Our Favourite Reads For February 

There’s a slew of new books being released this month, these are the ones that have made it onto our TBR pile, here at the Service95 Book Club. From a wonderfully bizarre novel by one of the most original voices in contemporary Argentinian literature to a timeless queer love story set at the turn of the 20th century, we’d recommend adding these to your list, too 

1. The Modern Irish Folklore

The Boy From The Sea by Garrett Carr

“In a small fishing town on Ireland’s west coast, a baby is found on the beach. Did he float in on the tide, or was he abandoned on the shore? Set over 20 years in a close-knit Donegal community, it is an exploration of the ties that make us and bind us, as a family and community move irresistibly into the future.” – Maria Padget, Book Club Director 

2. The New-Gen Horror

Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito

“Winifred Notty arrives at Ensor House prepared to play the perfect Victorian governess. It is England, sometime in the 1800s, and – as she tells us – within three months, everyone in the house will be dead. So begins this gloriously gruesome Victoriana horror.” – Lisa Harvey, Editorial Director

3. The Essential Read

One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El-Akkad

“On October 25, 2023, after just three weeks of the bombardment of Gaza, Omar El Akkad put out a tweet: ‘One day, when it’s safe, when there’s no personal downside to calling a thing what it is, when it’s too late to hold anyone accountable, everyone will have always been against this.’ A howl of rage at the failure of the Western world to live up to the values of freedom and equality it claims to uphold.” – Maria Padget, Book Club Director 

4. The Mind-Bender

The National Telepathy by Roque Larraquy, translated by Frank Wynne

“In 1933, the Peruvian Rubber Company ‘delivers’ 19 Indigenous people from the Amazon to businessman Amado Dam, intended for Argentina’s first Ethnographic Theme Park. Among the shipment is a sloth with the ability to create erotically explosive telepathic connections between people. So begins this shocking, bizarre, funny, and imaginative novel from one of the most original voices in contemporary Argentinian literature.” – Ella Marlow-Gilks, Social Media Manager

5. The Classic In The Making

Mutual Interest by Olivia Wolfgang-Smith

“A timeless queer love story set at the turn of the 20th century. Vivian Lesperance is determined to avoid repeating her parents’ dull, limited life. When she meets Oscar Schmidt, a middle manager at a soap company, Vivian finds a partner she can guide to build the life she wants – not least because, more interested in men himself, Oscar will leave Vivian to tend to her own romances with women.” – Samantha de Haas, Creative Production Manager