If your social media is repeating the same old story, we’ll help you pick up a damn book to break the cycle
Scrolling through the mindless pit that is social media can make you feel like you’re seeing the same thing again and again. The same old cat video, another TikTok dance, and yet another influencer trying to sell you stuff you don’t need. It feels like an endless cycle that you can’t escape. However, if you switch off your phone and reach for one of these books, you’ll see that escaping is much easier than you think.
Below are four books we have selected so you can break free from your everyday doomscrolling routine. From the mind-bending short stories in The Dangers of Smoking in Bed to the dystopian story in Vox, there is something for everyone. All you have to do is look through the descriptions and pick one that speaks to you. You could even close your eyes, randomly point at the page, and let fate decide. Once you’ve chosen, why not go hunting for it in your local library? February is national library lovers’ month, after all.
How The Light Gets In by Clare Fisher
Short Read
You might ask yourself why anyone would be interested in the day-to-day life of the average Brit.
What could possibly be so interesting about a food shop or a daily commute? Well, Clare Fisher teaches us that just about anything can be interesting if we think about it long enough. Writing with wit, humour and a sprinkle of chaos, Clare sheds light on topics hidden in the darkness and makes us rethink what once seemed dull.
THEMES: Realism, comedy, irony
Vox by Christina Dalcher
Long read
Sometimes, it feels like information is being thrown at us from every direction. Our phones buzz every few minutes with a new notification, and ads stare back at us on the tube. The question is: how much of this information is actually valuable to us? Christina Dalcher’s dystopian novel Vox prompts you to think about this question. It creates an imagined future where American women are limited to 100 words daily. Gripping and undoubtedly feminist, it really makes you think we’d approach communication differently if limits were set for us.
THEMES: Feminist, dystopian, futuristic.
The Dangers of Smoking in Bed by Mariana Enriquez
Short read
Mariana Enriquez’s The Dangers of Smoking in Bed is a brazen psychological thriller filled with horror, gore and enough swearing to put a sailor to shame. Mariana has you clinging to her every word, combining themes such as dictatorship death with a writing style that is as twisted as brilliant. Every story makes you re-evaluate how modern society is structured and if we’re genuinely as happy as our Instagram-filtered selves claim to be in the internet age.
THEMES: Psychological horror, gothic fiction, social commentary
Tell Me What I Am by Una Mannion
Long read
A quiet life off the grid may sound dreamlike, but it’s not all plain sailing. Fending for yourself can be scary and difficult when you’re out of the loop. For Ruby, in Una Mannion’s book ‘Tell Me What I Am, a life in the middle of nowhere has become unfulfilling. She has spent a life foraging, hunting, and gutting fish, but a lot of her time is also spent appeasing her hot-headed father and wondering the same question that has always plagued her: where is her mother? Little does she know that, hundreds of miles away, a woman is trying to reach her and answer that very question. The problem is that Ruby’s father is determined not to let them meet.