Tag: literature

Literature

School’s Out – Our Top Pick For What To Read When You Don’t Have To!

With university finished for the summer, this is the perfect time to relax with a good book. My first recommendation is Richard OsmanÔÇÖs The Thursday Murder Club series. Both books follow a group of pensioners living in a retirement village, who work to solve murders together. Osman delivers light-hearted, easy reads with lovable characters, witty dialogue, heart-warming moments, and many twists which keep you hooked! … Continue reading School’s Out – Our Top Pick For What To Read When You Don’t Have To!

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Literature

Our Goodbyes: the Final Recommendation List from the 2021/2022 Literature Editors

To continue a trend that last year’s editors started, this year’s Literature Editors, Catarina Vicente and Shivika Singh, wanted to write a final article on our recommendations. Catarina Vicente on The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett Three years of university, three years of books. I always find endings sad, and finishing uni is no different, but I can confidently say that my time at Quench … Continue reading Our Goodbyes: the Final Recommendation List from the 2021/2022 Literature Editors

Catarina Vicente
Literature

Is the Book Community an Echo Chamber?

by Catarina Vicente In online book communities, it is usual for creators, in their quest to reach wider audiences and become more popular, to replicate certain ideas or trends that more famous creators have done previously. This is fine and well ÔÇô unless itÔÇÖs done on a major scale. Suddenly, the community is consumed by the same few creators, who promote the same few books, … Continue reading Is the Book Community an Echo Chamber?

Catarina Vicente
A picture of a painting from the Regency era.
Literature

How Well Do We Represent Historical Periods in Literature?

by Katherine Waldock Last month, BridgertonÔÇÖs Netflix adaptation surpassed the record for the most watched TV show season in a week. Among the throngs of excited viewers were a stand out few, who admonished the series for its lack of historical accuracy ÔÇô that admonishment being thinly veiled racism. That reaction irritated me to see, especially given the fact that the same audience is perfectly … Continue reading How Well Do We Represent Historical Periods in Literature?

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Picture showing 3 typical books of the chick-lit genre.
Literature

The Death of Chick-Lit Literature

by Leah Hocking The term ÔÇÿchick-litÔÇÖ usually evokes images of Bridget Jones or the pastel-coloured array of Sophie Kinsella books. Similarly to ÔÇÿchick-flickÔÇÖ films, ÔÇÿchick-litÔÇÖ is a term which was first popularised in the 1990s to describe popular fiction which is targeted at a female audience. The protagonists of chick-lit are predominantly heterosexual women, often in their twenties or thirties, who are dealing with the … Continue reading The Death of Chick-Lit Literature

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New year, new TBR.
Literature

New Year, New TBR (list)

One of my many New YearÔÇÖs resolutions for 2022 is to read more and try to branch out of my literary fiction bubble.  When reading I like to stick with what I know, which tends to be fiction,but this year IÔÇÖd like to try more non-fiction books, in particular autobiographies by influential women in politics. Top of my list is ÔÇÿBecoming Michelle Obama,ÔÇÖ and ÔÇÿThe … Continue reading New Year, New TBR (list)

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Collage of the covers of The Wolf's Den and Rule of Wolves.
Literature

Looking back at the best 2021 releases

The Wolf Den by Elodie Harper The Wolf Den was Elodie HarperÔÇÖs debut novel, released in May 2021 ÔÇô and oh my,  what a debut. Set in Roman Pompeii, the story follows Amara navigating her new life as a brothel prostitute ÔÇô having been sold when her respectable Greek family ran out of money. The story is vivid and moving; it amplifies the lost voices … Continue reading Looking back at the best 2021 releases

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Literature

Movies That Were Better than the Books

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn Based on the 2012 best-selling thriller by Gillian Flynn, the film Gone Girl has arguably become a cult classic. The story follows Nick Dunne, a small-town bar owner who becomes a suspect in the disappearance of his picture-perfect wife, Amy. Aside from the perfect casting (what else better encapsulates Nick DunneÔÇÖs energy than Ben AffleckÔÇÖs awkward side smirk?), David FincherÔÇÖs … Continue reading Movies That Were Better than the Books

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Collage of Sally Rooney next to the books she's written.
Literature

Sally Rooney Boycotts Israeli Publisher in Solidarity with Palestinian Rights Group

by George Gourlay Renowned Irish author Sally Rooney has just released her highly anticipated third novel, entitled Beautiful World Where Are You, to much acclaim. It climbed to number one on the Sunday Times Bestsellers upon release, and a review by Brandon Taylor for The New York Times described it as RooneyÔÇÖs ÔÇ£best novel yetÔÇØ. Waterstones has said that the novel was their biggest hardback … Continue reading Sally Rooney Boycotts Israeli Publisher in Solidarity with Palestinian Rights Group

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Drawing of a girl by @artsyfifi
Creative Writing, Literature

body and soul; the art of acceptance.

written by Iqmal Handan / art by @artsyfifi it was the morning of a rainy day that made me take off every cloth covering my skin, i stripped myself nude, gently disconnecting the fabric touching my delicate complexion,unveiling the very scars and uneven skin tone that i have always been insecure of since i was alittle kid. i allowed these pair of eyes to look … Continue reading body and soul; the art of acceptance.

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Picture of people reading at the beach.
Literature

Books That Feel Like Summer

by Leah Hocking ‘The Girls’ by Emma Cline Based on the infamous Manson family cult and murders, this book tells the story of Californian teenager Evie Boyd in the summer of 1969.  Estranged from her divorced parents, lonely, bored, and desperate for female companionship, Evie becomes caught up in a cult based at a nearby ranch, complete with callous, charismatic leader stand-in Russell, his adoring … Continue reading Books That Feel Like Summer

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Collage of books The Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo and The Midnight Library by Matt Haig.
Literature

Books To Buy Your Loved Ones

The Midnight Library by Eve Davies An epitome of the proverb ÔÇÿthe grass isnÔÇÖt always greenerÔÇÖ, The Midnight Library is the thought-provoking story of Nora Seed who, fed up with feeling like a failure, decides to take her own life. Instead of death, Nora finds herself in limbo, in a library where each volume represents a version of her life that could have been. She … Continue reading Books To Buy Your Loved Ones

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Collage of a skyline with the '1984' eye in the background.
Literature

What If: A Closer Look at Dystopian Speculative Fiction

By Bryony Wright Dystopian fiction is becoming more and more relevant. WeÔÇÖre living in an age of ÔÇÿdoom and gloomÔÇÖ: turn on the TV, and youÔÇÖll see apocalyptic scenes caused by global warming. Walk down the street, and Orwellian public surveillance systems watch your every move. ItÔÇÖs no wonder, then, that writers increasingly choose to take to dystopian fiction to voice their concerns about the … Continue reading What If: A Closer Look at Dystopian Speculative Fiction

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Literature, uncategorized

Book Review: Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney

By Leah Hocking Although a rather bold departure from her previous two novels, ÔÇÿBeautiful World, Where Are YouÔÇÖ is still stamped with Sally RooneyÔÇÖs signature minimalist writing style and overarching theme – young adults struggling to make sense of the world. Her third novel features her largest cast of characters yet with four protagonists: Alice, a successful novelist; Felix, a warehouse worker; Eileen, a writer … Continue reading Book Review: Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney

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