Eleanor's Letter: Best Queenager books for your summer hols

These are all great reads, touching on our favourite themes at NOON.org.uk -enjoy

My favourite books - for you to enjoy on your sunlounger!

Dear Queenagers

Well we’ve finally got a bit of summer! I’m writing this sweating at my kitchen table surrounded by books as this email is all about the tomes I’ve been loving reading this year and which might be good for your sun-lounger!

I also had such a weird bit of synchronicity yesterday; I took delivery of 350 beautiful Much More to Come tote bags which are turquoise like the cover of the book and have beautiful kingfishers on them too.   And then I went to the pond for a swim and was just sculling down to the end when I saw a flash of azure above my head. Yup it was a Kingfisher and it just sat on a branch looking around right in front of me for about five minutes. Now that is unprecedented. Usually on the rare days I see one, my fine feathered friend zips by in a blink and you miss it moment. But yesterday the kingfisher showed me its beautiful red tummy, gave me a great view of its sparkling blue feathers which create a kind of stripe down its back – and then whizzed off again right over my head. It felt auspicious, it was a moment of deep gratitude and wonder for me; so much so that I took some of the kingfisher bags up to the Ladies Pond lifeguards as a present along with a copy of the book. The pond has played such a huge part in my transformation over the last few years; it was the place where I first felt free to try out a new shape, a new incarnation. It is fitting that it is centre stage for the book too! (If you’d like to buy it if you click this link and use the code Muchmore50 you can get it half price thanks to our friends at Waterstones).

So enough of my book -the point of this newsletter is to give you some great Queenager reads for summer. What follows are a mixture of fiction and non-fiction; I always have several different books on the go at once.  I like some trash, some serious fiction and a dose of non-fiction and poetry. That way I can dip in an out as the spirit moves me. All of the books on the following list I have absolutely loved. They have gripped me. So here goes.

1)        Margaret Atwood: The Blind Assassin – you may have already read some Atwood, maybe the Handmaid’s Tale or her coming of age book Cat’s Eye. Both are great. But if you want a big juicy novel full of brave thoughts, beautiful writing, sadness, family, the backdrop of war, a love affair, sisters, being a woman – it’s all here in The Blind Assassin. Quite frankly it’s one of the best novels I’ve read in years. You are in for a treat.

2)        Morgan is My Name by Sophie Keetch: Yup I am a sucker for historical fiction particularly with a dose of Merlin and Morgana le Fay. This is a retelling of the Arthurian legend from the perspective of Morgana the sorceress – think Circe or Song of Achilles (both great if you haven’t read them). It was a SundayTimes Best Historical Fiction pick for 2023 I just bought the sequel Le Fay.

3)        Orbital, Samantha Harvey – this is an extraordinary book. A kind of fictional memoir of someone on the space station orbiting the earth 16 times a day seeing endless sunrises and sunsets, getting a new and wondrous perspective on our beautiful planet. I am a great proponent of the theory of Gaia, that earth is part of a living system, that we are sustained by our atmosphere, this incredible, miraculous balance of gas and luck and sunlight which makes life possible. This beautiful book – short and poignant – will make you see your home in a whole new light

4)        Stolen Focus: Johann Hari – this book is non-fiction and is all about why we can’t pay attention. He recommends reading books not your phone, some digital detox and gives lots of practical tips and easy neuroscience on why a few tweaks to our habits are a good idea. Johann is a genius. If you haven’t read this you should

5)        Save me from the Waves: Jessica Hepburn – this is a memoir about a woman who climbed Everest, ran a marathon and swam the channel to recover from her heartbreak at not going able to have kids. But she also listened to every issue ever of Desert Island Discs and the book blends her own tale of triumph over tragedy with great summaries and wisdom from all those castaways and also reminded me of loads of songs I love and classical pieces I’d forgotten. It’s like a cultural feast and a memoir all in one. A nutribullet of great advice and fab tunes (and Jessica is a wonderful Queenager)

6)        Tom Lake by Ann Patchett: Another winner of a novel. I’ve been gripped by this saga of a family on their cherry orchard in Michigan during lockdown. The three adult daughters all home. Bored, they start asking their mum about her long-ago affair with a man who became a movie star. I loved the way it explored the things we don’t tell or admit, even to ourselves. The agony of interactions with much loved but tricky adult children – and its life-affirming plea for what really makes us happy, which is not fame or the baubles of success. I loved it

7)        The Long Delirious Burning Blue by Sharon Blackie – a haunting novel about a Queenager’s relationship with her mother, how its toxicity has driven her to burn out and another continent. But how we must come to terms with the trials of our birth families, particularly our mothers and their motivations and traumas if we are to become truly whole or grow into ourselves.

8)        Wise Women – also by Sharon Blackie: I’ve had a proof copy of this, it comes out next month. But it is essential Queenager reading. All the tales of wise women and female elders from European and British myths that have been forgotten or erased by patriarchy. Read it for yourself and read it to the younger women in your life. We need these stories to tell a new story about who we are and who we can be.

9)        The Fuck It List by Melanie Cantor – I met Melanie on a panel and thought she was a hoot. She’s been a top show biz agent for years and her wise, wry take on the fairytales told to women and how we can make up our own happy ever after will make you a very happy holiday read

10)   Revolting Women by Lucy Ryan: non fiction account of why midlife women are leaving their jobs. Lucy is part of the NOON team and I love her descriptions of midlife collisions, theQueenager revolt and the pivot into purpose. It is based on all the interviews she did for her PHD – I bet lots of you can see yourselves in this book

11)   Why we die by Venki Ramakrishnan, winner of the Nobel Prize. I should note here that Venki won his prize for science not literature but this is a great overview of all the latest science of what goes on in our cells as we age. It will ensure you never consider cryogenics or lots of the other bollocks coming out of silicon valley. A bit stodgy but fascinating. Digest in small chunks!

12)   The Upgrade by Dr Louann Brizendine – top US professor on what is happening to our brains and bodies during menopause. Upbeat and fascinating – she is on a bit of a Queenager mindmeld about this time being when we come into our prime.. I wanted to cheer during lots of the chapters.

13)   First Wife’s Shadow by Adele Parks: twisty, gripping thriller -subject of our NOON Book Club on Thursday 25^th July when Adele will be joining us for a NOON session. Come along and ask your questions

14. North Woods by Daniel Mason: I love the way this saga is rooted in the land, a forest, and orchard and the different families who lived there from the time of the Native American Indians and first settlers through to today. This is the most challenging book in terms of form, but it has stayed with me -

I hope you enjoy all of these as much as I did… have a lovely summer break. In next weekend’s newsletter I’m going to be giving you all an exclusive extract from my new book. And extracts from it are due to run in the Daily Mail next week… eek

Lots of love and do join us for our NOON Walk in Warwickshire on Sunday July 28^th – cake, Queenagers, a beautiful walk… and free Much More to Come tote bags (as per the beginning of this email!) for all attendees… what more could you want?

Xxx

Eleanor