End - Of - Autumn - Start - Of - Winter TBR
As autumn ends and the bells of Christmas ring throughout my ears. The daunting thought that I have not reached my reading goal for this year haunts me, worse than whatever drunken decisions I may or may not have made on Halloween weekend. I always knew I wouldn’t reach my reading goal, because when do any of us? Especially when fanfiction websites, with characters I’m already emotionally invested in, tempt me every night. However, after finishing Bodies by Christine Anne Foley, I have been forcibly pulled out of my reading slump and am determined to finish the following books before the New Year.
Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson
Admittedly, do I have to read this for one of my modules? Well, yes. However, this book has been on my TBR list for at least a few months at this point. The semiautobiographical novel follows Jeanette, a queer young woman who has been raised in a strict religious community. Her family and community are so religious that while Jeanette’s mother is reading the classic, Jane Eyre, to Jeanette, she changes the ending so Jane would marry St John and go on a mission. Trying to prepare and condition Jeanette to go on a mission one day. A queer coming-of-age novel with heavy religious themes and questioning the social norms pushed onto people, especially women? Now that’s a bit of me right there.
Heaven by Mieko Kawakami
When I tell you I bought this book back in the Summer and still haven’t picked it up, it’s actually a crime. I don’t know much about this book other than the fact that the two main characters are in school and are both being bullied; the two end up forming a bond and communicating through letters (I think?). I remember a lot of people online sobbing over this book, which I think makes it the perfect end-of-autumn-start-of-winter read.
Schoolgirl by Osamu Dazai
Sticking to the Japanese literature for a second here, Schoolgirl is a novella written from a schoolgirl’s point of view, discussing her girlhood and mental health struggles. I have read quite a bit of Osamu Dazai’s writing in the past, however, I have never found Schoolgirl in person, and prefer to read physical books. However, I’m concluding that I’ll never just naturally find it in person, so I may read it online.
Frankenstein by Mary Shelly
With the new movie adaptation just coming out on Netflix, how could I not? It would be a crime not to read Frankenstein during Winter, especially this Winter. With everyone on my For You page talking about how maternal they feel towards the Creature, or arguing about how Frankenstein should be much younger, think first year of university age.
Sunburn by Chloe Michelle Howarth
Shortlisted for Book of the Year for The British Book Awards. I’ll admit, I just picked this book up at the same store I got Bodies, hoping that my “get-a-random-feeling-and-accidentally-pick-up-a-masterpiece” method will work again. It appears to be a queer coming-of-age set in a small Irish village, in the early 1990s. It appears I have a thing for Sapphic coming-of-age novels, especially when the characters struggle with religion and fear of rejection. Don’t look into that.
….I think that’s a good place to stop before I out myself any more than I already have.