 Can you hear me? Hmm, don't listen. Hi everyone, welcome back to my channel. Hope you're all doing really, really well. So I am now in mine and Cameron's new flat. If you saw my recent catch-up video, then you'll know that we moved flat recently and we're all in now and settled and I am absolutely loving it. I'm currently sat in our living room on our green sofa which is one of my favorite things in the whole flat. We found it for like 50 quid in a charity shop. This won't necessarily be my permanent filming space. I'm still playing around with some ideas but this is it for today. Thank you to everyone who was so enthusiastic and kind about the idea of me doing a flat tour and a bookshelf organization video in the new flat. I'm really excited to do both of those things. They will be coming soon, I promise. And also I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who was so kind and welcoming on my last video that I did with my mom. She was so nervous about filming that video and you were all just so nice to her and made her feel really welcome and she really appreciated that, so thank you. So today I'm going to be doing a very overdue August and September recent reads video. I've read a fair bit over the past couple of months. I did some book reading and I read some poetry and some historical fiction and some literary fiction and the books that I read ranged from DNFs to 1.5 star reads to five star reads. So let's just go ahead and get started. I'm going to try and keep my reviews quite brief in this one because I think this could be quite a long video. And I do believe that I was sent all of these books in this video by the publishers, so heads upon that and thank you very much to the publishers. So I started off August by doing some book prize reading and the first book that I read was The Wall by John Lanchester. So to put it simply, I really, really disliked this book. So this book has the most basic transparent dystopian plot you could think of. It's set in a world very similar to our own and there has been a wall built around the country's borders. But I was like, it's cool, it's fine. The book will probably do something really interesting and exciting that it doesn't want to give away in the blurb. I thought the book might offer some really interesting insight or the characters might be so well drawn that you really believe them and you really sympathize with them. And it will be a really humane book that looks all of our current struggles. But no, none of this happened. Firstly, the writing in this book is very, very poor. John Lanchester tells you everything that happens in this book in the most monotonous and mundane way. He uses the same descriptions over and over and over again. It's very frustrating. There is no trust put in the reader whatsoever. He literally spells everything out for you, literally everything. This whole book is just incredibly heavy-handed in everything it's doing. It's basically just saying, let's not build a wall. Let's not make the sea levels rise. There's just nothing interesting or surprising about this story whatsoever. And there is so much room for interesting discussion here but hardly any of the themes are delved into basically at all. I thought that the book might delve into the idea of otherness, for example, but it just didn't. There was actually one character in here that that theme could have been really well explored through and John Lanchester just did nothing with it. The character's voices in here were also incredibly flat. There was basically nothing to the characters. I can't even say that they were one-dimensional because some of them didn't even have one key recognizable trait to me. Like I couldn't even tell some of them apart. I was reading it and nothing was happening and I thought something huge must be about to happen at the end of this book. But it didn't. The ending was really poor and disappointing as well. So honestly, I don't really know what this book was trying to do or who it was trying to target. It didn't have good characters. It didn't have good plot. It wasn't very reflective. I'm just confused. I'm confused as to what this book was and how it made it onto the book along list. It should not have been there. And in the end, I gave this one 1.5 stars. I then went on to read another bookabook and that one was Frankenstein by Jeanette Winterson. So this book is about a lot of things. We have a transgender doctor who is leading the debate in AI. We have an Arizona warehouse that is full of dead bodies waiting to come back to life. There is a man who is making a new generation of sex dolls and then there is also Mary Shelley in 1816 writing about a non-biological life form. So firstly, I loved the sections focusing on Mary Shelley far more than I thought I would. I loved her voice. I loved her musings. I thought the writing really well complemented her character. It was very stream of consciousness-y and she just came across as a very distinct character to me. The whole atmosphere and whimsy and contemplative nature of those sections were by far my favorite parts of the novel. But I didn't love the modern day sections in this book nearly as much as I thought I would, which was a surprise to me. I kind of thought that it would have been the other way around. I did enjoy the modern day sections in light of Mary Shelley's sections. I really liked the parallels that were drawn between the two and I thought this was handled quite well. And the modern day sections did touch on a lot of really interesting themes. I mean, we had AI and philosophy and gender, but I did feel like they were merely touched on regardless of how interesting and thought-provoking they were. I just wanted a more in-depth discussion of these themes and if I'm honest, I have found this in a few books recently that have discussed kind of philosophical themes that I've already studied and I do think that this may be because I do have a philosophy degree. I have studied these things in the past and so I have already thought about them and engaged with them more than the average reader. So that may not really be a very fair criticism of the book. It probably doesn't apply to many readers, but for me, it kind of leaves a rather unsatisfying reading experience. I also didn't really find the storyline that interesting. I know that wasn't really the main focus of the book, but I wasn't really that engaged with it. I also didn't care about the characters that much, apart from Mary Shelley. So overall, I would say that I loved the structure of this book. I loved the themes that were explored similarly and differently across both of the different timelines. I loved Mary Shelley's section. I thought she was fab and I was really engrossed there and I also really enjoyed thinking about some of the themes that cropped up in the modern day sections. But ultimately, I was just left kind of cold by this book. I was kind of unsatisfied. Essentially, I think I went in expecting greatness and I just didn't get it. There wasn't enough for me to really get my teeth into. So in the end, I gave Frankenstein three out of five stars. The next book that I read was a poetry collection and that was Reckless Paper Birds by John McCuller. This is a contemporary poetry collection which is published by Pendin the Margins, who are one of my favorite publishers ever. They make some of the best contemporary poetry collections there are. Last year, I read Spacecraft by John McCuller and it became one of my favorite poetry collections of all time. So naturally, I was really excited about this one and while I didn't love it quite as much as Spacecraft, I did really enjoy it. As in the last poetry collection, this one explores really intimate and individual experiences as well as exploring a whole host of social issues. The poems in here come in a variety of structures which I really, really enjoy and paper imagery and falling or diving imagery is used in this collection a lot, which is beautiful. John McCuller is just such a talented poet. He has everything I want from a collection. His language use is gorgeous. It's really lyrical and spell-binding but it's punchy when it needs to be. The imagery he evokes is wonderful. He explores timeless and timely issues and at the core, he just writes really emotional and raw poetry which really, really affects me whenever I read it. I can't recommend his poetry more highly for anybody who's wanting to read some contemporary poetry. They explores society and social issues and love and identity. He's just brilliant. As I said, I didn't love this one as much as I loved Spacecraft but it was still a really, really great collection and in the end I gave it 3.5 stars. The next book that I read was another Booker book. I don't have it to hand because I'm actually lending it to a work friend at the moment and that is Lanny by Max Porter. So this was hands down my favorite book from this year's Booker reading I did. I thought it was amazing. I absolutely loved this book. The book is set in a small English town and it follows a young boy called Lanny who goes missing. We get to learn about Lanny's parents and Lanny's friends and other people in the community as well as Old Papatooth Wart who is a creature from legend that lives in the town. Firstly, I just want to say that Max Porter is one of the most evocative and unique writers I have ever read works from. I really enjoyed his other novel, Grief is the Thing with Feathers but I loved this one so much more. I felt like everything he did well in the first novel he did even better here. The craftsmanship here is just impeccable. The structure of the book is really broken up so that we're hearing from a jumble of different people. The writing just perfectly echoes all of these different people's thoughts and feelings and emotions and it just really captures all of these different voices that make up this town. There is such an engrossing and convincing feel to this book and of course it also feels really magical and whimsical the use of myths and legends that's woven throughout this book was sublime. I absolutely adored that. It's just amazing to me how real and raw this book feels at the same time as feeling so fantastical. It's pretty special writing. I also found this book to be surprisingly emotional so to some extent I kind of expected the inventive captivating writing and the lush atmosphere but I didn't expect this book to explore such raw and emotional themes in such a real and impactful way. Parenthood and loss are two major themes in this novel and I really felt them. All of the characters felt so real in here so when they were impacted by something I was impacted too. This is a truly brilliant book in so many ways. I absolutely loved it. It definitely should have made it onto the book a shortlist. I don't really understand what the judges were thinking. In the end I gave this one a five out of five stars. I adored it. The next book that I picked up recently was The Confessions of Franny Langton by Sarah Collins and I don't actually have much to say about this one because I actually DNF'd it. This is a historical novel that follows a young woman called Franny who is a servant and ex-slave and she's convicted of murdering her employers, a scientist and his French wife. I love dark historical novels every now and again. I absolutely crave them and so when I picked this one I was really in the mood for it. I was really hoping for something dark and sinister and addictive and twisty-turny and I did really enjoy this one at the beginning. This book moves from a sugar plantation in Jamaica to the Georgian streets of London and I really enjoyed both these settings at the beginning and I was quite excited about the prospect of piecing everything together that happened to this young woman. But then the book just lost me. It was too long and it was overwritten and by the time you get to the second third of the novel the pacing is just all over the place. The characters didn't really grab me. I wasn't convinced by them. I wasn't interested in them. I didn't care about them at all and it ended up just being a bit of a drag so I ended up putting it down. I have heard some pretty good reviews of this by other people though so if it sounds like your thing then maybe give it a go. Next I read another book, a book and that one was Nightboat to Tangier by Kevin Barry. This book opens in a ferry terminal in Spain when two men, Maurice and Charlie, who are longtime drug smuggling partners are waiting for Maurice's daughter to turn up. Throughout the book we get to witness this present day timeline as well as learning about these men's histories of violence and romance and betrayals. This book is very different to the kind of books I tend to read. It isn't the kind of premise that I would typically be drawn to but I really enjoyed this book. I really liked the characters in this book. The two men, Maurice and Charlie, were so fascinating. I found them to be really well drawn, really believable and really interesting and their relationship with one another was so cool to read about. They definitely have a very complex relationship. They had a lot of ups and downs along the way that is fair to say but it's really interesting to see the way they clearly care about each other in this very quiet and detached way in which men do tend to care about each other. Their dialogue together is hilarious. This book has a really dry and dark and sinister sense of humor that runs throughout it which I thought was spot on. It was such a pleasure to read. This book is way more about these characters and their stories and their relationships rather than any kind of crime or plot driving force but there is some kind of intrigue and mystery surrounding Maurice's daughter and as we learn about these men's pasts we are kind of piecing everything together to figure out what's happened to Maurice's daughter in present day. I really enjoyed that balance throughout this book. I thought it worked for this story perfectly and the whole reading experience was really, really good. So this book didn't blow me away. I didn't fall massively in love with it but it is clear to me that Kevin Barry is a really talented and proficient writer. Once again, this book definitely should have been on the book of shortlist. In the end, I gave this one four out of five stars. The penultimate book I'm gonna talk about in this video is Ask Again Yes by Mary Beth Keane. This novel follows two neighboring families from a suburban town in America from the 1970s to present day. It looks at the relationship between the adults and a bond that forms between the children and the tragedy occurs that haunts all of them for many, many years. This book is just perfect for me. It is My Cup of Tea and I knew this as soon as I picked it up. I love novels that focus on families and family relationships. I love novels that span a few decades and that have a bit of drama in them. This is a very character-focused novel which you all will probably know is my favorite kind of novel. You really get to know all of the different family members in these two families in this novel and seeing the ways in which they all change and develop and adapt in response to everything that happens in here is brilliant. One of the main themes in this novel is memory and how memories can change as we grow into adults and have new perspectives to look at things through. And I thought this was handled really, really well. This book also looks at so many more interesting themes I absolutely love reading about. It looks at intimacy and marriage and forgiveness. There's friendship and parenthood and illness. There is also a love story that runs throughout this novel which is tested in so many ways and it is beyond doubt one of the best romantic relationships I've read about in a very long time. It was just so raw and real and throughout everything the two people in this romantic relationship just make real efforts to remain understanding and generous and tender towards one another. And I just thought it was so lovely. I just found this book to be so luminous. It had everything for me. It had the characters and the relationships and the themes and the story. It was really emotional and insightful and definitely heartbreaking at times. I couldn't recommend this book more highly. If you are a fan of Celeste Inge at all then you must read this novel. You will absolutely love it. And of course I ended up giving this book five out of five stars. And the final book I'm going to talk about today is Clock Dance by Anne Tyler. This book follows a woman called Willa from when she is a young girl up until she is an older lady in present day. So Willa's life has always been determined by the people around her whether it was through her mother leaving her when she was a child or being proposed to when she was 21 or being made a widow in her 40s. But then one day Willa's son's ex-girlfriend is shot and Willa flies across the country to help her and her daughter and their dog. Willa then finds herself in this new community and for the first time she is choosing for herself how she wants to live her life. So I love Anne Tyler as an author. I have read a few of her novels now and loved them all and this was no exception. Anne Tyler's strengths definitely lie in her characters and their relationships. Her characters are all really raw and believable and really well drawn. They're usually slightly quirky, which I really enjoy. She pins down family relationships so well. They are always so real and believable. And ultimately I find her books to be just really relatable overall. This novel in particular focuses on themes of hope and fulfillment and regret. And I found that to be so interesting. They aren't themes that seem to crop up much in books and I really enjoyed thinking about them. I did enjoy the first half of this novel a bit more than the second half of the novel. The sections where Willa were a young girl were particularly delightful. Her dialogue between herself and her sister was so sweet. I thought that was so great. But more than anything, I just enjoyed the overall message of this book that it is never too late to change your life. Willa is a 70 year old woman who decides that it's never too late to change. She's going to live her life the way that she wants to live it from now on. And I find that to be so valuable and inspiring. So overall, this wasn't my favorite anti-novel. It didn't sparkle for me in the same way that they often do. And I wasn't as invested in the characters as I would have liked to have been. But I did really, really enjoy it. She is such a lovely and solid writer. And if you're a fan of her novels at all, then you'll definitely enjoy this. So in the end I gave Clock Dance four stars. So there we go. Those are all the books that I read in August and September. This was very, very overdue, but I wanted to catch you all up on what I'd been reading anyway. And it was really fun to just talk about them all. I kind of feel like I haven't done a recent reads in a while. So this was really nice. I would love to know what you guys have been reading recently. I'm feeling a tiny bit out of the loop as I've been so busy recently. And I haven't had as much time to watch BookTube and go on Goodreads as much and Twitter. So please let me know what you've been reading recently and anything you've been particularly enjoying. I hope you're all doing really, really well. Please let me know down below. I can't wait to chat to you all. And hopefully I should see you soon with another video that may be a flat tour. Thank you so much for watching this video everyone. If you've made it to the end, I appreciate you so much. And hopefully I will see you soon. Bye guys.