what i've been reading this week

26/5 — 1/6

hello, happy monday! i’ve got one day left of work and then i’m off for 2 weeks and honestly i can’t wait. i’m heading to barcelona on wednesday for primavera to see the powerpuff girls of pop so i expect not much reading will be getting done in the next while but will i still bring 6 books with me anyway? you sure betcha. as for this week, it’s been very very fun! i saw Kylie on Tuesday, who was absolutely amazing, and I’m very lucky to have been invited by Faber and Jodie Harsh to go see her again tonight—truly the PEAK of what I’ve been given through ReadsByRoss (so take this as your sign to start posting your book reviews online and you might just get put on the guestlist for one of your idol’s concerts!!!!) and on Saturday I nerded out and went to see the Doctor Who finale in the cinema and let me tell you that ending gagged me beyond belief. Very excited for what’s to come! But now—onto the books: I read, maybe somewhat insanely, quite a lot…

if you want to find more book recommendations from me then you can follow me at ReadsByRoss on TikTok and Instagram :)

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Sure of You by Armistead Maupin

Continuing on my obsession for this series, I think out of all the ones I’ve read thus far this was probably the weakest in the series as not much happened and the characters were a bit more unlikeable than usual—however, even saying that, I still really enjoyed it and couldn’t recommend these books enough!

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Palm Meridian by Grace Flahive

The premise of this novel, out just last week, was so much fun. A lesbian retirement resort in Florida in 2067 where a woman Hannah is reaching out to the lost love of her life on the last day of her life. It’s equal parts horny and hilarious and although there were some elements of this I really enjoyed, especially the depiction of queer found family and queer friendships, ultimately I felt the pacing of this was off the whole book which sort of unsettled me? Idk, hard to explain. But I’d still recommend!

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Michael Tolliver Lives by Armistead Maupin

Omg, definitely my favourite of the series so far. It marks a kind of departure from the previous 6 books as there’s a much bigger time jump and this just revolves around Michael’s character (my darling!) in one eventuful day in his life. I loved the messy mother/son dynamics in this (I’m a sucker for those kind of stories if you can’t already tell). So funny and endearing but really heartfelt too. And love to see Michael being just as much a slut as ever. I loved it!!!!

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No One Belongs Here More Than You by Miranda July

These stories were giving Hannah Horvath (complimentary). Weird and freaky and funny and quite frankly exactly what you expect from Miranda July. I definitely preferred All Fours though and am really now eager to get around to her first novel, because some of these stories were definitely interesting, and then some others not so much. A middle of the road collection for me.

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Highway Cottage by Ralf Webb

Time for some poetry! This is the forthcoming collection from Ralf Webb, author of Strange Relations, a book that I really, really loved. I liked this, didn’t love, but this is almost always the case with most poetry collections for me. I believe that there are more individual poems in collections that can have more of an impact than others and I think that’s okay. Webb is very clearly a talented writer who has a fantastic grasp on language and form, and some of these dazzled me with their exploration of nature, queerness, loneliness and folklore.

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The White Book by Han Kang

Oh my god, this was spectacular. An incredibly moving meditation on grief and family, in a dazzlingly inventive form. I raced through this in one sitting - it’s quite short, but there’s not a single word wasted. I find it hard to believe this is the same writer as Greek Lessons because I hated that book but adored this one. Such a fantastic achievement, I urge you all to read it.

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The Possession by Annie Ernaux, trans. Anna Moschovakis

And finally! (I warned you it’s been an insane amount) The latest Annie Ernaux, this is a short instalment of how she became jealous and ‘possessed’ over the new woman that the man she had been seeing previously has gotten with, and what I love about Ernaux is how unfiltered and honest her writing is and that, I think, is why her writing is so good and so rich. There’s an audacity to it, a brutal honesty that makes it soar.

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If you made it this far, I’m very impressed. But do please, let me know what you’ve been reading/loving/hating this week. See you next week, or maybe there’ll be a hiatus whilst I’m in sunny Spain with no laptop—only time will tell!