Sauce & friends — good reads for summer
Now is the perfect time to lose ourselves in books and stories. Reading is not only the perfect way to cope with the current stresses we are experiencing but I think it’s time to start daydreaming and get into holiday mode asap.
Finding a good book isn't always easy so we’ve turned to our industry friends and Sauce team for recs on a few (very) good reads.
Greta Kenyon, Editor & Founder, Together Journal
What has been your favourite book this year?
I love reading so it was hard to narrow it down to one book. Here are a few —
The Choice by Edith Egar - Everyone needs to read this book. A harrowing true story that proves how strong the mind can be. It is perfect for COVID times and puts into perspective how lucky we really are. Edith Edgar is a truly remarkable human.
A Gentleman in Moscow - An enchanting story that gives you a good dose of history along the way. I got utterly lost in this one and was inspired to research Moscow in the 1920s.
Crazy Love by Rosetta Allan - Raw and authentic, the author tells her own story of what life is like living with someone struggling with mental illness. It’s a lesson on how deep love can be, gritty, honest and at times heartbreaking. This book is set in New Zealand in Auckland city, and I loved all of the location references.
Is there a book you can't wait to re-read?
I’d love to reread Scott Fitzgerald’s books: The Great Gatsby, Tender is the Night & The Beautiful and the Damned
I’m quite fascinated with Zelda and Scott Fitzgerald. Many of his books are based on things and characters from their own lives. And it’s also rumoured that Scott ‘borrowed’ heavily from Zelda’s diaries for his books and stories.
Anita Chhiba, Founder, Diet Paratha
What has been your favourite book this year?
Brown baby by Nikesh Shukla was such a life changing book. The parallels it drew on my own Indian upbringing were therapeutic and left a meaningful mark.
Is there a book you can't wait to re-read?
Why I’m No Longer Talking To White People About Race - this book also therapised me in ways i though unimaginable. It perfectly articulated the experience of casual and overt racism in ways that id previously struggled to. a book i revisit yearly!
Zoe Walker Ahwa, Co-founder, Ensemble Magazine
What has been your favourite book this year?
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed Emily Ratajowski’s My Body, a book of beautifully written essays from the model and social media superstar. I had high expectations, following the excerpt that was published by The Cut last year, but as a collection, it packs a pretty lethal punch. Through reflections on moments in her life and career, Emily explores her changing relationship with her body and body image, as well as the media’s perception and exploitation of it. She’s wildly honest, and parts of it pushed me outside of my feminist comfort zone; I’m glad I read it.
I also recently discovered @long_distancebooks, which curates and sells secondhand books - their eye for an unexpected vintage read is impeccable, and I’ve bought a few books including the latest, Heading Nowhere in a Navy Blue Suit and Other Tales from the Feminist Revolution. Another feminist book of essays (I have a type), with a genius title.
Is there a book you can't wait to re-read?
My comfort reads are anything by Nora Ephron and Fran Lebowitz, so any of their books (I tend to re-read Crazy Salad, or The Fran Lebowitz Reader when I’m having imposter syndrome about my own writing, which is often). One day soon, maybe this summer, I'd like to re-read Tom Wolfe's classic '80s brick of a book, The Bonfire of the Vanities.
Ash Owens, Content Creator
What has been your favourite book this year?
My favourite book that I have read this year is Pachinko by Min Jin Lee, a really beautiful story about a Korean family in the early 1900's, it explores their friendships and relationships while struggling amidst war, communism and poverty. It's a fascinating read about what was happening in Korea & Japan during that time and I absolutely adored all of the characters and their journeys.
Is there a book you can't wait to re-read?
A book I can't wait to re-read is called Christodora by Tim Murphy, this was my favourite book I read in 2020 and I already can't wait to read it again. It's another family/relationship focused novel but this time set in NYC in the 80's, it explores the ties between the LGBTQ+ community, the AIDS crisis and the relationship between a family who get lost in a world full of pain, grief and substance addiction. So unbelievably well written and again, a fascinating era of history to dive into.
Ophelia King, Artist & Photographer
What has been your favourite book this year?
The Continuum Concept - “admittedly, the cover makes it look like a really conservative parenting book but it’s actually a really insightful look into the way a South American tribe lives. It forced me to reconsider my extremely western notions of how we live and do things by default - something I think we should all be doing more of all the time!”
Is there a book you can't wait to re-read?
Aroha - “My mum gave me this book just before lockdown after a colleague gave it to her. It speaks to Maori philosophy and values, I read a chapter a week and it offered a little contemplative moment every time I picked it up. I will be sure I will revisit it often.”
Nancy Johnson-Hunt, Cultural Scholar
What has been your favourite book this year?
My favourite book for the year has definitely been Glennon Doyle’s ‘Untamed’ , an autobiographical memoir situated in the liberation and power of understanding our true-self. It’s less self-help and more self-shape. 2020 has taught us how to do hard things and the years that follow continue to be ground altering. For me personally, from entering motherhood to now entering academia, this book has provided me with the language and insight into how, women especially, begin as rich canvases but over time embody a paint-by-numbers mould to fit into the world around them. This book was a rally-cry for me to think twice about how I got to be where I am, who I am and has given me the permission to open the cage door and step into this world freely. I can singlehandedly say that any self-identifying woman or mother/mother-to-be would gain so much from reading this, from external expectations to social conditioning, Doyle covers ticks all of the boxes all while revealing how painful and joyous it is to be completely and holistically yourself. It is worth noting that it’s Adele’s favourite too, so if liberating yourself from the cages of patriarchy is something you want to try in the new year, I would wholly recommend.
Is there a book you can't wait to re-read?
‘Before the Coffee Gets Cold’ by Toshikazu Kawaguchi is the book I can’t wait to re-read, especially for summer. The blurb reads: “In a small back alley on Tokyo, there is a café which has been serving carefully brewed coffee for more than one-hundred years….” Without giving too much of it away, four visitors to this café has an opportunity to travel back in time and each story holds a beautiful lesson about life. One thing I will say about Kawaguchi is that there are so many poignant take-aways from his book. While it has been translated from Japanese, there is a whimsical quality about his writing it’s so vastly different to the usual English literature that it leaves you with many unanswered questions. Each story is magical and yet pragmatic in nature, not every story has a happy ending either and I feel like in this climate, that’s finally ok.
I can’t wait to re-read Diana Evans’ Ordinary People, a book by a black author is a MUST for me. I have now read a few but all have been non-fiction or are discuss race more academically. This story navigates the trials and tribulations of two couples in London, it’s also meant to be set to a hip-hop soundtrack of the 2000’s and I don’t know about you but that sounds like a literary dream to me. I want to support more POC fiction writers who may not always be bestselling, although Evans’ book is, and I want there to be more profound discourse surrounding what we read and who we choose to support in doing so. The literary system could gain a thing or ten from authors of colour, their experiences and their teachings.
Kelly Muller, Consultant
What has been your favourite book this year?
After a very heavy and emotional year for me personally, I turned to books for escapism. I think I’ve managed to read about 15 so far but a stand out for me was Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason. It is a profound, devastating, beautiful, eye-opening fictional account of someone with mental illness and I think absolutely everyone should read it.
As a society we all need to do better to support those with mental illnesses and this book really helps to explain what it is like for someone who suffers from one. I think it’s easy to shrug it off if you don’t encounter it every day but this book really helps you to understand.
Another must-read, specifically for those suffering loss, is It’s Ok Not To Be Ok by Megan Devine. Having suddenly lost her husband, she calls bullshit on everything society tells us about grief and proposes a new way of thinking - one that really resonated with me after the loss of my best friend this year.
Is there a book you can't wait to re-read?
I’m not big on re-reading to be honest. I love to get lost in a book and then move to the next. On my bedside table I have Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng and American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins waiting to be read.
Arna Howard, Sauce Editorial Support
What has been your favourite book this year?
I was given The whole Brain Child, by Daniel J Siegel when becoming a first time Mum, and what a great read! I always knew there was a reason why children expressed themselves in a certain way but never knew why and this book explains it perfectly. The book also gave me a new perspective and helped me manage my own emotions and feelings not only as a parent but as an individual towards all my relationships. So whether you have an interest in child development or not, this is a great and easy read into how those little minds work. The next one on the shelf is No-drama discipline.
Is there a book you can't wait to re-read?
I picked up The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*CK , by Mark Manson back in 2019 as a holiday read and I could not put it down. It really made me 'not sweat the small stuff' and made me chuckle out loud by the poolside. It is definitely a book that should be read once a year to keep you in check. Basically, we have a limited amount of 'F*CKs to give out, so we need to choose them wisely.
Shilpa Bhim, Founder, Glowreel Newsletters
What has been your favourite book this year?
Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo. It follows the lives of 12 very different Black British women, but their stories are also interconnected. Bernardine Evaristo does a brilliant job of highlighting the joys and struggles of each woman. What I loved most about this book was being able to relate to some characters while learning from others. Girl, Woman, Other is one of those books where once you start reading you don't want to put it down! It's one of my favourites and one that I'll probably re-read over and over again.
Is there a book you can't wait to re-read?
I can't wait to re-read is Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. This is a coming of age story that has it all: a few different storylines, family history, romance and a murder mystery with a massive plot twist at the end! There's a lot of depth to the main character, Kya, and I loved following her journey from an isolated and naive young girl to a strong woman. Delia Owens does a brilliant job of fully transporting you into Kya's world, and the world of the other characters.
Zeenat Wilkinson, Founder, Sauce
What has been your favourite book this year?
A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle — I loved this book so much that I had to stop and re-read a lot of it. I haven't read ‘The Power of Now’ as yet but this book was a wonderful timely book and it deeply resonated with me, especially in the current challenges we’ve been experiencing around the globe. This book also has lots of cultural and religious anecdotes that were really insightful.
Is there a book you can't wait to re-read?
I read Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner over a decade ago and I would love to re-read this one again. The story is deeply rooted in Afghanistan's history and culture, and story is mainly about friendship but also gives you an insight into Afghanistan pre-Taliban.
We are constantly hearing stories about violence, displacement, Taliban, U.S. initiatives but very little about Afghan people themselves and I want to remind myself of all the little details. I feel like this book offers a small sense of hope for the character’s future but also for Afghanistan.
