We hear from seven IMAGE staffers on what they’ve been reading lately, and what’s next on their to-be-read list…
Lauren Heskin, Editor, IMAGE Magazine
In case anyone else is late to the game on this like me, I recently finished Lessons in Chemistry ahead of the release of the Apple TV show on October 13 and, as you might expect from a New York Times best-seller, it was excellent. I zipped through it in a few days and with Brie Larson cast as protagonist Elizabeth Zott, a once-in-a-generation chemist working in 1950s America, wading through cultural misogyny and personal heartbreak, it looks like it’s going to be a very true portrayal of Bonnie Garmus’s book. Read it before you see it.
I’m currently reading Gwen Wilkinson’s memoir The Waters and the Wild about her time rowing through Ireland’s inland waterways in a boat she built by hand. She really is a magnificent writer, so poetic in her words. If you want a little taster, she wrote a beautiful essay about the experience in the new Autumn issue of IMAGE. You’ll want to pick the book up as soon as you finish it, I know I did.
Shayna Sappington, Senior Branded Content Writer, IMAGE.ie
I started reading Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent and was hooked from the first page. It opens with protagonist Sally disposing of her father’s body, despite him dying of natural causes, then strangely unravels to reveal her unique mind. It turns out, she takes everyone’s words a little too literally. Now, she’s trying to navigate the real world on her own, while also piecing together her disturbing childhood. I can’t put it down!
Sarah Finnan, Deputy Digital Editor, IMAGE.ie
I recently finished Oenone Forbat’s debut memoir, Bad Influence, and loved it. All about the peaks and pits of coming of age online, it’s a really interesting take on social media and the idea that influencers often end up cannibalising parts of themselves for work… you’ll fly through it. Yomi Adegoke’s book, The List, seems to be in a similar vein (even though it’s fiction) so I think I’ll tackle that one next. Caroline O’Donoghue’s The Rachel Incident is also in the to-be-read pile (which only seems to grow by the day).
Saoirse McCloskey, Marketing Account Executive
A book that I couldn’t put down recently was Another Life by Jodie Chapman. It is a beautifully written, emotionally charged novel that weaves together themes of love, loss, regret and fate.
Nick and Anna’s love story begins at their neighbourhood cinema, where they fall for each other. However, the obstacles they face are substantial. Anna’s family and her strong religious beliefs stand in the way of their future together. Despite their eventual breakup, the bond they share remains unbreakable. As time passes, Nick’s family life takes a heartbreaking turn, and he struggles to find genuine happiness. On the other hand, Anna manages to break free from her religious constraints but grapples with moving forward. The question lingers: Can they ever find their way back to each other?
It reminded me of that first love that never really leaves you – the agony of wrong turns and a longing for what could have been. A beautifully written story of love in all its forms.
Megan Burns, Deputy Editor, IMAGE, IMAGE Interiors
I recently read Midwinter Break by Bernard McLaverty and adored it. About a retired couple on a trip to Amsterdam, it beautifully threads through their past and present, giving an evocative and poignant picture of their lives – I devoured it in a day. I love books like this, where the premise is on the surface very simple, but you come away from the story feeling like the characters are people you’ve met, you know them so intimately.
I also enjoyed Tales of Persuasion by Phillip Hensher. I picked it up at the library not realising it was a short story collection, but found taking a break from longer fiction was actually welcome, that feeling of being totally immersed in a story from start to finish with no interruption is particularly satisfying. As with all short story collections some resonated more with me than others, but I was glad of my mistake when perusing the library shelves.
Hannah Stapleton, IMAGE Marketing Intern
I love a non-fiction book. Anything that I can learn from, or take a good piece of advice from, I’m sold. I also love a good true-crime read. Recently, I listened to The Witness, a brilliant podcast from crime journalist Nicola Tallant, so of course, my next task was to read Tallant’s book by the same title. A harrowing, and heartbreaking read, it had me intrigued and devastated, all at the same time.
Next on my reading list is Dolly Alderton’s Everything I Know About Love. Having seen this all over my socials, from Instagram to TikTok, I have got to see what the hype is about!
Sarah Gill, Staff Writer, IMAGE.ie
Having always identified as a notoriously slow reader, you can imagine my surprise when I looked back on my Good Reads account to see that I had, in fact, read five whole books in the past month and a half! I just finished reading Dolly Alderton’s new novel, Good Material, and I could not recommend it more. The tale of a breakup told from the male perspective, it’s illuminating and enthralled and hilarious and heartbreaking all in equal measure. Heralded the ‘bard of modern love’ by none other than Lena Dunham, this novel sees new words and phrases added to the lexicon of love that many of us will see ourselves or our past experiences in. Next up is Kae Tempest’s The Bricks that Built the Houses.
Holly O’Neill, Editor of IMAGE.ie and Beauty Editor at IMAGE Media
Britney’s long-awaited story, finally in her own words. It touches on her career, family, high-profile relationships, her conservatorship and how the media tears apart successful women in just 275 pages, instead of the 13-book encyclopedia series I would have preferred, but thankfully, having sold over 1 million copies in the US in the first week, that might be in the works. “Volume 2 will be released next year,” she wrote on Instagram recently. “Get ready!”
Sophie Power, Marketing & Memberships Director
I just finished Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin which was so beautiful and heartbreaking. While it gave me a visceral insight into the gaming world and what it’s like to be a woman creative in such a male-led industry, it’s really a love story about the twists and turns of a deeply complicated lifelong friendship between Sadie, Sam and Marx. If you loved Hanya Yanagihara’s A Little Life, this one is for you.
Next up on my list is Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell, I’ve heard great things!
Emily O’Neill, Branded Partnerships – Marketing Account Executive
If you are familiar with the Flat Share series on paramount which is based on the book by Beth O’Leary you will instantly pick up on the same wit and charm in The Wake Up Call. It is the perfect book for a lazy Sunday or a cosy evening after work.