ELLE BOOK CLUB
Literary editor Marta Bausells looks back on the best reads of 2O18
Literary editor Marta Bausells looks back on 2O18’s best reads
THE NOVEL WE COULDN’T STOP TALKING ABOUT Normal People by Sally Rooney
This love story following two Irish teenagers from school through university will stay with you. Rooney has elevated teenage love to literary glory, as it rightly deserves.
THE MEMOIR THAT MADE US CRY This Really Isn’t About You by Jean Hannah Edelstein
In this memoir, Edelstein strikes the perfect balance of heartbreaking and funny, describing how she rebuilt her life after her father died and she found she’d inherited a gene that causes cancer.
THE BOOK THAT MADE US LAUGH OUT LOUD The Pisces by Melissa Broder
A hilarious, poignant and sexy tale of a 38-year-old woman who falls for a merman. A story about why we crave connection and how to find ourselves.
THE POETRY COLLECTION THAT MOVED US England: Poems from a School by Kate Clanchy
This is a collection of poems by the students of Oxford Spires Academy, a small school where pupils speak a total of 3O languages.
The poems get to the heart of their stories of migration and making a home in England.
THE TRUE CRIME STORY THAT KEPT US AWAKE I’ll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara
This chilling story of the Golden State
Killer is as much a murder investigation as it is a psychological portrait of the writer, who was obsessed with resolving the case and sadly died before the book was published.
THE THRILLER WE COULDN’T PUT DOWN Give Me Your Hand by Megan Abbott
This book takes the thriller to the next level. Two scientists who met in high school are competing for the same post – but the secret one of them shared in school will haunt them both. An addictive tale of toxic friendship.
THE ESSAYS WE KEPT GOING BACK TO Feel Free by Zadie Smith
With her whip-smart voice, Smith tackles subjects from Brexit to Jay-Z. Written during the Obama years, the essays are pearls of wisdom from a recent era that, while far from perfect, already feels out of reach. One of 2O18’s greatest gifts.
THE POLITICAL MUST-READ Brit(ish) by Afua Hirsch
A talking point all year, broadcaster Hirsch examines race, identity and belonging as a black woman in
Britain. Mixing memoir and journalism, Brit(ish) is as entertaining as it is informative. It’s less about blatant racism – rather the subtler micro-aggressions.