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Chanel's Library

@chanels_library

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Sydney 📍🌏
Books are my weapons 📚☕️👩🏻‍🏫
Reading widely but also watching tv and napping consistently.

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An entertaining read. I (finally) read Yesteryear and I’m sad I missed out on some bookclub discussions because I think the range of opinions would be great! I haven’t read other reviews because I wanted to go in impartial.

The novel takes a critique on ‘tradwife’ and social media culture through the main character Natalie, a tradwife influencer who lives with her picturesque family on a picturesque farm called ‘Yesteryear’ but of course, it’s all performative. Natalie promotes a life where Christian values are present and women and men can fulfil their designated roles (much to the hatred of the ‘Angry Women’ online) so what happens when she wakes up in the 1800s and has to live as a true, traditional wife? It’s a great concept for a novel and here is my review:

It was a fun read! The protagonist is unlikeable (which she is aware of) and I think Caro Claire Burke has some interesting structural choices to explore the ‘performativity’ of Natalie’s identity. I quite enjoyed the alternating chapters and was engaged by Natalie’s backstory and the present day. I do think it was an ambitious novel, taking on online culture, gender, politics, religion, shifting times, etc, and if you are expecting searing social critique, I don’t know if you’re going to find it as it’s more plot focused. Overall, I wanted more subtlety and cleverness in the satire but maybe the point was to make it obvious.

I would recommend this to anyone trying to get out of a reading slump! Keen to look at all the reviews I have saved now

#yesteryear #reading #bookclub #books #bibliophilie by @chanels_library

I love funny and sharp books. I picked up Lost on Me by Veronica Raimo (translated by Leah Janeczko) in Florence and finally started reading it this week.

This is a work of autofiction that plays with the line between truth and storytelling. The chapters are short and explore the childhood of Vero growing up in Rome in a retrospective way, narrating as an adult writer. Vero’s family is quirky, her brother also a writer, her mother overbearing and her father fixated on germs and cleanliness. The slices of life are amusing, a credit to Raimo’s ability to tell stories. I laughed out loud a lot and enjoyed the cleverness of the humour.

One of my favourite lines ‘In my family, each of us has our own way of sabotaging our memory out of self-interest.’

I don’t know Raimo’s other novels but I enjoyed this one enough for me to add them to my list.

#lostonme #veronicaraimo #reading #books #bookstagram by @chanels_library

@therosereadbookshop opened in Summer Hill a couple weeks ago and I visited on Friday to check it out! Loved the collection and vibes. Yes to independent bookstores in Sydney. I picked up Worry Doll and Medea Sang Me a Corrido to add to my school holiday reads.

#bookshop #reading #bookstagram #sydney #novels by @chanels_library

Picked up Writers & Lovers at Sydney Writers’ Festival and finished it today! My first Lily King book and I think I was surprised by the depth of it.
It follows Casey, a 31 year old writer in Boston in the 90s. She is struggling to finish her first novel, her mother has died, and her romantic relationships are confusing. The story explores grief, creative struggle, the burden of debt, health, family and romantic relationships. I found it funny, upsetting and tender. The pacing was great and I especially loved the scenes with the 2 sons of Oscar, and some of the English teaching explorations (obviously lol)
I love that Lily King has other novels too, I’m keen to check them out!

#bookstagram #books #reading #novels #writersandlovers by @chanels_library

Ambitious school holiday TBR. Three weeks, let’s go!

#bookstagram #tbr #reading #books by @chanels_library

My first non-work related read in a long time and I loved it. ‘Cursed Daughters’ by Oyinkan Braithwaite is a novel about a generational love curse passed onto the women in the Falodun family leading to heartbreak, ruin and devastation. The book spans across times and characters, looking at the cousins Monife and Ebun, and then Eniiyi. Can the curse be broken for Eniiyu or is fate too strong?
I loved the short chapters, the focus on women and the exploration of the power of the curse.
The ending was great but I think I wanted it drawn out a bit more. Difficult to put down! Braithwaite’s other book ‘My Sister, The Serial Killer’ was also a fab read too.

Bring on 3 weeks of holidays and more reading for fun.

#bookstagram #reading #books #novels #bookish by @chanels_library

Honeymoon reading in Copenhagen 🇩🇰 Finished The Wedding People and absolutely loved it. Funny, entertaining, emotional. Loved the cast of characters, the setting, the narration. It’s about Phoebe who accidentally crashes a wedding week at a fancy hotel in Rhode Island. The bride, Lila, is not happy at all but the two women form a friendship that they both need.

I would definitely recommend for a holiday read or to help anyone get out of a reading slump (me). 2025 was probably the busiest year of my life so I’m looking forward to a much calmer 2026. Less screen time, more books!

#theweddingpeople #books #library #bookstagram #reading by @chanels_library

My first non-fiction read in a very long time! A collection of ‘memoir-in-essays’ by Isaac Fitzgerald that trace a rocky childhood into a broad range of experiences - attending boarding school, smuggling medical supplies into Burma, bartending in San Francisco. The essays explore the impact the instability of his childhood has had on him, as he turns to different vices at stages in his life. There is a key focus on violence, masculinity, and family. There is also an exploration of body dysmorphia and how this continues to be a struggle for Fitzgerald.
The essays were honest, interesting, sometimes very sad, sometimes funny. A good reminder to me of why I love reading memoirs!

#dirtbagmassachusetts #memoir #literary #nonfiction #reading #books #bookstagram #bookclub #chanelslibrary by @chanels_library

A divisive read for work book club. Signs of Damage is Diana Reid’s third novel which was released earlier this year.

The premise of the book sounded like a mystery/thriller, alternating between the Kelly family holiday in France in 2004, and the present. On this holiday, a young girl Cass goes missing and then returns a few hours later. In 2024, Cass is an adult and suffers from unexplainable seizures. Is there a connection to the holiday in France? Are there secrets that have been hidden by those on the holiday?

The book is written in third person but changes perspectives often, so the truth of what actually happened on this family holiday in 2004 becomes increasingly difficult to work out. Each character has a different perception of events and at the core of the novel is an exploration of trauma, truth, and individual responses.

I found that I liked the perspective shifts but it also made it difficult to fully connect to any of the characters, which are unlikable to begin with. I wanted to keep reading to find out what was happening but ultimately the ending left me a bit unsatisfied, however I can definitely see Reid’s purpose in challenging the ‘trauma’ narrative.

It definitely created dynamic book club discussion!

#bookclub #reading #bookstagram #literary #fiction #litfit #bibliophile #books #novels #chanelslibrary by @chanels_library

Loved this. Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk was added to the new Senior English Advanced Syllabus as a possible study with the poetry of William Blake so I thought I would read it.

Described as a ‘strongly voiced existential thriller,’ I really enjoyed the writing in this novel. The story follows Duszejko, an older woman living in a remote Polish village. She loves animals and astrology, and is crafted as an eccentric and quirky character. She shares the village with hunters, who one season are mysteriously murdered one by one. She starts to develop her own theory that perhaps the animals are taking revenge.

The writing is refreshing and original. I can’t wait to read Tokarzcuk’s other books. I don’t think my school will teach this as we are going with another combination, but would love to see how it goes once it’s taught!

#driveyourplowoverthebonesofthedead #olgatokarczuk #fiction #novels #reading #bibliophilie #bookstagram #books #literary #bookish #chanelslibrary by @chanels_library

Started Outline back in school holidays and finally finished today 😅 It’s been a looooooong term.

My first book by Cusk and I believe this is the first in a trilogy. A novel in ‘ten conversations’ that follows a writer teaching a creative writing course in Athens one summer. The story focuses on the people she encounters and the conversations she has. It’s all about storytelling, perception, vulnerability, honesty. Through her listening and observations, we find out a bit about her but she doesn’t seem to be the main focus.

I quite liked it…it’s not plot driven but the writing is great and super reflective. Some great writing exercises I would love to do from this novel/about this novel.

I’ve been doing a lot of work related reading the last few months so I’m looking forward to branch out for the upcoming holidays!

#outline #rachelcusk #reading #literary #novel #bibliophilie #bookclub #bookstagram #books by @chanels_library

They say Nora Ephron is the queen of writing/directing romcoms, and many artists list her as their inspiration. I picked Heartburn as my holiday read and it was the perfect choice - made me laugh, made me cry, made me hungry.

Rachel, a food writer, is seven months pregnant when she finds out her husband is having an affair with a very tall woman. Rachel narrates her heartbreak while also giving cooking tips and hilarious backstory. Ephron’s way of describing side characters and plots kept me laughing, and the recipes and food description kept me wanting more. I also really enjoyed the introduction where Ephron writes about the line between truth and fiction.

While it is an easy read, I admire how Ephron takes humour to explore marriage, pain and relationships. Also, what a beautiful edition I found!

#heartburn #noraephron #fiction #books #reading #bookstagram #chanelslibrary #bookclub #bibliophile by @chanels_library