Oli, Guardian reader
i just finished reading Vimmy Road Boys By Sufiyan Salam. Set in Manchester’s Curry Mile, a brilliant combination of violence and vulnerability, I loved this book. I completely connected with the three main boys, and I loved the changes in perspective of the different characters throughout the book. I completely cried at the end – it was an unexpected but completely understandable ending. 10/10, everyone should read this.
Candice Carty-Williams, author
Written by a criminologist and ethnographer who grew up on a London estate, trapped life Written by Ebony Reed, this is one of those works of non-fiction that feels every bit like fiction as it details the challenges faced by people living in an urban environment. next, All-consuming: Why we eat the way we do now By Ruby Tandoh – I will eat whatever Tandoh writes. When writing about food she uses a distinctive brand of accessibility that makes everything fascinating, especially when it comes to the social, economic and technological factors that shape how we eat today. Finally, it’s rare that I get to use Victorian Gothic, but my most trusted reader friend told me I would enjoy Victorian psycho By Virginia Fito So I found myself stalking the dark corridors of the Ensor House, at 2 a.m. I was equally scared and thrilled because I couldn’t put it down.
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Queenie Is Working on It is published by Trapeze on July 2. To support the Guardian, order your copy here guardianbookshop.com.
Sarah, Guardian reader
Amidst all the talk of AI and data centers in the news, I chose this Any bot By Sierra Greer. Annie Bot was created to be the perfect robot girlfriend for her owner – sorry, partner – he doesn’t like people knowing there’s a control panel around his girlfriend’s neck, and he’s eager to please her and fulfill her every whim. She is very good at noticing when he is frustrated with her, which usually happens when she gets behind on household chores. Doug likes the place spotless, and feels he needs a little guidance, so he brings home another bot to show Annie how it’s done. The dilemma for Annie is that the more human she learns to be, the more human qualities she acquires. I really liked the way the author led me to Annie Bot – even though I fear the rise of AI, I wanted her to find true agency, and fulfill her desire to live life on her own terms.
Patrick Franey, author
I’ve been reading a lot of Tessa Hadley. His most recent novel, PartyA beautiful old-fashioned coming-of-age novel about class and youthful aspiration. i also study prestige dramaSéamus O’Reilly’s debut novel. This is a brilliantly angry, funny and raunchy book about a fancy TV show being made about the troubles in O’Reilly’s home county Derry.
Both these books are very short. I also enjoyed re-reading ulysses By James Joyce for the Bloomsday programme. The trick is to 1) remember that this is a lot of fun, and 2) don’t check the page numbers. I suspect it could be up to 300 pages long.
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Experts in a Dying Field, written by Patrick Frayn, is published by Penguin Sandico. To support the Guardian, order your copy here guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply.
Fabiana, Guardian reader
My son’s love of reading has inspired me to read some children’s and youth novels. I I am a rebel is a beautiful summer read written by Ross Montgomery. six weeks is a touching story about a grieving boy, written by Matt Goodfellow, and Explorer Katherine Rundell took me on a wild trip into the Amazon jungle. I read them with or without my son – we share the joy of reading together. The books are very well written – they take my imagination away from the daily routine.
