Here are some books that I recently read and enjoyed in no particular order. My short reviews might spoil some books so I added the spoiler tag.
~Nighbitch by Rachel Yoder. What I liked about it: it was exciting, gruesome, and talked about the hard parts of motherhood. It also had a strong female protagonist that I really related to.
~Push by Ashley Audrain. What I liked about it: it was so exciting and uneasy that I read it in one sitting.
~Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman. What I liked about it: I related to the sadness and loneliness that Eleanor was feeling.
~Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata. What I liked about it: I related to the feeling of being different but not seeing why that’s a bad thing, which is what I felt like the protagonist was feeling.
~We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson. What I liked about it: the writing style made me feel like something bad was going to happen. I know the protagonist was “bad” but I loved her.
Books I read and didn’t finish/like.
Neuromancer by William Gibson – very cool concept but quite a slog to get through. Not enough humanism to keep me interested.
Never Let You Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. -I wanted to like it and finish it so badly, but I did not. Good concept, very slow and sad story.
Books on my list/ books I’m waiting for in the mail:
Invisible monsters (not the remix) by Chuck Palahniuk
I look forward to your suggestions; thank you so much for your time!!!
by puggle0819
5 Comments
The Space Adventures Of Commander Laine. Female based, will make you laugh, maybe cry, you’ll love it
I recently read these books with women protagonists that left me feeling strong mama feels….
The Love Of My Life
The Farm
I haven’t read Nightbitch yet but you may like those two.
Ooohhhhh sadness and loneliness is my wheelhouse:
Good Grief by Lolly Winston – A woman dealing with the recent death of her husband. Very raw but humorous.
Garden of Small Beginnings by Abbi Waxman, also about a woman dealing with the death of her husband but not as recent so not as raw and with the addition of children.
A Certain Hunger by Chelsea G Summers and Confessions by Kanae Minato.
{{I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman}}
> the feeling of being different but not seeing why that’s a bad thing
The MC in this book definitely sees herself as different and the others in the prison with her do too.
> I related to the sadness and loneliness that Eleanor was feeling.
Because of the apparent different between her and her peers, the MC is alone while being surrounded by others. She never professes loneliness and attributes that to her being different and not entirely human (though she is).
> Good concept, very slow and sad story.
I describe this book as bleak, yet beautiful. It will not answer all, or even most, of the questions you have about it. It was for sure sad, but quietly hopeful.
From the afterword:
> She is an example of a person raised without culture, without societal constructs, without knowledge. She is a pure experiment asking: what does a person become when stripped to the core, raised in isolation? What might a woman be like under these conditions? It is testament to the strength and beauty of this novel that she remains a character too, not just a device; she is formed, sympathetic, and possessing both curiosity and courage.