hot girl books 001
hey, I saw you from across the bookstore and I really liked your vibe
Welcome to a new segment! This is Hot Girl Books!1
I have always taken images of books that catch my eye whenever I’m in the wild. They clog up my phone like screenshots of conversations I save for later and never need, so I figured this would be a really cool way to highlight books that have caught my eye and to recommend to others.
Remember to support your local bookstores!
— PROSE —
01. Bodies — Christine Anne Foley
The book caught my eye, but it was the blurb that got my interest. And I stupidly did not take a photo! That’s my bad—the idea for this segment only came to me when
and I went upstairs for coffee. So here’s what Goodreads has to say:You were everything I ever wanted. Johnny was my first. I was seventeen and I was only brave enough to talk to him after I'd had three vodkas. He was only brave enough to kiss me when no-one else was around. Dave was different. We didn't go out or see friends. We were each other's world. Dave was all I needed. We were toxic before it became fashionable. Kyle was my best friend. And that was the problem. Or at least that's what he said was the problem. Because friends can hook up but they can't date. Adam was meant to be some harmless fun. I met him in a hotel and he was wearing an Adidas tracksuit. Casual but cute. He was anything but harmless.
And then I met You. And things went from bad to worse.
It was the last line that got me, I admit. A direct address to me, your future reader? A break of the fourth wall before I even open the cover. You have my attention.
In summary, Bodies by Christine Anne Foley seems like a sexier version of Netflix’s You.
02. My Body — Emily Ratajkowski
I’ve seen this title and this name float around online bookish communities for a while now. The reception was pretty good. I knew nothing of Ratajkowski, apart from she was a model, until I read the first couple of pages. She was one of the models featured in the Blurred Lines music video, which was criticised over its sexually explicit portrayal of women. When the removed video was restored to YouTube, the controversy exploded.
I do want to read this at some point, hopefully sooner rather than later. From the little I’ve read, it seems to be written quite well; I’m interested in learning what her views and opinions are so someone who’s was rocketed into mass media and fame as a young adult.
03. Slow Days, Fast Company — Eve Babitz
The name Eve Babitz, along with Joan Didion, have floated around the white girl esoteric literature spaces for some time now. And I’ll be the first to admit—who are they?
I know—or rather, I assume—that they are good writers, essayists, or perhaps even novelists! that have found a sudden newfound notoriety due to algorithms pushing reviews and aesthetic short form content about their diaries or more intimate publications, encouraging parasocialism. I also know (again, assume) they’re American. Maybe it’s because I’m British that I’ve been sidelined from this trend since the only reason why I know these two names is because of social media.
With that being said, I am intrigued. I want to know if Babitz (and eventually Didion) are as great as people think they are.
04. Blood Meridian — Cormac McCarthy
From my partner’s recommendation, I read Roadside Picnic by the Strugatsky brothers last year and surprisingly enjoyed it! I don’t read a lot of male authors so I want to diversify my reading by reading more of them. Blood Meridian is another novel my partner has read. I also watched Wera’s video on McCarthy’s novels, and I too want to see what the literature bro club is saying.
She is one of my favourite BookTubers, so please check her content out!
— POETRY —
05. The Hurting Kind — Ada Limon
I already have Bright Dead Things on my shelf, which I promise to get to eventually! I have flicked through the first few peoples and liked what I read.
An astonishing collection about interconnectedness—between the human and nonhuman, ancestors and ourselves—from National Book Critics Circle Award winner and National Book Award finalist Ada Limón.
With Limón’s remarkable ability to trace thought, The Hurting Kind explores those questions—incorporating others’ stories and ways of knowing, making surprising turns, and always reaching a place of startling insight. These poems slip through the seasons, teeming with horses and kingfishers and the gleaming eyes of fish. And they honor parents, stepparents, and grandparents: the sacrifices made, the separate lives lived, the tendernesses extended to a hurting child; the abundance, in retrospect, of having two families.
06. Stranger, Baby — Emily Berry
I’m very selective about the poetry I read. My introduction was to Instagram styled poetry, which I have an everchanging opinion on2. On a whim, I was browsing to see if Mary Jean Chan or Rachel Allen had released another collection. They hadn’t. But, I came across Stranger, Baby by Emily Berry.
Emily Berry's Dear Boy was described as a 'blazing debut', winning the Forward Prize for Best First Collection in 2013. Stranger, Baby, its follow-up, is marked by the same sense of fantasy and play, estrangement and edgy humour for which she has become known. But these poems delve deeper again, in their off-kilter and often painful encounter with childhood loss. This is a book of mourning, recrimination, exhilaration and 'oceanic feeling': 'A meditation on a want that can never be answered.'
Thanks for reading!
Love from,
Hannah
(ig, spotify, goodreads, letterboxd)
Current favourites:
Open, Heaven by Seán Hewitt. I finished this breath-taking novel on Sunday morning and it made me cry. The prose is beautiful and I cannot wait for everyone to read this! I think this is going to be one of my top books of the year.
As I sat down to write this, I saw
posted their February love letter. Their muse—bookstores. My mouth was agape, I believed this to be a turn of fate. Please read their Substack, their writing has been a constant during my time on this platform.
Of course when I say “hot girl books” I mean it in the general sense. It is not my intention to attach gendered boundaries to language. Language is fluid, ever evolving, and I believe it is incredibly stupid to constrain oneself to gendered lexicon when unnecessary. But for those who disagree, let me state this plainly for your understanding: I use this term like the phrases “guys” is used: to refer to large groups of people, and with no gendered strings attached.
If you would like an essay on this, let me know. I think I’ll write one anyways…