5 Great Books I Read in June '21

June is a lot of things to a lot of people. For British people here it is the start of the real summer season with some of the hottest days of the year becoming a reality. People go to beaches and day trips and a bunch of other hot-day activities happen. This year and last year though, it has been considerably different. Less has been going on though people still insist on crowding beaches and making a day-trip out of car journeys to crowded shopping centres. Honestly, if you are out there please stay safe as vaccinations for COVID-19 have not ended and the delta variant is still out there.

June is also Pride Month. The LGBTQA+ community celebrate their right to exist. They celebrate their right to love and to love passionately. It is a time of happiness when all come together to take note of the world's past injustices and move to better the way we love as a whole. But we need to also remember that this is not the truth in many countries where being a part of the LGBTQA+ community is still illegal and punishable by jail time or even worse: death. So this month, make sure you celebrate whether you are a part of the community or not - celebrate the rights of love and the human rights of existence but also remember there are other people who need celebrating too. The people who exist in these backward nations where it is simply not possible to 'come out'. The people who did 'come out' and were killed for it and obviously, the people who we stand in solidarity with every day of our lives.

In the month of June, I have read some pretty interesting novels about nearly everything as my literature binges have been on a bit of a hold. I have read everything from social horror to war novels, from romantic dramas to historical nonfiction and from books on film to books on painting. Each of these has been special in its own way with me exploring the realms of different narratives that literature has to offer. From reading books recommended by the New Yorker, to books in the review section of the Times Literary Supplement and the London Review of Books. There are so many new and exciting books to explore alongside the modern classics.

So please sit comfortably as I explain what are my top five novels of the month of June. An interesting month with many interesting reads!

(They are in no particular order)

5 Great Books I Read in June '21

Three Martini Afternoons at the Ritz by Gail Crowther

About the strange friendship and parallel lives of Anne Sexton and Sylvia Plath, this book explores their lives intertwining, their sexes defining them and the way in which they so completely about their experiences. Their experiences range from being a daughter, to becoming a mother - from being a wife and being a writer - from being a woman to being a depressed woman. They are never to be defined by one thing alone and this book presents that Gail Crowther is possibly the best person to tell this story.

Beautiful Things by Hunter Biden

Hunter Biden is possibly one of the people that has been most ridiculed by the media ever since his father was the Vice President to Barack Obama. We all have to admit that Hunter Biden has been through hell. When he was a young boy, his mother and sister were killed in a traffic accident and then, many years later, his only brother died as well. The relationship that Hunter had with his brother Beau is explored in extreme detail with some language that will possibly make you cry. Hunter was right there when Beau was dying and it was the most incredible piece of autobiographical writing that you will read in a long time - I can guarantee you that.

Forever Home by Sue Watson

A chilling thriller, this book is about a married couple who begin to fall apart at the party for the 25th anniversary. Mark and Carly have some serious problems buried down there and it is not all to do with infidelity. When their children find out the things that they have been doing, other secrets begin opening up and other things begin getting out. The problem is not just the secrets, but it is also the fact that Mark works on television and Carly, his writer. When things become even more abusive through anonymous messages and tip-offs, Carly and Mark feel like they are truly breaking apart. Things go from bad to worse until the worst case scenario ensues.

If We Were Villains by ML Rio

One of the best books I have read in a long time. A shakespearean-inspired tragedy, a blend of 'Julius Caesar', 'Macbeth' and bits of the other histories in which the most powerful end up abusing their given rights and falling from grace. It starts off in a prison where Oliver is chained to a table telling an inspector that he didn't do it. The question is not whether he did or not, the more importantly question is whether it was justified. A group of friends take a journey on life imitating art in this extravagant tale of murder, betrayal and theatre. It is absolutely brilliant.

You Let Me in by Camilla Bruce

You all know how I feel about folk horror and how much I am always telling you that it is one of my all-time favourite genres of anything from books to movies to even soundtracks. This folk horror is no different from other great folk horrors such as "Tyll" by Daniel Kehlmann. A mischevious and dark tale with characters that seem other-wordly, this story includes the disturbing nightmare that is the 'pepper-man'. He is worked into a tale of double murder, haunting chills and a novel so terrifying that it will make you not want to eat afterwards. I suggest you get your breakfast out of the way before tucking into this night terror.