Crib Notes: 6 Glorious Books to Self-Gift this December
6 Glorious Books to Self-Gift this Month
Welcome to the Christmas edition of Crib Notes newsletter! In this issue, I have written about six glorious books you absolutely should treat yourself to this month. For approximately one minute, I did consider writing a gift guide but it didn’t feel very on-message: the women who subscribe to this newsletter already spend 95% of their time thinking about other people. Crib Notes is dedicated to mothers getting maximum pleasure out of their often minimal reading time and, after a shocker of a year, this feels more of a necessity than ever. So, I invite you to peruse the suggestions below and find something truly gorgeous to enjoy this Christmas.
HOW TO BUY YOUR BOOKS: I recommend purchasing your books from Storytellers Inc, a mother-daughter run independent bookshop. Click here to shop or email Katie at katie@storytellersinc.co.uk and quote ‘cribnotes’ to receive free postage on single orders and 10% off orders of more than two titles.
A NOTE ON SENSITIVE CONTENT: After having my baby, I found some subjects more upsetting. For some reviews, I have flagged ‘sensitive’ content so that you can take your mental and emotional state into consideration when choosing what to read.
The Prize-Winner
Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell
Hamnet reimagines the life of Shakespeare’s wife, ‘Agnes’ (or Anne) Hathaway, a woman who has been dismissed throughout history as an illiterate bumpkin. By contrast, O’Farrell’s portrayal of Agnes is richly evocative, steeped in English folklore: whilst her husband works in London as a jobbing playwright, Agnes tends to her medicinal herb garden and her beehives. In the Summer of 1596, she returns home one evening to discover that her eleven-year-old twins have fallen desperately ill. Whilst her daughter survives, Hamnet, her only son, does not. It is widely believed that the death of Hamnet Shakespeare was the inspiration for one of his father’s most famous plays, but O’Farrell resurrects these events through Agnes’ eyes. Both fierce and tender, Hamnet explores a marriage consumed by grief. Written in luscious, gold-lit prose and laden with historical detail, this is one of the most profoundly moving books I have read all year. And although I am sure my word is recommendation enough, I should add that it very deservedly won this year’s Women’s Prize for Fiction!
When to Read: When you are looking for satisfying, sure-handed storytelling. I read Hamnet at the beginning of the first lockdown when I needed something captivating to draw me away from the Coronavirus Daily Briefing.
Sensitive Content: Hamnet is about the death of a child, which can be difficult reading for any mother. In an interview for inews O’ Farrell has said, ‘I knew I’d be putting myself into the skin of a woman who watches her son die, who sits by his bedside and cannot save him... I did feel very strange writing this book.’
How to Consume: I read the sumptuously-jacketed hardback edition (click here to buy it). Otherwise, try the audio edition, which author Penny Wincer tells me is ‘incredible’. She says, ‘As a parent and carer, I listen to a lot of audiobooks and it was definitely one of the best performances. It’s the same voice artist as her memoir I am, I am, I am - which was also so brilliant.’
What to Read Next: I am ashamed to admit that prior to Hamnet I had never read any of Maggie O’Farrell’s books, even though I was aware of the evangelical zeal with which her fans speak about them. Next on my To-Be-Read list are The Hand That First Held Mine and the aforementioned memoir, I Am, I Am, I Am. If you have a weakness for historical fiction, I also insist that you pre-order Lucy Jago’s A Net For Small Fishes which comes out on February 4th.
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