April 2020 Lock-down Reading

We’re soon to hit April and I wanted to preparations for the month with a giant mug of fruit tea and a conversation about books. We all want to read more, right? And seeing as a large portion of the world is currently stuck inside, it seems as good a time as any to get stuck in.




My suggestions:


Alice Walker’s The Color Purple


One of my favourite books and a tale which explores the difficult themes of abuse, rape and neglect with warmth, compassion and humanity, Purple is a must read. 


Following Celie’s story as she battles through life to find her voice, fall in love and start her own business will remind you that even in the hardest of times, humans are resilient, and anything is possible. 


I am currently studying a BA in English Literature and recently wrote a high scoring essay on The Color Purple and Orlando, so if you are looking to study these novels yourself and want any resources or fancy a discussion about them, let me know!



Virginia Woolf’s Orlando


Orlando is a fascinating tale of an adventurer on a quest through the ages who happens to transcend her male bonds to wake up female and start her life afresh.



 A quote from the section Orlando as Ambassador reads “No human being, since the world began has ever looked more ravishing. His form combined in one the strength of a man and a woman’s grace… Orlando had become a woman – there is no denying it… The change of sex, though it altered their future, did nothing whatever to alter their identity”. 


I personally love this exploration of gender as changeable. I hope that certain parts of the text would be handled with more regard for correct dialogue about gender if it were written today, but Woolf created something truly ground-breaking in 1928 which played with a fluidity of gender that very few novels, or even conversations, touch on today.



Douglas Adams’s The Hitch-Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

This pocket-rocket is wild, wacky and full of laughs. I read the sci-fi tale in one week on holiday and I think the absurdity and escapism offered by the Arthur Dent’s tale is perfect to assist with coronavirus fears.



Coming Up!


I read on average three books a month over term time and four in the summer. (Which I will need to seriously ramp up if I’m ever going to complete all the reading for my modules next year and dissertation!) Currently I am reading Failed States by Noam Chomsky which is a very well informed and harrowing exploration of the US. Through-out April, I will look to finish Melvin Burgess’s Junk, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest by Ken Kesey and start on Culture and Imperialism by the brilliant Edward Said. 
All of this and more to look for in future reviews. 

Leave any suggestions or questions in the comments.

Thanks for reading!