The Book Club: Goodbye 2024!

We hope you had a great New Year’s!! Here are our monthly recommendations, both geared towards providing you comfort and insight that will hopefully serve you well in the year ahead!

Jiya’s recommendation:

As 2024 draws to a close, I find myself reflecting on a book that has profoundly shaped my perspective: Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. This collection of private journal entries has been a source of strength, clarity, and reassurance for me throughout this significant year.

The wisdom in Marcus’s reflections gave me a constant reminder that power and integrity are not mutually exclusive. For a long time, I doubted if true success could be achieved without sacrificing values, but Meditations taught me otherwise. Marcus’s words encouraged me to reject cynicism and inspired me to strive for greatness with a sense of moral clarity.

One of the most significant lessons I drew from this book is the importance of defying ego. In a world where self-centeredness often takes the lead, Marcus showed me the power of humility and the necessity of remaining calm, especially during chaos. These principles were a major part in how I navigated the highs and lows of 2024.

This year was not without its challenges, but it brought me peace of mind, a stark contrast to the turbulence of 2023. Meditations was instrumental in helping me the groundwork for a brighter 2025. It reminded me that the key to overcoming adversity is to maintain inner stability and to act with purpose, no matter the external circumstances.

If you’re looking for a book to guide you through life’s uncertainties, to remind you of what’s truly important, or to help you find peace amid chaos, Meditations is a timeless companion. For me, it was not just a book but a mentor, a reminder that anything is possible when you remain grounded, intentional, and true to yourself.

Arya’s recommendation:

‘It looks so dark the end of the world may be near.

I believe it’s going to rain.

The birds in the park are silent.

Nothing is what it seems to be’.

‘Blood Orange’, from Charles Simic’s collection Walking The Black Cat

Charles Simic’s poetry is the definition of comfort. There is an element of surrealism to this collection, with black cats and Hamlet’s ghost roaming the streets, before you reach Eden to smoke weed, or run into Adam and Eve in a madhouse. But the most beautiful poems are the ones that talk about loss and memory. I bought this collection for the poem ‘The Friends of Heraclitus’, which follows a speaker whose friend has just died, and now he walks the same streets alone, talking the same philosophy with his imaginary companion instead.

I re-read this collection all the time, just dipping into it when I don’t have the energy to read a novel but desperately need something that makes me think about all this life. I come away from Simic’s work with a sense of peace, so I’d recommend this for your January reading! The collection is delicate and intricate but avoids being pretentious and overwrought. Simic pairs clear and simple language with wonderfully weird settings and characters, resulting in a trippy poetry collection that you’ll hopefully love!

‘A silent, sunlit corner, emptyBut for a black cat about to cross,

One of its paws raised

As if trying to feel the cunning threads

By which its life, too, is being held’.

‘Meditation in the Gutter’