November 2022 - Read Again

Book Review - I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jeanette McCurdy

I very rarely read memoirs but Jeannette McCurdys book I’m Glad My Mom Died really peaked my interest with it’s rave reviews and provocative content. I was worried that the PR around the book had hyped it up so much that it was bound to be a let down but it ended up being one of my favourite reads from 2022.

I’m Glad My Mom Died follows Nickelodeon child star Jeanette McCurdys acting career and abusive relationship with her mother. The book gave compelling background into the problematic world of child acting as well as exploring issues of body image and coming of age that felt relatable.

The narrative laid out by Jeannette takes the reader on her own journey to come to terms with the toxic and complicated relationship she has with her mother. The writing is an expert balance of blunt seriousness and humour, there is no flowery language.

I listening to the audiobook narrated by Jeanette herself and I feel like it made the book even more impactful. Even if you’re not very aware of Jeanette McCurdy or the shows she has acted in I would still fully recommend it to anyone. Jeanette is an excellent writer and whatever genre her next book is I would be excited to read it.

3 Excellent Literary Games For Rainy Days At Home

As much as I love the transition into Winter the long dark nights and rainy weekends can become pretty boring. After rewatching Gilmore Girls for the 100th time and rereading my favourites I am always looking for low cost activities to do with friends and family. Here are some brilliant bookish ideas to keep you entertained over the winter months.

1. Solve a Classic Murder Mystery

What do you need for this game? 1 or more copies of a classic murder mystery (digital copies on your mobile may be easiest)

Timeframe for this game? This could be an evening game played in person or a game played over a few weeks

No, I am not suggesting you make a game of solving a cold case. This activity is a really fun way of making a game of reading some brilliant classic murder mysteries. All you need to do is choose a classic, something like a Poirot or Miss Marple is perfect as it’s short and usually can be found either for very cheap in a charity or second hand shop or free online. The game is basically reading along with a partner, a friend or group of friends, and solving the crime before the end. You can either work together, mapping out where characters were when, each characters alibi and motive, or play against each other. Most classic mysteries will reveal in the last chapter who the killer is and why, so you can all place your bets and declare the campion detective.

2. Competitive Short Story Writing

This is a really fun and creative activity you can do on a night in with friends or even just in the group chat. Using the same short story prompt write a short story each (you can make these as short or long as you like, set a word limit or leave it open), you can find plenty online but here are a few below:

A woman inherits a family heirloom haunted by a 1000 year old ghost.

A boy digs up a pyramid in his local park that defies everything he learnt in school.

An elderly woman sees her 20 year old self pass her on the street.

You could write together in an evening and read out your stories to each other, or send them to each other and vote on your favourite. This is a really fun exercise whether you’re an aspiring writer or just looking for an activity to pass the time.

3. The Paperback Game

This game is another creative writing activity but a bit more quick-fire than writing a short story. In this game you’ll have a collection of books of different genres, you can pick these up at your local used bookshop or just from your shelves but try to choose books you either haven’t read or don’t know well.

Someone will write the real first sentence on a piece of paper and the others playing will write what they think the first line is based on the blurb without letting the others know what they have written. Laying our all of your first lines including the real one you can guess which was the real first line.

If you try out any of these ideas let us know in the comments or on our instagram/TikTok, also let us know if you have any other ideas of cool bookish games you use to pass the time!