WHAT I’M READING THIS MONTH

Here in London, the start of 2018 has been characterised by the unseasonably cold weather; weather that is oh-so conducive to bedding down with a good read under a blanket, with a cup of tea and delving into a new world found in the middle of the pages of a book.

There seems to be unintentionally a bit of a theme surrounding this post of recommendations; and that is that most of the books are memoirs of some kind. This year so far I’ve found myself drawn into personal writing and away from fiction (which is my usual go-to read). There’s something so wonderful about spending time in other people’s worlds and stories and when you know it’s all real life, it makes it even more poignant.

So here is what is currently on my bookshelf:

Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton

This is hand’s down the best book I’ve read this year so far. I’ve been a real fan of Dolly’s writing for years and am a known avid listener of her podcast The High Low. This book should be read by everyone – short and simple. It’s actually a book about friendship and ponders love in all it’s many, crazy forms through Dolly’s tales of growing up and attempting to find yourself. It’s a book about mistakes, the joy of life, finding laughter in the whimsical and silly and about appreciating every little thing life throws at you. I genuinely laughed and cried while reading this in one entire sitting one dreary saturday. I shall be shouting about it from the rooftops all year so if there’s one thing you do after reading this, order a copy here and then email me so we can chat about it!

The Sun and Her Flowers by Rupi Kaur

This is a truly beautiful book. I’ve never been hugely into poetry but have been dabbling recently and it’s great to have something like this on your bedside table so you can easily dip in and out before bed if you’re too tired for a full on chapter. Rupi’s book is a collection of poetry that explores the themes of love, grief, self-awareness and femininity – all through beautiful words and gorgeous illustrations. Highly recommended.

Lullaby by Leila Slimani

This short and chilling story is seriously not for the faint hearted. Leila’s book is the tale of a seemingly perfect nanny that transitions into a monster and ends up doing the unthinkable to the two children she looks after. Set in Paris, this is a quietly brilliant, atmospheric and unnerving read about every parent’s worst nightmare and it genuinely took my breath away. I can already imagine this being turned into the most terrifyingly brilliant screenplay and it’s making lots of noise here in the UK now after a successful publication in France, so run out and get your copy before everyone else does!

The Vanity Fair Diaries by Tina Brown

We chose this book as part of our Book Club and I devoured it. Tina Brown is a tour-de-force in the magazine world and if you’re not aware of her career, she’s worked as a magazine editor since the ’80s on magazine such as Tatler, Vanity Fair and The New Yorker. Her work as a magazine editor has changed the face of publishing, creating some of the most iconic covers in history and coining the term ‘high-low culture’, meaning it is ok to want to indulge in the latest piece of celebrity gossip but also read a long-form essay on politics or the latest Man Booker prize winner. This diary of her time as editor of Vanity Fair in New York is “a mile-a-minute read”, as Meryl Streep’s quote describes on the book cover, and is a direct window into the fascinating and fabulous world of Manhattan in the ’80’s and ’90’s.

She Regrets Nothing by Andrea Dunlop

I’ve yet to start this as am saving for the plane journey on our next holiday, but this novel is described as ‘Gossip Girl meets The Great Gatsby’ and so I’m sold. Set in Manhattan, the book is said to explore the dark side of wealth through a seductive tale of family, fate and fortune.  Sometimes you just need to lose yourself in the pages of some light-hearted chick-lit, right?

The Most of Nora Ephron

Somehow, despite just over thirty years on this planet, I had not yet gotten around to reading any of Nora’s fiction. After pretty much most of my favourite writers referencing her at some point, I thought it was time to delve in and so have been really enjoying this extensive compilation of the work of one of America’s funniest and most acute writers. Everything you could possibly want from Nora Ephron is here—from her writings on journalism, feminism, and being a woman to her best-selling novel, Heartburn, written in the wake of her devastating divorce; from her hilarious and touching screenplay for the movie When Harry Met Sally; from her ongoing love affair with food, recipes and all, to her witty blogs on politics and the moving meditations on growing older. Warning: reading this book WILL make you want to re-watch all of her rom-coms!

Rule’s Don’t Apply by Ariel Levy

Ariel is a brilliant American journalist, best known for her writings for The New Yorker. When she left for a reporting trip to Mongolia in 2012, she was pregnant, married, financially secure, and successful on her own terms. A month later, none of that was true.

Here, in this incredibly moving memoir, Ariel chronicles the adventure and heartbreak of being, in her own words, “a woman who is free to do whatever she chooses.”  I uploaded an insta-story when I started reading this and had an insane amount of replies from other women who had read and savoured this incredible book. I think Lena Dunham sums up the book perfectly with this quote; “Ariel Levy is a writer of uncompromising honesty, remarkable clarity, and surprising humour gathered from the wreckage of tragedy. Her account of life doing its darnedest to topple her, and her refusal to be knocked down, will leave you shaken and inspired. I am the better for having read this book.” Add it straight onto your ‘Everyone Should Own This Book’ list.

Happy reading guys!

LMNH x