recently read: parasocial book clubbing

01 kaia gerber and dua lipa's january picks

Feb 18, 2025

reading is personal. books give us an opportunity to escape ourselves and the ability to connect with characters from walks of life we would never encounter otherwise. revealing the books we love and resonate with can be intimate, inadvertently revealing things about ourselves we may have not even realized. with reading being my absolute favorite way to spend time, sharing the books i love with those i love is a huge joy for me.

kaia gerber’s library science pick: 💇🏻‍♀️ 🎸💋🎷

libraryscience

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set my heart on fire - izumi suzuki

my first read of 2025, the short novel follows the narrator, named izumi, as she floats through life and love, set amidst the underground rock scene of tokyo in the 70s. izumi isn’t particularly likable, she casually recounts betraying her close friend and describes the extent of her reliance on pills with cool nonchalance. quite aware of her questionable morals, at one point izumi asks, “who could be honest with a monstrous woman like me?” you’re drawn into the novel because no matter how cool or detached she may seem, the narrator’s actions indicate a desperation and emotional longing lingering beneath the surface.

as if suzuki were trying to recount her life to pinpoint exactly where things went awry, the novel—filled with details of the author’s own life—is written in glimpses of the past, sometimes with years passing between chapters. using candid, frank language, the author employs an objective tone in line with re-examination. first published in 1983, the recently translated work offers a hypnotic blend of detached prose and raw introspection, guaranteeing its spot in the cool-girl book rotation—and in the process, broadening the western lens on japanese culture.

for fans of my year of rest and relaxation and the bell jar

dua lipa’s service95 book club pick: 🌲🔪🦌🪓

drive your plow over the bones of the dead - olga tokarczuk

set in the remote, wooded mountains of poland and the czech republic, nobel prize laureate olga tokarczuk presents an eerie tale of astrology, environmentalism, and murder. unlike my other january read, this novel is written in the present tense and follows the narrator, janina, in real time as the murder mystery at the center of the plot unfolds.

not only a compelling whodunit, the novel also prompts readers to reevaluate their perception of aging—both in terms of one’s ability to contribute to society and care for oneself— as well as the nature of beings, whether animals, plants, or even inanimate objects. janina, an avid astrologer and vocal environmentalist, is dismissed as a ‘crazy old woman’ by the local townspeople, and these moments of quick rejection tug at the heart strings. combined with her internal monologues on animal cruelty and her own aging body’s increasing limitations, the narrative seamlessly intertwines introspective prompts with its murderous twists and turns—making the book a masterpiece on so many levels.

for fans of north woods and the silent patient

thank you for reading <3

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