For the second half of November, I fancied another reading experiment. Regardless of how successful my experiments are (and they are often completely pointless...), I always gets a kick out of trying something a bit different.
Prediction 1
Non-fiction is one of my favourite genres. Within non-fiction, my favoured topics of discussion are core discriminatory subjects e.g sexism, homophobia, racism. So reading a book such as Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall about the intersectionality about two of these subjects lends itself to being one of my favourite non-fiction books ever, surely?
Overview: Mainstream feminists rarely talk about meeting basic needs as a feminist issue, but food insecurity, access to quality education, safe neighbourhoods, a living wage, and medical care are all feminist issues. All too often, the focus is not on basic survival for the many, but on increasing privilege for the few. Moreover, prominent white feminists broadly suffer from their own myopia with regard to how things like race, class, sexual orientation, and ability intersect with gender. How can we stand in solidarity as a movement, when there is the distinct likelihood that some women are oppressing others?
Prediction 2
After reading My Best Friends Exorcism -and loving it - I knew I had to try The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix for more of the camp 80s/90s horror. It had come highly recommended and so many people have said they thought it was even better than his first novel! Overview: The one thing Patricia Campbell has to look forward to is her book club: a group of Charleston mothers united only by their love for true-crime and suspenseful fiction. But when an artistic and sensitive stranger moves into the neighbourhood, the book club's meetings turn into speculation about the newcomer. She begins her own investigation, assuming that he's a Jeffrey Dahmer or Ted Bundy. What she uncovers is far more terrifying, and soon she - and her book club - are the only people standing between the monster they've invited into their homes and their unsuspecting community.
Prediction 3
I wanted a mixed bag of books for this experiment. If they were all too similar, I might find it hard to be objective on all my ratings and end up comparing them to one another. That's why I included Tin Man by Sarah Winman to this list. I enjoy contemporaries and I had a good feeling this would be a great pick for me as a few people have described it as the most accurate representation of bisexuality they have encountered in fiction.
Overview: Ellis and Michael are twelve when they first become friends, and for a long time it is just the two of them, cycling the streets of Oxford, teaching themselves how to swim, discovering poetry, and dodging the fists of an overbearing father. And then one day this closest of friendships grows into something more.
But then we fast forward a decade or so, to find that Ellis is married to Annie, and Michael is nowhere in sight. Which leads to the question, what happened in the years between?
Prediction 4
I am really getting into my horror books (as you can tell), and what better to predict 5 stars than the most infamous horror book of all time by none other than the king of horror novels: The Shining by Stephen King.
Overview: Jack Torrance's new job at the Overlook Hotel is the perfect chance for a fresh start. As the off-season caretaker at the atmospheric old hotel, he'll have plenty of time to spend reconnecting with his family and working on his writing. But as the harsh winter weather sets in, the idyllic location feels ever more remote...and more sinister. And the only one to notice the strange and terrible forces gathering around the Overlook is Danny Torrance, a uniquely gifted five-year-old.
Prediction 5
Rainbow Milk by Paul Mendez has been on my radar since prior to it's release. It caught my eye due to the incredibly sad premise and rave reviews. This is another book that covers intersectionality of race and homosexuality which I also love as an addition to fiction as well as non-fiction.
Overview: Rainbow Milk is an intersectional coming-of-age story, following nineteen-year-old Jesse McCarthy as he grapples with his racial and sexual identities against the backdrop of a Jehovah's Witness upbringing and the legacies of the Windrush generation. Rainbow Milk is a bold exploration of race, class, sexuality, freedom and religion across generations, time and cultures. Paul Mendez is a fervent new writer with an original and urgent voice.
These are the best of the best - my most anticipated reads and the ones I expect to gain the most from. I have such high hopes for these books that I hope to not be too disappointed if they don't all live up to my expectations of all being added to my favourites pile!
Pointless experiments are the best 😂