2021 Book Haul

Hello amazing readers,

We’re a little late to the party but Happy New Year! Much like everyone else in the UK we’ve been feeling this third national lock down. Netflix, baking banana bread, and napping is the most we’ve been doing but now we have officially gotten our motivation back! With our newfound wave of motivation, we have a new book haul to start 2021 right. Maria and I have a variety of different books talking on a lot of different topics from classism, to Gothic, to romance and we are very excited to share them with you.

1) Milkman by Anna Burns

Shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for fiction 2019 this novel focuses on scandal and abuse. This novel is based in Northern Ireland and tackles the turbulent conflict from the perspective of an 18-year old girl who has absolutely no interest in the hostility. With the unwanted sexual attention from an older gentleman in the community called Milkman this novel puts emphasis on rumors, fear, and abuse.

2) Fear and loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson

The basis of this novel is on the violent and drug fueled culture that Las Vegas thrives on. Far from its origins of hippie ideals, this novel is a commentary on how the American Dream negatively impacts morality and culture. This novel was such a success, an adaptation was created starring Johnny Depp and Benicio del Toro. This is definitely going to be a good read.

3) Saltwater by Jessica Andrews

This novel deals on the issues of classism and the complexities of shifting class identities. Not only does it deal with classism, this novel focuses on the issues that can occur within mother-daughter relationships. Coming from a lower class background, this novel was on our 2021 book haul as we have first-hand experience in moving away from what you know and being surrounded by people from a variety of backgrounds. Class underpins British society so this is a definite must read.

4) The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

This is one of the older novels in this haul but has been seen as a classic. Written as a novel in 1951 the novel that was originally written for adults it was quickly adopted by teenagers and quickly became a symbol of rebellion. With the themes of angst and alienation that teenagers often feel, this will be an interesting read from an adult perspective. Around one million copies are bought each year, and we are definitely apart of the wave this year.

5) The Testaments by Margaret Atwood

Anyone who has read The Handmaids Tale knows the absolute cliff-hanger we were left with at the end of the novel. Having read the novel in school almost seven years ago it always got me slightly agitated that I didn’t know what happened next. But now Margaret Atwood has published The Testaments, the follow up novel to the dystopian society of Gilead. Alongside Bernadine Evaristo’s Girl, Woman, Other, The Testaments was also the winner of the Booker Prize in 2019 literary prize. This is definitely going to be an enjoyable read.

6) Pine by Francine Toon

As Francine Toon’s debut novel, Pine has become a literary sensation. Not only was it the winner of the Mcllvanney Prize in 2020 it was also shortlisted and long-listed for other literary prizes throughout the year. The novel is an eerie Gothic thriller set in the unsettling Scottish highlands and focuses on a decade long mystery and the feelings of inescapable hometown claustrophobia. We know we definitely won’t be reading this chilling tale after dark.

7) Love in Colour by Bolu Babalola

I have to admit, I have never really been the kind of reader that buys romance novels, I usually went for graphic and violent sci-fi novels or a contrasting political based activist novel. However, Love in Colour definitely caught our attention, my attention. This book is a collection of short stories that retell mythical tales of love from across the globe. This anthology is not only decolonising the romance genre, but it is presenting love in new and innovative stories that cultures have been telling for centuries. Keep an eye out, this novel may get a Valentine’s day special!

8) Three Women by Lisa Taddeo

Taking nearly a decade to write Three Women is definitely a novel for the mature crowd. This novel is focused on the strong sexual exploration of three different women all caught between a world of fantasy and the real world of cruel reality. Exploring and documenting sexual politics, this novel is looking at the raw and honest lives of sexually liberated women in the twenty-first century. Three Women was also the winner of the British Book Awards Non-Fiction Narrative Book of the year in 2020, it will definitely be an interesting read.

9) Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez

This book is a more factual addition to our 2021 book haul. Classed as a Sunday Times Best Seller and the 2019 Science Book Prize winner, this dives deep into the world of gender bias and works on exposing the data bias in a world designed for men. Based on statistics and data this book exposes the gender data gap, which is the foundations of systemic discrimination against women. From technology to health there are no aspects of life that Perez has not covered. It will be interesting to see how the extent that gender bias and discrimination rules our everyday lives in a society that is supposedly equal.

This is everything that we have for our 2021 book haul! We are really excited to dive into our new buys and hopefully create some new content to share with you all. The question is, what do you have lined up to read for the new year?

Stay safe and thank you for reading!

Miah