Georgia Pritchett may not be a household name, but her words have reached millions. The British screenwriter has shaped some of television’s sharpest comedies like Succession, Veep, and The Thick of It. Yet in her memoir 'My Mess is a Bit of Life', she turns the lens inward where Pritchett chronicles her journey through debilitating...
There are books that disturb you quietly. And books that take you by storm. Janet Fitch's 'White Oleander' is one of those. It doesn’t bother with subtlety. It breaks things like childhood, love, memory wide open and asks what’s left after the wreckage. Astrid Magnussen is twelve when her mother, Ingrid, a coldly brilliant poet...
Before the fire, Mercy Blaine hadn’t left her house in two years. After the fire, with nothing but a reluctant heart and her dog Wasabi for company, she finds herself behind the wheel of a creaky campervan heading north towards Darwin. Forced to face a life outside four walls, she embarks on an unexpected journey...
When life shrinks to the size of a single room, what remains? For Elisabeth Tova Bailey, it was a potted violet and the snail tucked beneath its leaves. In her memoir, 'The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating', this tiny creature becomes more than a distraction. It becomes a teacher, a mirror, and a guide...
“She's not a cookie, or a book, or a record on a shelf. You can't just play with her and then put her back.” Charlotte Davis is 17 and she is the girl in pieces. Kathleen Glasgow’s 'Girl in Pieces' is a raw, unflinching exploration of trauma, mental illness, and the arduous path to recovery....
Why is it so much easier to celebrate others than ourselves? Whether it’s about weight, confidence, or achievements, many of us often wage a tug-of-war between outward encouragement and inner doubt. This universal struggle forms the emotional backbone of "Fat Chance, Charlie Vega" by Crystal Maldonado. This young adult novel follows Charlie Vega, a Latina...
“Guilt is always hungry; don’t let it consume you.” This anonymous quote perfectly sums up the essence of Claire Oshetsky's novel "Poor Deer." Through Margaret, its 16-year-old narrator's diary-like recollections, the book unravels her mental and emotional turmoil stemming from a tragic event that occurred when she was just four years old—a game of hide-and-seek...
What does it mean to carry the weight of a family on your shoulders? Shefali Tripathi Mehta’s People on Our Roof delves into this question with piercing clarity, telling the story of Naina—a woman caught between love, duty, and the demands of caregiving. Naina's mother lives with schizophrenia, haunted by the “green people on the...
* Warning: Heavy themes, such as cancer, death, and grief, are discussed in the book. This might be distressing to some readers. What is the similarity between a convict facing a death sentence and a 22-year-old woman diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia? The uncertainty of death. A nemesis they both know will arrive, but not...
