Recent Reads: My Holiday in July.

I really enjoyed my gal Emma Oulton's Bustle post about reading 8 books in 8 days on holiday – so much so that it somewhat inspired this post! Another Recent Reads, this time all books featured being read on my 5 day holiday to the gorgeous island of Majorca! 

Ctrl Alt Delete: How I Grew Up Online, by Emma Gannon.

The perfect start to my holiday. I took this out and opened it for the very first time when we were on the plane, having resisted reading any the night before, and by the time we landed I was over halfway through. It was speaking to me on every level. Full review to come, with next level gushing and some cringe-tastic anecdotes, don't y'all worry!

I kept saying, to my dad and grandad, that my friend wrote the book. I referred to it as 'my friend Emma's book'. Because that's how Emma, the girl lost in the city who is doing pretty darn well if that's still the case, feels to me. Like an old school friend, who inspires me every Sunday via email and most days via tweet and blog.

If I Was Your Girl, by Meredith Russo.

I rarely get attached to, no I mean invested in, stories written in an alien place to me. Ermm, I promise I'm not a Brexit supporter (eww) or one of those ignorant mindless xenophobes (what even, tho, guys) but I can't help it, I just feel more comfortable and content reading a contemporary story set in the UK. American tales can get me going, but they have to be properly cracking to do so, it seems. I'm working on it...

Moving on from my shameful literary small-mindedness, I LOVED THIS BOOK. Holy shit, it was powerful as can be and gorgeous, just dripping with feeling and beauty. Just, read it guys. ASAP. It opened my eyes and warmed (and hurt) my heart.

What's A Girl Gotta Do? by Holly Bourne.

This inspired a recent post – a post it took me ages to work up the nerve to actually...post. I know, rare for me, right? I tend to go in all guns blazing and eccentricities out in the open!

I thoroughly enjoyed the third in the Spinster Club trilogy. I love that it's a 3-parter that isn't like, a strict traditional 3-parter. You can pick up any of these books and read, it doesn't really totally properly matter the order. But obvs it's best to obey the publication dates appropriately.

I knew I'd love this. I knew it. Holly said at an event recently that she was worried about writing this instalment in the girls' story, because she knew Lottie would be the biggest ask – and maybe the biggest pain in the arse?! – but whoa, she slayed. It was worth the wait. I always knew Lottie was my fave. 
Holly Bourne is winning at social media recently. From her mad trend on Twitter #IAmAFeminist to her epic YouTube collabs - I particularly loved her video with my excellent friend Stevie. Oh, and the one with Hannah Witton. Also the one with gorgeous Amber. ALL OF THE VIDEOS. 

This book officially came out on Monday 1^st August. What a lovely day that was. A book was released, and I turned 23. An excellent collision of events. I am more than happy to share my day with Lottie's expulsion into bookshops. 

*the cover in my pic is a PROOF that I was lucky enough to receive. See here for the actual gorgeous proper cover!*

Radio Silence, by Alice Oseman.

I have no clue why this took me so long to read. I started it when it was released, months ago, and yet I had to put it aside for a while and pick it back up on holiday. I'll say this was because I needed to treat it with care and allow it maximum time and concentration for the perfect story to sink in and affect me – oh wait, that's 100% true. I just didn't realise it when I left it less-than-half-finished a few months back. When I finally picked it up again, I stormed through 300 pages in 2 days. 

I bloody love Alice Oseman. She is everything I wanna be. A published author, a happy graduate who hilariously documented most of her worst uni experiences on Twitter, and Lauren James' best friend. I recently attended a talk the two of them hosted at YALC (YALC, OMG YALC) and they blew my mind repeatedly. 

Back to the book. I am usually a bit irritated by the use of social media in contemporary novels. It rubs me up the wrong way, for some reason. It's mostly because I hate reading the word 'Facebook' in a book. It's like a First World modern day phobia. However, Alice aced it. Smashed it. This book was everything. The social media was crucial and perfect, her take on it all was spot on and brilliant. Like, yeah. 


So, those were the books I read by the pool at the luxurious hotel in Majorca. When I wasn't drinking gin on the balcony and playing cards with my Dad & Grandad, I was reading. It was a magical holiday. Again, please? I'd happily re-read each of these if need be!