Novel-lity

Now this book was twisted, BOTH because it had a great plot twist but also because every character had something dark about them, especially our serial killer protagonist who has such interesting morals in regards to the men she killed. This book reignited my obsession with anti-heroes (who will always be the most interesting characters), but also made me thing about how far can you push someone before they CRACK, or in this case, turn to murder… TW: mentions of violence against women (sexual assault). (Also SPOILER ALERT for Peaky Blinders, Umbrella Academy and Breaking Bad). SYNOPSIS:Scarlett Clark is an exceptional English professor. But she’s even better at getting away with murder.

Every year, she searches for the worst man at Gorman University and plots his well-deserved demise. Thanks to her meticulous planning, she’s avoided drawing attention to herself—but as she’s preparing for her biggest kill yet, the school starts probing into the growing body count on campus. Determined to keep her enemies close, Scarlett insinuates herself into the investigation and charms the woman in charge, Dr. Mina Pierce. Everything’s going according to her master plan… until she loses control with her latest victim, putting her secret life at risk of exposure.

Meanwhile, Gorman student Carly Schiller is just trying to survive her freshman year. Finally free of her emotionally abusive father, all Carly wants is to focus on her studies and fade into the background. Her new roommate has other ideas. Allison Hadley is cool and confident—everything Carly wishes she could be—and the two girls quickly form an intense friendship. So when Allison is sexually assaulted at a party, Carly becomes obsessed with making the attacker pay... and turning her fantasies about revenge into a reality. LINK TO JORDAN PETERSON VIDEO: https://youtu.be/ez2-W21EHKs

If I’m being honest, this isn’t my first age-gap romance book. But it IS the first I’ll be happy talking about 😂. Listen to me and Salma discuss this book, age-gap relationships and exactly why these are our guilty pleasure. Also listen to me test Salma in my randomly made game “Mind the Gap”

TW: when we being playing the game the scenarios have mention of some very large age gaps(14-19, 17-29,20-50), manipulation, stalking, mention of abuse.

Be safe listening.

GoodReads Summary:

He took me in when I had nowhere else to go. He doesn’t use me, hurt me, or forget about me. He listens to me, protects me, and sees me. I can feel his eyes on me over the breakfast table, and my heart pumps so hard when I hear him pull in the driveway after work.

I have to stop this. It can’t happen.

My sister once told me there are no good men, and if you find one, he’s probably unavailable. Only Pike Lawson isn’t the unavailable one.

I am.

PIKE

I took her in, because I thought I was helping. As the days go by, though, it’s becoming anything but easy. I have to stop my mind from drifting to her and stop holding my breath every time I bump into her in the house. I can’t touch her, and I shouldn’t want to.

But we’re not free to give into this. She’s nineteen, and I’m thirty-eight.

And her boyfriend’s father.

Unfortunately, they both just moved into my house.

This book was very sweet, it’s about friendship and career changes and also having the strength to go on different route than expected. But what I really wanted to talk about in this book was identity, how school (especially medical school 😓) can mould a big part of that sometimes, and how I changed how I think about myself. Radio Silence GoodReads Summary:

What if everything you set yourself up to be was wrong?

Frances has been a study machine with one goal. Nothing will stand in her way; not friends, not a guilty secret – not even the person she is on the inside. Then Frances meets Aled, and for the first time she's unafraid to be herself.

So when the fragile trust between them is broken, Frances is caught between who she was and who she longs to be. Now Frances knows that she has to confront her past. To confess why Carys disappeared…

Frances is going to need every bit of courage she has.

Engaging with themes of identity, diversity and the freedom to choose, Radio Silence is a tour de force by the most exciting writer of her generation.

Now for anyone in the UK doing their GCSEs you had to do over 20 exams at 16 years old from languages to English lit and one thing that has always irritated me about the school system is how they ruin reading for you. Macbeth, looking back at least, is an interesting tragedy that looks at greed with a groundbreaking Machiavellian villain (Lady Macbeth), but I never saw that then. In this episode me and Etta discuss where school went wrong, what is so interesting about Macbeth and why study Shakespeare. Follow my TikTok if you wanna!: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMRCTEWdV/

TW: suicide and depression. This book was such a surreal fever dream. It was confusing, then frightening, then immediately tragic. Loneliness can conjure many harrowing mental illnesses, one of those is Maladaptive Daydreaming, which is how I decided to interpret this book. In this episode I’ll discuss MADD and also loneliness and the importance of social interaction, through the lens of “I’m Thinking of Ending Things”. This is the Goodreads Summary for anyone wanting to read it: Now a Netflix original movie, this deeply scary and intensely unnerving novel follows a couple in the midst of a twisted unraveling of the darkest unease. You will be scared. But you won’t know why…

I’m thinking of ending things. Once this thought arrives, it stays. It sticks. It lingers. It’s always there. Always.

Jake once said, “Sometimes a thought is closer to truth, to reality, than an action. You can say anything, you can do anything, but you can’t fake a thought.”

And here’s what I’m thinking: I don’t want to be here.

In this smart and intense literary suspense novel, Iain Reid explores the depths of the human psyche, questioning consciousness, free will, the value of relationships, fear, and the limitations of solitude. Reminiscent of Jose Saramago’s early work, Michel Faber’s cult classic Under the Skin, and Lionel Shriver’s We Need to Talk about Kevin, “your dread and unease will mount with every passing page” (Entertainment Weekly) of this edgy, haunting debut. Tense, gripping, and atmospheric, I’m Thinking of Ending Things pulls you in from the very first page…and never lets you go.

The Silent Patient for me was a book that initiated a immense appreciation for mystery novels and great plot twists, but it had me thinking. What even makes a good plot twist? I also had to talk about communication with a game called “Speak Up or Shut Up”, where I give my friend scenarios to choose whether she speaks up or remains silent.

I’ve recently gone through a mystery book binge and a very prominent running theme is that they all involved a messed up marriage that turns dark and twisted. And the thing is it got thinking why is this even the case? And why is this a recurrent twisted thing people can conjure in their minds? Listen to me talk about Gone Girl and how I perceive Machiavellian women. 00:00 - 9:10 : history of Marriage, 9:10 - 21:30 : plot of Gone Girl 21:30 - end: my theories and thoughts

Hello! Verity is a dark and page turning read. But it had me thinking about the Duality of truth. So here I bring a fellow med student friend called Nusrat to discuss lying, brutal truth, the duplicity of other medical students and more! (SKIP to ~ 20 minutes to get into discussion of the book rather than just summaries) TW: murder, child abuse

Now this was an internationally bestselling book when it came out and was made even more popular by the amazing movie that was released as well. Now, when thinking on what to talk about I decided to focus on the difference between sacrifice and compromise, settling vs accepting and also with a touch on euthanasia. Thank you for listening and also try this question: ARRANGE THEM IN DESCENDING ORDER OF IMPORTANCE – MONEY, LOVE, FAMILY, CAREER, FRIENDS. Do this and save it, then do it again in a years time. It’s interesting to see how people change and what life does it us.

This memoir was the most interesting and poignant reads of the first half of 2021 for me. Listen to Etta and I discuss our thoughts on the importance of education in relation to this book and our lives and just how damaging ignorance can be to one’s development. Also hear us debate the difference between ignorance and innocence with some interesting scenarios from Reddit.