WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN READING? Adored IN THE MARGINS by Elena Ferrante on the pleasures of reading and writing. Containing four pulverising essays on her literary capabilities and her work as a writer, she examines her own struggles and influences. A unique opportunity to go in to the margins with one of the most influential writers of our time who explores what it takes to write “a garment of words sewn with a pain of her own and a pen of her own.” LAPVONA by Otessa Moshfegh, I love her writing but this fourth novel took me by surprise. It’s hums with grotesquerie and tackles some dark and haunting themes. Set in a medieval fiefdom, whilst different from her other works it still feels very mossfeghian. I wonder if there is anything she cannot write. LA GRANDE FAMILLA is a courageous and shifting memoir that started the #metooinceste movement. I read it in one sitting and was moved yet not haunted by the pages. It acutely and firmly depicts the confusion of childhood trauma and tells a bold and brave story that’s not easy to put down in words. MILLENNIAL LOVE by Olivia Peters is an expert investigation into the overwhelming nature of finding love in this day and age. Full of social commentary aswell as sharp and witty anecdotes. Peter’s has just secured a sex column for soho house and is marking out her territory as a definitive writer on relationships. DETRANSITION BABY ... I have to admit I found the prose a little clunky and repetitive and felt a more discerning pen could have been taken to the edit. But the story had me gripped and I feel hook line and sinker for the characters and the exploration of parenthood outside of cis hetero defaults and assumptions. There’s no doubt that this is an accomplished debut. And lastly NOTES ON HEARTBREAK by Annie Lord which you’ve all been talking about! It’s hard to write a book about heartache without falling into cliches or a sentimentality that isolates the reader, but Lord has done it. This book made me reflect on my own heartbreak differently and I thoroughly enjoyed lethargically turning its pages on my sun bed. . #bergstrombooks #writingcommunity #publishingadvice #literaryagent #bookrecommendations