The Book Club: November Edition

Christmas season is fast approaching, which unfortunately also means sunset at 4pm. Avoid the winter blues with a good book! Here’s what we have for you at this time ♡

Arya’s recommendation:

Winter, by Ali Smith

I promise I’m not recommending this just because of the title. Ali Smith’s Seasonal Quartet is one of the best bits of work I’ve ever read! Starting in Autumn and ending with Summer, each instalment in the Quartet works as a standalone novel, with its own characters and messages and distinct rhythm. Although it was not initially her intention, Smith found herself exploring the social fractures highlighted by Brexit. Together, the Quartet presents a collage of different events and people, slowly forming a piercing image of the world today.

You can read any of the books in the series on its own and still enjoy it, or read the Quartet out of order. Smith’s writing holds so much clarity - but she never shies away from beautiful, indulgent passages about nature, people, language, art, anything and everything that gives life meaning. Winter mostly follows the story of Arthur, a nature writer with a blog titled ‘Art in Nature’, who is caught in the trap of turning nature into digital content.

When Art’s relationship falls apart, his ex-girlfriend Charlotte hijacks his Twitter feed, forcing him to avoid checking his account. Fearing the awkward holiday dinners with his family, he pays Lux, a young woman he just met, to pretend to be his girlfriend. What follows is an examination of family, immigration, love, art and life - a book that is equal parts beautiful as it is thought-provoking, I cannot recommend it enough!

Jiya’s recommendation:

Reading Sapiens, A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari was a transformative experience for me, one that I felt should have been a part of my education much earlier in life.

This book didn’t just teach me history but it also opened my eyes to the story of humanity in ways that school never did. The intricate connections between biology, culture, and our shared journey as a species were presented so clearly that it felt like my understanding of the world shifted entirely.

At a young age, Sapiens altered my perspective on life. The facts I learnt made me reimagine what it means to be human. It inspired me to embrace a sense of freedom and movement, to metaphorically and literally run, which I actually was inspired to do shortly after.

This book isn’t just about the past; it’s a mirror to our present and our future, as it’s the blueprint to humanities start. For me, Sapiens wasn’t just a book, it was a call to action, a reminder of what it means to be human and who/what we are, a gateway to understand ourselves better. This is book that I would definitely want to be implemented within our educational systems & a surprised we aren’t taught the facts I learnt in school.

Thanks for reading!