When you’re spending your days, neck-craned, studying for the HSC or weekly slug of uni work sometimes you just feel like a relaxing but engaging good read for you to destress and get lost in. Listed below, are my pick for the top 5 good novels to just relax into after studying. Enjoy!
Surveys by Natasha Stagg
This gloriously real and relatable story outlines the ever-changing landscape of social media and celebritism, whilst maintaining a heart-warming coming of age story. Working in a mall in Tucson, Arizona, 23-year-old Colleen is plagued by boredom and one-night-stands in her life, and like many young adults struggles to find an actual purpose or substance in her early adulthood. Then, like the ever-increading number of millennials, Colleen turns to the internet, posting daily blogs and insights into her seemingly boring life. The story explores the paradox of sharing your every thought and conflict with a faceless mass of strangers on the internet and unbiasedly casts a spotlight on the with the increasing obsession of everything online.
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A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James
If you are into the suspense and action of Netflix’s ‘Narcos’ then you will simply refuse to put down this novel by Jamaican author, Marlon James. The novels actions takes place within several decades and takes the reader on a dark but almost beautiful journey from the attempted assassination of Bob Marley in 1976 and its aftermath in the 1980’s crack wars of New York and all the way up to the changing cultural shift in Jamaica in the 1990’s. The story is an international-based masterpiece outlining Cuban and Columbian history with a well-researched ease. Instead of binge-watching Netflix and chilling, why not binge-read this book and chill!
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The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro
For those that have already binge-read George R. R. Martin’s ‘A Song of Fire and Ice’ series, and had as much Game of Thrones marathons that your eyes could take, then this fantasy based novel is the perfect hand-warmer. Said to take place in a post-Arthurian Britain the book includes everything you could ever expect for a fantasy-based adventure, from dragons, ogres and mysterious dark powers, to warriors, kingdoms and long-lost communities. Ishiguro also draws subtle but perfectly prosed parallels to the real world and the relationship with our own past. Just over 300 pages, this book will leave you feeling relaxed but lost in a whole new world, miles away from the pages of written notes on your desk.
goodread.com
The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell
If you love fantasy/science fiction novels but prefer them in a more relatable landscape then why not give David Mitchell’s The Bone Clocks a read? Set in the same universe of his novel-turned-movie Cloud Atlas (Don’t worry if you haven’t read it, this novel stands alone really well), it focuses around Holly Sykes who appears to be possessed by psychic abilities as well had a gang of meddlesome time-jumping teenagers. If you love a fast but gripping read, you’ll get lost in this story and travel through time.
goodreads.com
How to Set Fire and Why by Jesse Ball
This funny, entertaining but slightly troubling quick read explores the musings of a teenage arsonist and explores the reasoning of her obsession with lighting fires. If you love physcological but raw novels within the mind of complex and intriguing characters then you’ll love this quirky and fast read as the reader is enveloped in Lucia’s angsty unfiltered insights, and the rising shadow of trouble filtering in between her prose. Ball, the author appreciates the power of a quick-read and has innovative and refreshing insights in the idea that contemporary books must compete with contemporary media!
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This list of five very versatile books are must-reads for anyone who wishes to relax and get lost after a whole day of hard study. Do you have anymore great novel suggestions? Why not head over to our friendly forum and let our community know.
