lou's library

I thought it’d be fun to share a bit more of my reading as I plough my way through my never-ending TBR and so here’s a little list of books I read recently that I really loved. These aren’t necessarily all five star reads for me, as those are pretty rare for me, but I’d say I’d give all of these at least four stars!

I’m The King Of The Castle by Susan Hill

I finished reading this book about half an hour ago and honestly, I’m writing this post because I need to shout about this book! I will not shut up about it for the foreseeable future, so sorry in advance. It was published in the early 70’s and is about two boys growing up in England. I’m going to leave it at that, because I do think knowing as little as possible is best when going into this. It’s got horror elements to it, which isn’t something I’m normally drawn to. But this book is written so well and the execution of the plot line is so masterful that my jaw literally dropped as I read the ending. I NEED SOMEONE TO TALK TO ABOUT THIS BOOK! This has easily become one of my new favourites, I cannot believe this isn’t more of a classic. It portrays the horrors of childhood so well and the characters felt so real. I am shooketh to my core, guys. SHOOKETH. Read this, please, and then let me talk your ear off about it.

This Boy by Alan Johnson

Funnily, this is also about a boy growing up in England and in part about the hardships of growing up. However, it could hardly be more different to I’m The King Of The Castle if it tried. It’s a memoir by British politician Alan Johnson, who grew up in London’s Notting Hill district when it was still home to lots of working class families. It’s written with great skill and humour and reads incredibly easily. At the same time, it deals with heavy topics and so isn’t always an easy read in that sense. But it teaches you a lot about kindness and humanity without ever being preachy. I found this glimpse into London’s past fascinating and mind-boggling at times and would recommend this to anyone feeling disillusioned with British politics today. It’s a reminder that not all those in power come from fancy, expensive schools and families owning massive mansions in the countryside.

Scotland’s Forgotten Past by Alistair Moffat

I have a soft spot for Scotland, it’s my favourite country and I love how rich its history is and how connected the Scots often still feel to it. This book is a great way of learning more about that topic, even if you’re a complete beginner. I feel that often we look at Britain’s history (and present) and completely overlook that it consists of different countries with distinct identities. So, this is a great book to learn more about what has shaped Scotland over the centuries. Each chapter focuses on one theme or story that explains one aspect of what you could call Scottish national identity. An extremely enjoyable read!

On Writing by Stephen King

I have read none of the Stephen King horror classics that everyone automatically thinks of when hearing his name. I think I wouldn’t be able to sleep for months if I did. I have read a few of his novellas and one of his most recent books, but that’s about as daring as I’m gonna get. But even the little I have read has made it very obvious to me that Stephen King is not only a prolific writer, but also just really damn good at what he does. So I thought, reading about what he has to say on the topic of writing could potentially be intriguing. And I was right! This is partly a memoir, with King telling stories of his life he thinks shaped him as a writer and then also giving very practical writing advice. I really loved that he often gave concrete examples when describing something, and always said why he recommended doing something this particular way. He’s never preachy about the subject and makes it very clear there are lots of ways to write well, and that this is just the way that works for him. I can already tell I’ll dive in and out of this lots over time, because there’s just so much good advice in this one!

So these are some of the best books I’ve read lately! I’ve just ordered a bunch of books I’m really excited about (whoops), so hopefully there’ll be more new favourites on the horizon soon!!