My monthly Book Club reconvened a few weeks ago. Kind of ashamed of my lack of proper reading, I decided it was time to let go of my reading rut. To be honest, it all started with my new and utmost frustrating habit of commencing books and not finishing them. In the past two weeks, I eventually broke the spell and finished half a dozen books, a few of which I had started in the past year.
Jess
As I had told you recently, I was never the girl to start a new book before finishing the previous one but over time, my mind is everywhere and I had a collection of unfinished books in my Kindle and my Audible app. It must be the same feeling as people who open several tabs on their browser have? I don't know, I just have one or two at a time, but you tell me.
As I hate falling deep into bad habits, I created a (mental) plan, to read in 30 minutes increments and pausing to do other things I have going around the house, scroll my phone just watch a British tv show with the husband. We just watched Playing Nice a few days ago. Just 4 episodes long and it made me grab the book immediately!
So here is an ode to books, sharing 7 of my favourite books ever, through the years and for a multitude of reasons. Are any of these your favourites as well?
Born a Crime - Trevor Noah (2016)
If you want clever writing and a deep dive into life in South Africa during apartheid...
I have spoken so so much about this book in the past 7 years ever since first reading it. I have bought it over a dozen times to give it to people I know because I wanted the witty life story of Trevor Noah to spread. I have never read a book like this one ever since and it's okay. But my love for Trevor has only grown ever since and he is the only public figure I have travelled for, as I went to his show in Brussels, Belgium a few years ago.
I love South Africa, although it is a complicated country and has a complicated history. That is why when I go, I pay attention to the people more than the windows stores and have visited Langa and the District Six Museum in the past. But that is just the most slight tip from the past and present which I can touch. As Trevor, a child born from a white man and black woman relationship, was considered a crime, I also had, for many years, a damning note in my passport which mentioned: "Valid for all countries except South Africa". As a black person, I was not welcome as a visitor, but Noah, as a citizen, was considered a crime for even existing in his own land. An amazing story written by a superb storyteller.
The Man Who Didn't Call - Rosie Walsh (2018)
If you want a slow-burn love story that could have been and keeps you on your toes until the end...
I read this book in just a few hours whilst doing a cruise in the Mediterranean. I have to say I devoured it as I was so enthralled into the story and could not wait to find out what happened. In The Man Who Didn't Call, Sarah and Eddie meet and live the most intense week of their lives together. They fall in love and make plans for the future. Alas, as they had not anticipating meeting each other, they are unforeseen plans that would have to separate them for a few days. But then, when they had to get back in touch, they don't. But why?
This is a book filled with longing, projecting our future and "what ifs". At the time, it reminded me so much of the start of my own relationship with my now husband as days after we met, we both traveled on opposite sides of the world and only met again, more than a month later. It was a time filled with anxiety and expectation of what would become, as we were just getting to know each other. Even if the book doesn't have the greatest reviews - Rosie's extensive outdoors descriptions are not everybody's cup of tea - I loved it and recommend it.
Maybe You Should Talk To Someone - Lori Gottlieb (2019)
If you want to step into the mind of a therapist, how she juggles her life and her patients...
I completely adored this memoir. It might not come as a surprise, as one of my favourite TV shows was In Treatment with the amazing Gabriel Byrne. I love stepping into therapy consultation and deep diving into cases, into people's mindsets and issues. I love assessing how I relate, how I overcame or am dealing with the same situations or seeing people expose problems I had not even though about.
And as we tackle Lori's own clients' stories, we also mingle with her own life and challenges, such as her separation from her boyfriend. And we also see how therapists also need therapists themselves, and how they navigate that relationship. I loved Lori's pen and completely recommend this book.
Know My Name - Chanel Miller (2019)
If you ever read news about a sexual assault yet you never had (hopefully) the point of view from the anonymous victim...
This book was not an easy read for its triggering theme yet I could not put it down. I was so surprised that this was Chanel Miller's first book because she writes beautifully. She can transmit her fear and pain like no other. There are several times you need to put the book down or just go meet her to give her the biggest hug.
Know My Name is a profound memoir about reclaiming one's identity and quest for justice, about challenging a sexist culture who protects perpetrators and exposes victims as well as the power of speaking the truth in a world filled with prejudice and judgment. I absolutely adored this book.
En finir avec Eddy Bellegueule - Edouard Louis (2017)
If you are interested in life in France aside from Paris' glamour where a young boy is discovering his own sexuality against all odds...
Known as The End of Eddy in english, this memoir is the most poignant I have ever read in my life. As he grew up in a poor village in northern France, Eddy (real life Edouard) struggles to what it means to be a boy and a man within his family, his community and in his life. He leads a life amidst prejudice, violence and alcoholism, yet he is resolute in questioning who he is and going beyond what is (not) expected of him.
In the harshest environment you can imagine, Edouard Louis writes so profoundly and rawly that you might feel the need to pause the book after some upsetting scenes. Yet it's a necessary book to read especially to understand and empathise with prejudice and the victims of abuse, neglect and violence and being a brewing bright mind amongst an industrial workers mindset. I just glad Edouard more than survive to tell his story and strive as a writer.
A Family Matter - Claire Lynch (2025)
If you want to deep dive into a family story, from the mother and daughter points of view in two very different timelines...
This book was launched less than two months ago in June 2025. It has less than 10 000 reviews on Goodreads, so you might not have seen it yet. But I jumped the gun, bought it just because of the cover and devoured it in a couple of days.
This books alternates two timelines, one in the 1980s and the other in the 2020s. In the 80s, we have the story of a mother who falls in love with another woman and the repercussion of that love within her family, as a married young mother, and in society, in a very prejudiced and sexist environment.
In the 2020s, we meet the daughter and the father, their bond and how they deal with longevity, getting older and being a parent themselves, in the shadow of that mother who was. It's so powerful to witness how, whether big or small, decisions we make while young can impact us our whole life. And others around us.
I just absolutely adored Claire Lynch's writing style and I wished the book was longer. I cannot wait to read more from her.
Jess
Such A Fun Age - Kiley Reid (2019)
If you enjoy smart social commentary wrapped with a fast-paced plot...
This is the latest book I have read this month and I just could not put it down. In this Reese's Book Club pick, author Kiley Reid explores race, privilege, and performance in modern America through the professional slash intimate relationship between a babysitter and her employer.
What I loved most is how readable the plot was, was how easily the character were embedded in my mind through every line. Reid has an amazing pen, and I love how she described characters, emotions, rooms, dialogues, facial expressions. Without a doubt, one of the most original debuts I’ve read in years. I am so surprised it has not been adapted for TV yet as it has a great screen-grabbing plot.
These 7 book suggestions were not enough? You can check what I have been reading lately here, as I broke free from the reading hiatus!
Jess
I would also love for you to share with me what you have been reading lately, I always love new suggestions. Or share with me on Goodreads.
If you are not sick of me already, you have more content below, written in the past few weeks. And it's not all about books!
In the meantime, follow me on Bluesky. Or Tiktok. Or Youtube. Or Pinterest. Share with a friend. Whatever tickles your fancy.
In the meantime, have a great month.
See you in September!
Je t'embrasse fort,
Jess