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| source: Pinterest |
and with that, i'm sharing with you monthly reading guides starting with the month of january. yes, i'm cognizant that it's already jan 3, and i didn't share this guide in advance. moving forward, i'll be sharing these posts perhaps 1-2 weeks before the start of the month so that you can purchase/download your books as apt. i'll be giving a maximum of 3 books per month -- think of these as suggestions, feel free to add more, pick out one that stands out for you.
january // theme: reinvention
in a typical 2000 romcom, there is usually a scene that involves an ugly duckling (normally female) who transforms into a beautiful goddess with a totally new look. a male (usually) stares at her coming down a flight of stairs, while kiss me by sixpence none the richer plays.
this is reinvention or essentially a glow-up in a very aesthetic sense. but i believe reinvention comes in different shapes and forms, not just your external appearance. you can reinvent yourself by being mentally refreshed: seeing things in a different perspective, or even changing up your routines/hobbies. my book recommendations this month are all about this broadened sense of reinvention.
01 | educated by tara westover
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| Source: NYC book girl |
Tara Westover’s memoir feels like it was set in an alternate universe. I was not only amazed to learn about the very different worldviews of survivalist Mormons but also at my ignorance on their beliefs and practices. Tara had to come to terms with choosing between her family/her faith and the truth she gained from her education and scholarly research. I greatly admire her strength and tenacity in the pursuit of knowledge and to an extent- her freedom.
“The decisions I made after that moment were not the ones she would have made. They were the choices of a changed person, a new self. You could call this selfhood many things. Transformation. Metamorphosis. Falsity. Betrayal. I call it an education” - Educated, Tara Westover
song lyric that captures this book:
Don't you try to reach me, while i pick myself up and go. I've gotta do this on my own. I need to build myself a home - To The Mountains, Lizzy McAlpine
02 | my year of rest & relaxation by ottessa moshfegh
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| source: instagram |
think about a twenty-something year old woman, who intends to sleep for a year. i personally found her attempt on “a year of hibernation” very intriguing and if I’m honest, enviable and entitled. but what latched me to this book was uncovering her motivations behind this endeavor, which were not as simple as ‘sleeping for the sake of sleep itself’ but to numb reality and avoid waves emotions she couldn’t stand to be conscious for. I was skeptical that her sleep project would elicit any profound positive impact in her life, despite her strong conviction that it would be transformative, a renewal. but i was already hooked and eager to see her project through to the very end.
the book strikes a hard-to-achieve balance between the laugh out loud humor and the darkness, nonsensical absurdities and the sobering, harsh truths and realities.
Sleep felt productive. Something was getting sorted out. I knew in my heart—this was, perhaps, the only thing my heart knew back then—that when I'd slept enough, I'd be okay. I'd be renewed, reborn. - My Year of Rest & Relaxation, Ottessa Moshfegh
song lyric that captures this book:
I just want to sleep forever, Never see tomorrow, Or lead or follow. I don't want to work forever, Know what I know. Or beg or borrow - Sleep Forever, Portugal. The Man
i hope you enjoyed this reading guide! if you want specific themes for book recommendations, let me know in the comments. for more book content, follow me here: @audreythebookworm
your next reading guide for february will be out some time in mid-january!
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