6 STELLAR Approved Books To Pick Up This Month

Finding a new read can be hard. If you’re stuck in a reading rut and keen to break out of it, we’ve got your back. Our resident bookworm Hannah Hillyer is sharing her top 6 reads for May, from gripping true stories to fictional friendships there’s something for every type of reader to get lost in.

Bessborough by Deirde Finnerty 

By no means an easy book to read, Bessborough is both gripping and important reading for anyone living in Ireland today. Three women, across three decades, tell their stories of being confined at Bessborough House, one of many Mother & Baby Homes in Ireland’s history.

Covering three generations, these accounts of living at Bessborough, which was located on the outskirts of Cork city are harrowing and devastating. The institution, which ran for more than 70 years, holds the stories of countless women who came there and gave birth to babies many would never see again. The accounts of the cruelty and viciousness are not easy to read, but the strength of the women telling their stories will stay with you.

Breathless by Amy McCulloch 

A gripping thriller, this book centres on journalist Cecily Wong who’s chasing an exclusive interview with one of the world’s most exciting adventurers, Charles McVeigh. The only catch? She has to join his team climbing one of the Himalayas’ toughest peaks. Mount Manaslu in Nepal.

But on the mountains, it’s clear something is wrong. It begins small – a theft, an accidental fall. And then a note, pinned to her tent in the night: there’s a murderer on the mountain. Descriptions of the atmosphere and altitude are very realistic, with the author Amy having actually climbed Manaslu in real life! Through these pages you’re really on that mountain with Cecily and co. Funny and exciting, overall this is a great escapist read.

Joyrider by Angela Scanlon 

If you’re already a fan of Angela’s Thanks A Million podcast, you’ll be familiar with some of the topics she covers, and one of those is about embracing gratitude and discovering what brings you joy in life. The book is partly a guide to precisely that and part memoir too, as we see the Dublin native get personal about her own struggles as well as raw honesty about becoming a mother for the very first time.

Angela wants you to come away from the book with a purpose and to give up on the people-pleasing for good, something she did for a long time. Summing the book up in her own words the broadcaster said: “Gratitude is your soul’s superfood, but cheaper than goji berries and twice as good for you.”

Careering by Daisy Buchanan 

You’ve probably heard the buzz about her debut, Insatiable, and now, Daisy is releasing her second novel and it’s set to be just as hilarious as her first. Careering follows Imogen who has always wanted to write for a magazine, and spends most of her 20s interning, blogging and working part-time at a pub. Just as the allure of her dream job starts to fade she’s presented with the chance to work for new feminist website – The Know.

The Snag List by Sophie White 

This book follows the lives of three women as they all move into a luxury housing estate and become friends. All three woman are in completely different stages of their lives. Lindy has an 11-year-old son whose own ambitions have taken over, Ailbhe seemingly has it all from the outside, but beneath the facade, she has a huge secret, and finally, Roe is trying for a baby but isn’t quite sure if she even wants to be pregnant.

Young Mungo by Douglas Stewart 

Set in 80s Glasglow, this covers topics like being gay, poverty and alcohol abuse, and this novel also delves into religion, queer identity and class. Set on a housing estate we meet Protestant Mingo and the Catholic James, who at the time shouldn’t have even been friends, let alone fall in love. What follows is them finding themselves in each other, whilst hiding their true selves from those around them as they dream of a future where they can be together.