Book's Perspective

Book’s Perspective 

Do you wish you read more? Books aren’t your thing, or you don’t know where to start? This blog will discover my journey of reading and my guide of recommendations :)  

Feel free to skip through topics to find what interests you or read it all, but make sure to read about my all-time favourite 'The Secret History'. 

Reading is my favourite way to get off my phone and escape to another place. 

Memories 

My favourite memories of reading include: 

‘Little Women’ in a secret garden in Wicklow. 

 

Simone de Beauvoir ‘The Inseparables’ on the train to Amsterdam. 

 

Christmas lights and the fire blazing with ‘Harry Potter’. 

 

Reading summer rom-coms on holidays in Paris and Tenerife. 

 

Once upon a time... 

2020 was the year I started enjoying books again. I read the ‘To all the boys I loved before’ trilogy after enjoying the first movie. Then, during lockdown I picked up the Harry Potter series and read it all for the first time.  

It took me almost a year to read all seven books – I’m still not a very fast reader, I sometimes end up scanning the words without actually processing any information, oops. 

I discovered my love for reading because it was like my favourite movies with tonnes more detail that they’d forgotten!  

 

So, what are my top suggestions and tips? 

Taylor Jenkins Reid 

Carrie Soto Is Back – World champion tennis player 

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo – Glamorous movie star 

Daisy Jones and the Six – Rising 70s rock band think Fleetwood Mac 

Malibu Rising – Secrets, surfing, family, and a fire 

TJR deserves her own category. The extent of research and preparation for each book is clear to me through her writing. Incredible detail with switching perspectives and timelines. Strong female leads with romance as a side plot. Each book truly made me feel I was there alongside the characters, with amazing personality and physical descriptions. 

Start with Daisy Jones or Evelyn Hugo and you will want to read the rest! 

I highly recommend Daisy Jones and the Six series on Prime to everyone regardless of reading the book or not. Featuring Riley Keough, Suki Waterhouse, Sam Claflin, and a great soundtrack! 

Coming of age YA, friends as ‘found family’ 

The Outsiders by S E Hinton 

The Body by Stephen King (the movie is ‘Stand by Me’) 

Dead Poets Society by N.H. Kleinbaum 

Looking for Alaska by John Green 

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky 

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak 

Harry Potter series 

The Maze Runner series by James Dashner 

In my opinion you are never too old to read YA – Young Adult books are perfect for teenagers or anyone wanting to pick up a book. All of my suggestions have film/tv adaptations.  

These books follow a group of friends on an adventure, such as finding a dead body or challenges through school. Most have a sad ending such as death and ‘the perks’ has slightly more adult themes. The first three suggestions are great 80s movies – only the best decade for film and music! 

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank is another book I would recommend to any young reader. While visiting the house in Amsterdam I bought the book and could not put it down. Following her thoughts and journey of her family hiding from Nazis for two years through her diary. It is a heart wrenching and painful read but extremely worthwhile. 

  

Classics with strong female leads 

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott  

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen 

Watch the movies and shows then read the books! The film adaptations helped me follow the book and you should also make sure you have google handy for the language. Don’t start with classics if you have a short attention span. If you aren’t fortunate enough to have a sister these books will make you feel you do. I can’t convince you to read Little Women better than Saoirse Ronan and Timothée Chalamet will, so watch the 2019 movie on Netflix! 

Other notable classics 

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee 

The Catcher in the Rye by J D Salinger 

The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald 

I would like to read more classics, but they take WORK. Books like these can be very worthwhile at the end – the whole plot comes together, and you call it a ‘masterpiece’ as it won’t leave your mind for days. Or when you flip the last page, you may still have absolutely no clue who was talking about what.  

I’ve suggested my top 3 short classics, all under 300 pages. My tip: read these when you’ve got lots of spare time. It can be difficult to pick up where you left off a few days ago without re-reading pages to jog your memory.  

Pick up anytime 

Happy, Calm, Quiet, Little Things by Fearne Cotton 

Wellness books to help unwind and learn to relax. These books are great for stressed students or adults caught up in everyday life. 

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy 

This feel-good book is great for children and adults! Click to watch the short movie on BBC iPlayer.

My favourite 

The Secret History by Donna Tartt 

The Secret History is so popular for a reason. I had seen this book all over social media before buying it at WHSmith in the airport on my way to Barcelona in Summer 2022.  

It is over 600 pages of dark academia fiction following a pretentious and exclusive group of New England college students, one of whom ends up dead. I wouldn’t recommend this book to new or casual readers – The Secret History needs to fully consume you. The book is through Richard Papen’s perspective, the misfit newbie who also gets the storylines mixed up a little, leading you to wonder what the real truth is... 

The End 

At fifteen, reading was not something I would’ve felt cool with sharing as a hobby, but now I have been embracing my inner fangirl for a couple of years.  

All my friends know how much I enjoy reading and I try to convert anyone I can. I will find a book for you one day Olivia! 

My shopping trips aren’t complete without a visit to Waterstones, which usually consists of the pointing game ‘I’ve read that!’ rather than buying books. Prices have risen since ‘Book-Tok’ popularity but don’t let that stop you exploring books. Library cards are free, and many books can be found as pdfs online.

I hope you have enjoyed reading and maybe discovered a book you might like. I appreciate any comments or dms

Orla :)

Useful links 

Become my friend on goodreads! @OrlaLavery

Buy The Secret History here

Libraries NI: website

Follow my Instagram @orlasnewperspectives and LinkedIn