Spooky Autumn Reads

It’s been over a month since I last posted some bookish things. I’ve been busy working, reading, socialising, you know – all those student things. This academic year is the final one of my undergraduate degree and because of that, I’m hoping I can post on here at least once a month. However, it’s not all doom and gloom, I reached my reading goal for the year in August! Overall I’m thoroughly content and I’m excited for the third year.

Since I last posted I’ve read:

•  Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman
• A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
• Notes on Nationalism by George Orwell
• The Tempest by William Shakespeare
• Let Them Eat Chaos by Kate Tempest
• Literary Theory by Peter Barry
• Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte.
• Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
• The Woman in Black by Susan Hill
• The Turn of The Screw by Henry James

…and now it’s November! I thought I’d review some of my most intriguing reads and do an update and stuff. As always thank you for reading!

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

An amazing novel. An exploration of ultraviolence and repression that evokes sympathy when you least expect it. I love the Stanley Kubrick movie and reading the book only made me enjoy the plot and characters even more.

Let Them Eat Chaos by Kate Tempest

Kate Tempest is an influential contemporary spoken word poet who also mixes music into her creative works. Let Them Eat Chaos is set in London that focuses on a set of characters all awake at 4.18 am. Her insight into class, everyday modern life and trauma are enlightening, heart-wrenching and impressive. If you read this collection of poems, you really should listen to the album at the same time! One of the best contemporary poetry collections I’ve read in a while.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

Emily Bronte’s famous novel Wuthering Heights is a blend of the gothic, trauma theory and an examination of relationships in a multi-layered narrative. I must say, this novel really surprised me. It was my first Austen/Bronte novel and needless to say I was blown away. So much so, that I really want to read more about the Bronte’s, more of Austen’s and the Brontes’ texts. It’s a classic for a reason, I would highly recommend.

The Turn of The Screw by Henry James 

I’m writing my coursework essay on The Turn of the Screw and it’s so complex and intriguing I had to mention it here on my blog. It’s a story of a 19th-century Governess who moves away to teach two young children, Miles and Flora, who seemingly have no parental figures in their lives besides teachers and their housemaids. However, Bly is no normal house, it is a liminal space in which ghosts haunt beings and texts within it. The story is unsettling, dangerous and creepy on so many levels. I would highly recommend this novel if you’re up for a narrative challenge and a spooky read.

At the moment I’m diving deeper and deeper into Gothic novels…all of the spookiness! I love autumn, it’s my favourite time of the year and reading just makes it all the more cozy. Currently, I’m listening to Audible’s The Haunting of Hill House and I’m reading Bram Stoker’s Dracula. I’m really enjoying both of them.

As always, thank you for reading. I’d love to hear everyone’s thoughts on the books I’ve read and perhaps some recommendations too!

– Molly