Five Books For People Who Think Classics Are Stuffy, paid subscriber edition
A bonus recommendation, advice, September’s playlist and more
Welcome to the first ever paid subscriber edition of Five Books For! I can’t tell you how grateful I am that you’re here. This paid subscriber newsletter will come to you once a month and will include an extra recommendation, my monthly book prescription advice column, a poem that fits our theme and, just for fun, a playlist based on that month’s books. There’ll also be various other bits and pieces as little extras.
Let’s dive in!
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
“Beware; for I am fearless, and therefore powerful.”
Written in 1816 when Mary Shelley was just 18 years old, Frankenstein is sometimes described as the first ever science fiction novel and is a great story if you like tales of adventure, murder or horror, although I wouldn’t describe it as a horror in the modern sense.
So what’s it about? Frankenstein is the story of a scientist who creates a living being, monstrous in appearance and rejected by society no matter what he does. As a result, the monster rejects humans and begins to behave monstrously. The novel opens at the end of the story, with Frankenstein chasing the monster through the Arctic, and we then get to immerse ourselves in the stories of both Frankenstein and the creature before returning for the resolution.
What’s great about it? What I love about Frankenstein is how gripping it is; there’s a lot of plot to fit in and the structure of the novel isn’t straightforward either but Shelley handles both deftly enough that you can just get lost in the story, which is satisfyingly propulsive. It tackles some weighty themes, including ambition, revenge and of course prejudice against the Other, but the storytelling is never sacrificed for intellectual heft. I also love the fact that Shelley wrote it as part of a horror story writing competition with Percy Shelley and Lord Byron (as you do).
Give it a try if: you love horror or science fiction; you don’t like science fiction of the aliens and spaceships variety but are open to trying something different from your usual genres; you wouldn’t read contemporary horror but love a good suspense novel; you’re interested in philosophical novels which aren’t too heavy-going.
September’s playlist
This month’s playlist has some classic songs for you to enjoy. I used the themes and some of the events from this month’s books as inspiration and it was a lot of fun - I hope you enjoy it! I’d love to hear which songs you would add - you can email me directly by replying to this email or leave a comment on this post where we can all chat about it together.
Playlist highlights, trying to avoid any spoilers:
In honour of Mrs. Danvers from Rebecca: Firestarter by The Prodigy and Every Breath You Take by The Police.
For Rebecca herself: Cold As Ice by Foreigner; Drown by Sea Fret.
On jealousy: Mr. Brightside by The Killers and You Oughta Know by Alanis Morrisette.
On marriage: Love And Marriage by Frank Sinatra; Ring On Every Finger by LOCASH; Marry You by Bruno Mars.
For Frankenstein’s monster: Monster by Kanye West, Rick Ross, Nicky Minaj and Bon Iver; Frankenstein by Lenny Kravitz; Ice Ice Baby by Vanilla Ice.
For Nicholas from Nicholas Nickleby: School’s Out by Alice Cooper; I Stand Accused by Public Enemy; Welcome To The Theatre by Charles Strouse and Lauren Bacall.
For Uncle Ralph from Nickleby: Bad Blood by Taylor Swift.
For Mr. Pooter from Diary Of A Nobody: Splish Splash by Bobby Darin.
And of course: Breakfast At Tiffany’s by Deep Blue Something.
September’s Book Prescription
Each month I’ll be featuring a letter from a reader who needs some advice. Rather than just a regular advice column, I will prescribe a book or two (or, in this case, four) which might help the reader see things from a new perspective or give them some insight into their situation. If you have a question you’d like a book prescription for then you can email me directly by replying to this email to feature in a future edition!
Dear Kate,
I am stuck in a job that I hate. I fell into this career about a decade ago because I needed a steady job with some prospects rather than the temping I’d been doing previously, and I had some relevant experience for the entry-level job I interviewed for. Ever since then I’ve been pretty successful and have worked my way up to a point where I lead a team of people and we work on challenging projects. Some of my colleagues are great (others, not so much) and I like the stretch that my brain gets here. Financially the pay is great and I get to travel a lot.
My problem is that I’m miserable. The atmosphere in my office (and every office I’ve worked in throughout this career) is very high pressure and often toxic, and even when that toxicity isn’t directed at me or my team it’s awful to be around. There is a constant drive to do more and fit more work into the (already long) day. Some of my colleagues are scheming, manipulative and aggressive. Some of them are sexist and racist. I have, at various points in this career, been sexually harassed, yelled at, patronised and belittled. I have no time for hobbies and very little time for my friends, who are used to me cancelling plans at the last minute because I have to work late yet again.
I really want to find a new path for myself but I’m at a loss as to what I could do. The area I work in is quite narrowly specialised and I don’t feel confident that I could do anything else. I can’t take time off to go back to school and I work such long hours that studying part time feels impossible, even if I had an idea of what I might want to do instead. While I know there must be something I can do, right now I can’t see what it could be and my job is starting to really affect my mental health. Is there a book that could help me?
Yours hopefully,
Career Crisis
Dear Career Crisis,
This sounds so hard. It’s always difficult to feel stuck without being able to see a way out.
I think there are a couple of ways to think about this. When we feel stuck the way you describe, it’s difficult to see what possibilities there are, even when they’re obvious to other people. When we’re under the kind of intense pressure you’re dealing with - not just the office atmosphere or the behaviour of your colleagues, but also the pressure of running a team well and making sure that all the work gets done on time and well - we also tend to feel as though we’re having to spin too many plates and that we’re not doing anything well because we’re spread so thinly. So here are a few suggestions and reading recommendations for you that will hopefully help you see things from a new perspective.
Remember your own competence
I think it might help you to remember how competent you are - and you must be, because you wouldn’t have been this successful in a high-pressure career if you weren’t good at your job. What makes you feel competent outside of work? I know you mention you don’t have time for hobbies, but are you a great driver, for example? (Driving always makes me feel really competent, perhaps because I started doing it so late in life and surprised myself by being much better at it than I expected). Are you a great shower singer? A great cook or planner of meals? It can be something really simple that might seem unworthy of mention to you but which probably stands out to other people. Feeling helpless and trapped often leads to us feeling powerless too but if we remember that there are (many!) things we’re great at then it gets easier to see a way forward.
Assess your resources
This is another thing it’s easy to lose sight of when we feel stuck - what resources are at your disposal? Do you have friends who work in jobs you respect who would brainstorm with you about what you’d be good at? What transferable skills do you have (I guarantee there will be more than you realise)? What are you most interested in, not only from the type of work you currently do but more generally? Have a think also about what you would do if you got fired tomorrow and there were no more jobs available in your specific field. What would you do to make money? I think this is an especially helpful question because it helps us realise that we’re more capable and resourceful than we might feel and it helps stop us catastrophising.
Remember you always have a choice
Another thing that’s helpful is to remember that you always have a choice. If you can reframe your work as something that you’re choosing to do - at least for the moment - then you’ll feel more in control and less stuck. It becomes something you’re doing for now, while you figure out what you want to do next, instead of a morass of misery you can’t escape from.
Book prescriptions
So, all that said, what books might help you see things from a new perspective or give you some inspiration to change things? I have four suggestions for you.
The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella
This book is about a burned-out corporate lawyer who makes an embarrassing mistake at work one day and walks out of the office in a daze, only to find herself accidentally walking into a new job as a housekeeper, when she hasn’t the least idea of how to cook, clean or keep a house. It is laugh out loud funny and it’s also a great reflection on work, slowing down and and the preciousness of time. My guess is that you’ll recognise much of the main character’s experience. A humorous take on things is often a good way to help us think about things slightly differently.
Outlawed by Anna North
Outlawed is set in late 19th century America, in an alternate timeline where a devastating pandemic 60 years prior to the events of the story has resulted in strict fertility laws. Our heroine, Ada, has been unable to fall pregnant a year after her marriage and as a result her life is at risk. Her only choice is to leave everything she knows and join up with the notorious Hole In The Wall Gang, led by a charismatic preacher/robber called The Kid. Although the subject matter is unrelated in any way to modern work or corporate careers I’m recommending it because it’s a story of a woman who has to completely reimagine her life and her work, away from everything she knows, and how she finds the courage to do that.
The Glass Lake by Maeve Binchy
The Glass Lake is set in 1950s Ireland and follows the story of Lena Gray and Kit McMahon. Lena, formerly known as Helena McMahon, is Kit’s mother. She leaves her family for her lover, leaving behind a letter to explain that she wishes to remain in touch with the children. However, that same night a storm overturns the family’s boat on the lake and it is assumed that Helena has drowned, possibly intentionally. Kit is the first to see the letter and burns it without reading it in order to prevent her mother being perceived as having died by suicide, with the unintended consequence that her mother is presumed dead. From her new home in London, Lena assumes that her husband has declared her dead rather than admit to her having left and eventually begins a correspondence with Kit, posing as a friend of her mother. It’s a story full of human warmth and a great portrait of Ireland at the time. However, the reason I think it would be a good book for you to read at this particular moment is the way that Lena enters the workforce after her move to London. She finds a job as a secretary in a recruitment agency and reforms it from within so that it becomes a huge success. Amongst all the other themes of family, doomed love, friendship and community is the story of a woman who goes from never having worked to creating a successful career for herself with common sense and hard work. I hope it will help you think about the ways in which you might also be able to turn your hand to something new and build a new career for yourself using the skills and smarts you have within.
Toxic Femininity In The Workplace by Ginny Hogan
Finally, a book just to make you laugh. This is a collection of humour pieces on women in the corporate/tech world and it is laugh out loud funny. It’s an easy read and because it’s a collection of short pieces it’s easy to dip in and out of. I hope it will make you smile.
I hope this is helpful and you find a new, fulfilling path which brings you joy.
Kate
September’s poem
Each month I’ll share a poem related to that month’s books recommendations - I love discovering new poems and poets and I hope this will be a good way to find new poetry you can enjoy. I was going to start us off with a poem on the joy of reading but then this poem serendipitously arrived in my inbox and was absolutely perfect, as you can see.
Dear Dr. Frankenstein by Jericho Brown
I, too, know the science of building men
Out of fragments in little light
Where I'll be damned if lightning don't
Strike as I forget one
May have a thief's thumb,
Another, a murderer's arm,
And watch the men I've made leave
Like an idea I meant to write down,
Like a vehicle stuck
In reverse, like the monster
God came to know the moment
Adam named animals and claimed
Eve, turning from heaven to her
As if she was his
To run. No word he said could be tamed.
No science. No design. Nothing taken
Gently into his hand or your hand or mine,
Nothing we erect is our own.
September’s bonus links
I’m sure you’ll understand this feeling (Guardian, free).
If you want the funniest book reviews on Substack, subscribe to Books On Gif. One of my favourite examples here.
A fascinating article (BBC, free) on the oft-overlooked wife of Charles Dickens.
What makes a classic a classic, and who gets to decide? (Guardian, free) I’d love to hear your views on this.
When Breakfast At Tiffany’s was first written, Capote sold it to Harper’s Bazaar where it was supposed to be published accompanied by a specially-commissioned series of photographs by David Attie. However, there were changes taking place at the publishing company which owned Harper’s and in the end Capote found a new home for it at Esquire. He loved Attie’s photos and insisted they be used but when it was published only one of them was featured. This article (New York Times, paywalled) is about how Attie’s work, forgotten for decades, was rediscovered by his son Eli, who went on to restore his reputation.
Funny story for you: when I was in high school, my parents and younger brother when on a camping trip from Indiana to New York, up through Niagara Falls, along the Canadian border, down Michigan and back home again. At each stop we’d set up our own tents, my parents in one and my brother and me and in tents by ourselves. I was in my tent reading one afternoon - Frankenstein. It was summer reading for lit class. I was getting more and more freaked out as I read along. Finally at one point I yelled out “Dad?” “Yes?” “Can someone take body parts from dead bodies and put them together to make an alive body?” “...No...” “okay! Thanks!” 🤣🤣🤣
And I can relate to the advice column - not completely, but the dissatisfaction part. Your advice is great - and I can’t wait to check out the books you recommended. Thank you!!
I am so appreciative of the prescription books on this month. I circled back today to get caught up so am late to the party 😎. Loved hearing about Outlawed by Anna North & look forward to reading it!