Seven books you should read this long weekend
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According to the HerCanberra team at least.
If you’re looking for your next great read ahead of the long weekend, here are some of the books we’ve read and recommend.
Erin Cross, Online Editor
All I Ever Wanted Was to Be Hot by Lucinda Price (AKA Froomes)
Whip-smart, a bit sad, and very scintillating, All I Ever Wanted Was to Be Hot will go down as one of my favourite books of 2024. In fact, this book is my Roman Empire (if you know, you know).
Before picking up All I Ever Wanted Was to Be Hot, I had never heard of Australian media personality and comedian Lucinda Price (AKA Froomes), but after hearing it mentioned on a podcast, I knew I had to read it. Written as a provocative retrospective on the last thirty years of Western beauty standards, in her debut novel Froomes interrogates how, for women (partially those who grew up in the 90s and early 2000s) ‘hotness’ is the highest form of social currency and being successful as a woman is directly correlated with looking good.
Using an addictive mix of offbeat humour and well balanced research from a range of interviewees, Froomes shares her honest experience of how the media of the 2000s shaped her world view, her experience with cosmetic surgery and her experience of overcoming an eating disorder. And as she discusses everything from pop-culture to power, diet culture to desirability, not only is it intelligent, but it forces you to look at yourself and how you interact with the world.
Just a warning: All I Ever Wanted Was to Be Hot is unflinchingly honest and raw. And while Froomes does well balancing the seriousness and sensitivity with humor, it does talk about the ugly realities of living with an eating disorder. She doesn’t include unnecessary, potentially triggering details, but it is worth keeping in mind.
Validating women everywhere who have felt personally victimised by the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, Froomes gives voice to so many things that are left unsaid. Everyone should read this book.
Still Life by Sarah Winman
This book was recommended to me by Emma Macdonald as a holiday read during a short trip to Port Douglas in 2023 and a year later, I’m still thinking about Still Life. It’s that good.
Beginning with a chance meeting in Florence during the war in 1944 that forges a bond between sixty four year old art historian Evelyn Skinner, and twenty four year old, British soldier Ulysses Temper, Still Life is all about humanity – from the power of art, to friendship, love and heartbreak.
Spanning three decades, I couldn’t put this multilayered novel down. While there’s no defining plot, Still Life is all about the characters, creating a beautiful story about unforgettable individuals who come together to make a family. My personal highlights? I loved the beautiful prose, the stylistic choice not to use quotation marks, and the Claude, the Shakespeare-quoting Amazonian parrot.
Transporting you from London to Tuscany, it’s also the ideal tonic for wanderlust and perfect for reading in warmer weather.
Sammy Rose, Contributor
Did I ever tell you this? By Sam Neill
I’ve never been a big reader of autobiographies, but my Mum bought this one for me, after reading it herself and I loved it. Reading is so good for my anxious, over thinking brain, it helps me feel calm and centered. I devoured this book in a weekend, snuggled up under the covers of my bed with my chihuahua sleeping as the little spoon.
It was very funny, real and relatable, which is not what I expected from the autobiography of a 77 year old man. It was also very interesting learning the goss from behind the scenes of some of his grea†est films, like Jurassic Park and The Piano. Was Laura Dern as nice on set as she seems on the red carpet? Who’s the biggest diva you’ve worked with? So many juicy questions answered.
Bittersweet By Colleen McCullough
This is one of my top comfort reads. I recently re-read it and loved it just as much as the first time I opened it. I consider it a must read for anyone who has sisters. It tells the stories of four sisters, made up of two sets of twins, in New South Wales, before and during the Great Depression. The sisters leave the comfort of their father’s townhouse to study nursing at a hospital, each of them finding a different area of medicine to pursue. Their tales of love, friendship and hardship make this book a very easy and enjoyable read.
Georgie Smith, Digital Content Producer
Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton
This book is a memoir by British journalist Dolly Alderton. The best way I can explain it, is that it’s just about life: the ups and downs of falling in love, getting your heart broken, securing that job, getting too tipsy and leaning on your female friendships during the toughest of times.
I read this book when I was 19, fresh out of a breakup and really looking for something to keep my mind busy. Often when sad and dealing with big emotions I struggle to see how it is going to get better and I can’t imagine it improving (which I’m sure is a common feeling). Dolly’s stories gave me a lot of hope and faith for the future. It made me excited to think of the career opportunities, relationships, adventures and more that were coming my way. It also made me feel grateful for my big emotions, how special it is to feel things so passionately and intensely. This book felt like a hug from a big sister who had done it all, telling you to relax and acknowledge that you’re doing your best.
As a 23 year old girl now, I think of Dolly’s lessons often and how she navigated her 20s. From friendships, romantic relationships, mental and physical health, loss and more. It truly breaks your heart and then puts it back together again.
Sabine Raffaele, Work Experience Student
Assistant To The Villain and Apprentice To The Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer
These two books have my heart and soul trapped within its pages. I am speechless by the power these books hold over me. This is the first time that I’ve ever had a book make me uncontrollably laugh out loud. The author really knows how to create the perfect balance between serious and funny, and I am always a sucker for romance.
Set in the kingdom of Rennedawn, Evie Sage is on the lookout for a new job when she stumbles into the arms of a new opportunity. Or, well, the arms of the infamous villain who is known for terrorising the kingdom. When he offers her a job as his assistant at Massacre Manor, Evie accepts in the hopes of healing her sick father and providing for her younger sister. All too soon, it becomes clear that someone is trying to sabotage the villain and his efforts against the King, and now it’s Evie’s job to find out who this traitor is, while attempting to stop herself from falling for her annoyingly attractive boss.
Every chapter of the first book kept me hooked until the end and the release of its sequel is no different. The plot twists come out of nowhere and will keep you guessing until all is revealed. Reading this book will make you feel like two minutes have passed instead of two hours. If you love a funny, romantasy series, these books are for you, but beware that if you start now, you will have to be patiently waiting for the third and final installment to come. I know that when I finish the second one, I’ll be impatiently eager for more.
Caraval by Stephanie Garber
This book held magic within its pages and gave it back for its readers to witness. Breathtaking and stunning, the descriptions within this book are like nothing I have ever read before, and I’m more than a little jealous of the characters’ dresses.
Once a year, the performers of Caraval travel across the world to one destination and create a game for its participants to play. Scarlett Dragna has always wanted to attend Caraval ever since she first heard of it. Throughout the years, she attempted to write letters to the master of Caraval, Legend, asking him to bring his game and performers to her city. After hearing nothing for so many years, she finally receives a reply with the opportunity to bring her sister, Tella, along as well. When Scarlett and Tella are separated at the beginning of Caraval, Scarlett must do the impossible to try to reunite her sister.
I remember watching videos on Instagram about the aesthetic of the book, but nothing could prepare me for what it was actually like to read. The storyline surprised me in multiple ways and it wasn’t like anything I had originally expected. The sadness that washed over me after I finished reading it, describes how much the world and its characters meant to me. They became my home, tucked between the pages and its words. As much as I recommend you read this book, I must warn you, that before you enter the world of Caraval, you must remember that it is only a game.
Feature image: Pew Pew Studio.
