The Year of Reading
In January of this year, I mentioned that I wanted to rekindle my love of reading. And so began the “I’m going to be a bookworm again” project, where I aimed to read 15 books in 2018. I managed to surpass that goal, and indeed rediscovered my love for reading. I found that it was easy to integrate reading back into my life. Just a chapter or two before bed, a few pages in the makeup chair, another chapter on set, ten pages while on public transport. It became part of my routine again, and I loved it.
So, after almost twelve months of reading, I have decided to hold an awards ceremony. Welcome, everyone, to the first annual Angourie’s Library Book Awards. It’s going to be a wild night, so put on your pyjamas, grab a cup of tea and let’s dive in.
The Biggest Surprise
The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim (1922)
The Gist: Four women, each from very different backgrounds, rent a medieval castle in Italy for the month of April. Enchantment ensues.
I picked this book up knowing nothing about it. I was hooked from the first chapter and ended up really enjoying it. Though the ending was a slight letdown, I thought it was brilliantly written and the characters were like nothing I had read before.
Favourite New Author
Virginia Woolf
I read A Room of One’s Own at the beginning of this year because it was an assigned text for literature class. The first time I read it, I understood almost nothing. But the more times I went over it, and the more I studied it, the more I fell in love with it. Her unique writing style was captivating, and she introduced me to so many ideas that I’ve kept thinking about the whole year. Since then I’ve picked up Flush and The Waves, which I’m now halfway through reading for the second time. Next year I’m hoping to read Mrs Dalloway and To the Lighthouse, and maybe another one of her short essays.
A Book That Made Me Happy
Emma by Jane Austen (1816)
The Gist: Emma is young, rich, spoilt, and fancies herself a matchmaker in society. Her plans for the matrimonial success of her new friend Harriet, however, lead her into complications that ultimately test her own detachment from the world of romance.
This one was a re-read for me, but this book will never not make me happy. This year I read the Vintage Classics edition with the cover design by Leanne Shapton, which made me extra happy because look at that gorgeous cover.
New Favourite Fictional Character
Lady Caroline from The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim
Though Lady Caroline was perhaps the most typically unlikable character in The Enchanted April, I was captivated by her. She was such a fascinating person and I loved seeing the contrast between how others perceived her, and how she perceived herself. Such a complicated and interesting woman.
Most Beautiful Cover
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling (1998) 20thAnniversary Ravenclaw Edition by Bloomsbury
I mean, just look at it. It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. Also, there are some gorgeous house-themed illustrations inside, including a portrait of Rowena Ravenclaw, and a double-page spread of the Ravenclaw common room.
Favourite Young Adult Fiction
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (2017)
The Gist: Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighbourhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed.
There’s a reason why everybody has been raving about this book. It’s a fantastically written novel about racial justice, identity, and using your voice. I cannot recommend this book enough!
Favourite Adult Fiction
The Man Who Loved Children by Christina Stead (1940)
The Gist: Follows parents Sam and Henny, their teenage daughter Louie, and their six other children as they all try to navigate the power struggles within family life.
I had to study this book in literature, and I fell in love with it. Stead’s writing is incredibly detailed, and she creates such specific feelings and atmospheres. The family dynamic in this novel is gut-wrenchingly real and heart-breaking. It was a difficult but rewarding read, and I learnt so much from it.
Favourite Non-Fiction
Why I'm No Longer Talking To White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge (2017)
The Gist: Reni Eddo-Lodge explores issues from eradicated black history to the political purpose of white dominance, and whitewashed feminism to the inextricable link between class and race.
This was such an important read for me, and has stuck with me throughout the year. It was the first non-fiction book I read in the year, and it was a great way to start off. It clearly presented and discussed so many interesting ideas, and the writing is brilliant. I found myself underlining and highlighting so many lines and passages. I can’t wait to read what Reni Eddo-Lodge writes next.
Favourite Short Story, Poem, or Play
The Waves by Virginia Woolf (1931)
The Gist: Through Woolf’s unique stream of consciousness writing, we follow three women and three men as they move through childhood and adulthood, grappling with their identities not only as individuals, but as a circle of friends.
I really loved this book, and I’m loving it even more the second time through. I feel that with each read I get more meaning out of the text. Woolf’s prose is so beautiful – my friend accurately described the reading experience as ‘being submerged underwater’. The world she creates is strange, but so complete that it makes sense.
Favourite Book
A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf (1929)
The Gist: An extended essay exploring the role of women both as writers of and characters in fiction.
As I mentioned previously, this book has stuck with me all throughout the year. One of my favourite quotes:
“When, however, one reads of a witch being ducked, of a woman possessed by devils, of a wise woman selling herbs, or even of a very remarkable man who had a mother, then I think we are on the track of a lost novelist, a suppressed poet.”
Virginia Woolf, A Room of One's Own (1929), p. 50
Ever since I read that line, I’ve been thinking about all the women who were lost novelists and suppressed poets. All year, every city I visited, every museum I went to, every book I read, every artwork I saw, I obsessed over the works and stories of these lost women; the women who never made it into the museums, or galleries, or history books. To me, that quote encapsulates what’s been on my mind the most this year. So next year, I’m going to celebrate the women who have told and are telling their stories, by participating in the Reading Women’s 2019 reading challenge. The Reading Women is a podcast in which hosts Kendra and Autumn “reclaim half the bookshelf by discussing books by or about women”. The aim of the challenge is to, in their own words: “encourage you to read widely (and fight the patriarchy, but that was probably a given)”. I’m going to fulfil as many challenges as I can next year, in celebration of all of the brilliant and diverse stories women are telling.
You can find more about the Reading Women on their
. Their podcast can be found on Apple Podcasts and other podcatchers. They also have
,
,
and
. You can follow along with their reading challenge using the hashtag #thereadingchallenge.
So after a very satisfying year of reading, we come to the end of the 2018 book awards. Have a great holiday season, and I'll see you all in the new year.
Note: This post is not sponsored by the Reading Women, I just seriously love their podcast.