Books we’re looking forward to read in January
Welcome to 2023! We can’t wait to see what stories this year will bring us. What stories we will write (join us every first Sunday of the month for a writing session that will spark your creative genius here) and what stories we’ll read. Twelve brand new shiny months, that’s 53 potentially cozy Sundays to curl up with a book! This year, WOW’s Eline will recommend a few books every month. New releases, poetry, (cult) classics, indie books, books that deserve more fame… Get ready to run to the bookstore! And do you have a book you think should be on this list for next month?
#1: Roses, in the Mouth of a Lion, by Bushra Rehman
“In the vein of On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, an unforgettable story about female friendship and queer love in a Muslim-American community. Punctuated by both joy and loss, full of ’80s music and beloved novels, Roses, in the Mouth of a Lion is a new classic: a fiercely compassionate coming-of-age story of a girl struggling to reconcile her heritage and faith with her desire to be true to herself.
A book that’s compared to the works of authors we love? There’s no way we’re not reading that! And besides, there’s nothing like a good coming of age story.
#2: Old Age of El Magnifico, by Doris Lessing
“A new tale about an awkwardly loveable cat, ‘an enormous lordly beast, a harlequinade of black and white’, who in his later years, because of illness, must suffer the great indignity of becoming a three-legged cat. Unsentimental, unwhimsical, unmistakably Lessing, this story insinuates itself into the imagination with skill and grace.”
Getting your hands on a copy of this story might require a little bookhunt. This was first published in 2000 and, as far as we can tell, did not become a bookstore staple. But what’s a better Monday afternoon activity than skipping work and turning your local second hand bookstore upside down? Especially if it means you get to go home with an extraordinary story narrated by a cat!
#3: The Whalebone Theatre, by Joanna Quinn
“One blustery night in 1928, a whale washes up on the shores of the English Channel. By law, it belongs to the King, but twelve-year-old orphan Cristabel Seagrave has other plans. She and the rest of the household – her sister, Flossie; her brother, Digby, long-awaited heir to Chilcombe manor; Maudie Kitcat, kitchen maid; Taras, visiting artist – build a theater from the beast’s skeletal rib cage.”
This just sounds like the perfect winter read to us. Can we have another snow storm that will cancel all our plans, an unlimited supply of hot chocolate and this book, please?
#4: Gender Swapped Fairy Tales, by Karrie Fransman and Jonathan Plackett
“Imagine a world where kings prick their fingers as they sew, wolves wear heels, and princesses race to rescue sleeping princes… They haven't rewritten the stories in this book. They haven't reimagined endings, or reinvented characters. What they have done is switch all the genders. It might not sound like that much of a change, but you'll be dazzled by the world this swap creates - and amazed by the new characters you're about to discover.
Another great by the fireplace read. Maybe find someone to read this book with and alternate turns reading each other these stories. A good friend, a lover, a child, sibling or grandchild: there’s not a single relationship that doesn’t benefit from reading each other a story every once in a while. Especially if it’s a story that completely flips age old fairy tale gender norms.