforme.com/2018/06/21/when-katie-met-cassidy-by-camille-perri/ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This blew me away - what a debut! Full review www.sixminutesforme.com

If you‘re a die-hard fan you‘ll enjoy this behind the scenes overview from the show concept, finding the perfect cast, to the legacy of the show. ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ (thanks NetGalley and Simon & Schuster For this ARC in exchange for an honest review) full review at www.sixminutesforne.com

⭐️⭐️⭐️ A sweet enough memoir meets chronicle of modern female friendships that is rich in pop culture references, but ultimately didn‘t leave a lasting impression on me. Thanks to NetGalley and Dutton for my review copy (and my friend @kdwinchester for gifting me this hard copy ARC) Full review here https://sixminutesforme.com/2018/06/13/text-me-when-you-get-home-by-kathleen-sch...

⭐️⭐️⭐️ Gritty, visceral and imaginative language but for me the narratives within these short stories were distracted and lost me along the way. Full review https://sixminutesforme.com/2018/06/15/florida-by-lauren-groff/

Hearing Gail Honeyman speak about her debut novel, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, made me fall in love with this book all over again!😍🙌🏻 Thanks for visiting Houston on your book tour!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ full review: https://sixminutesforme.com/2018/06/11/a-place-for-us-by-fatima-farheen-mirza/

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This was a short but compelling memoir that in many ways seeks to dispel myths that motherhood is all sunshine and roses. I really enjoyed it and found it utterly compelling (full review up on the blog - www.sixminutesforme.com) // Thanks to @LittleBrownBooks for the review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Picking up my first book by Joyce Carol Oates!

I‘ve just popped up a video talking through some of the books I‘ve read for the #ReadingWomenChallenge (including the fabulous An American Marriage by Tayari Jones!) www.youtube.com/SixMinutesForMe

Tearing through this short story collection! Anyone read it?

Absolutely loved this introspective literary reflection on the various permutations of motherhood - full review https://sixminutesforme.com/2018/05/25/sight-by-jessie-greengrass/ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Doing a buddy read of this with two other booktubers... intrigued to see where this goes but enjoying the writing style and prose so far! Very introspective which makes up for minimal movement in plot itself #NetGalley

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ So blown away by the incredible prose, the sensitivity to her subject matter, and her unrelenting commitment to see the Golden State Killer found! Full review: https://sixminutesforme.com/2018/05/23/ill-be-gone-in-the-dark-one-womans-obsess...

I spent my Sunday morning indulging in a breakfast that made me think of home (hello, Vegemite!), while reading this delightful new novel also set in Melbourne! It sure did make this expat homesick!! I‘ve popped a full review up on my blog ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#ReadingWomenMonth TBR - hear me talk about what I‘ll be reading in June here: https://youtu.be/B14YrCgaqj8

It‘s been a while since I was immersed into an art community so directly (The Strays by Emily Bitto) so I‘m looking forward to meeting the delightful musicians in this quartet! 🎶

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ full review here: https://sixminutesforme.com/2018/05/16/ask-me-about-my-uterus-by-abby-norman/

Full review here: https://sixminutesforme.com/2018/05/15/eleanor-oliphant-is-completely-fine-by-ga...

On an aesthetic note, I really hate the cover of the US edition - the Uk edition is gorgeous and so aptly connects with the plot!

Starting this one (finally!)

https://sixminutesforme.com/2018/05/09/from-the-corner-of-the-oval-a-memoir-by-b... ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Weekend reads 📚

Full review here https://sixminutesforme.com/2018/05/05/the-female-persuasion-by-meg-wolitzer/