Member Reviews

I really enjoyed Practice. I appreciated being inside one character’s head for a day. I loved the reflections on Shakespeare and modern writing. Programs.

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”The familiar fist—the fecal fist—is starting to grow in her pelvis.”

Well, with prose like that, who wouldn't love this book? 😉

Practice is very literary; the prose and structure are beautiful, bordering on excessive, mirroring Annabel’s literary ambitions. In this and some other respects, it feels like what I imagine the mind of an Oxford English undergraduate must be like. Perhaps this is because I'm a twenty-something myself, but Annabel’s struggles felt real, and I was emotionally invested in her story before long.

On the other hand, there were a few major detractors that held me back from really enjoying this book. For one, it's rather smutty, too often and too intensely for a literary novella of this length. For another, Annabel’s imagined companions—the Seducer and the Scholar—seem to serve an inconsistent role even over the course of the story's single day.

My other gripes are things that might be interpreted by some as artistic genius. I'll count them as a net negative, though, because that's how they impacted my experience. Throughout Annabel’s day, we encounter the entire breadth of her life's joys and struggles. That's a lot to fit into one day, and so there is necessarily little to no development in each area. It's a slice of life, but a very thin one.

While it is true that a day in the life of a young adult can be just this eclectic, the spread of topics and lack of development can still make life difficult for the reader. As such, it's a three-star read for me—I enjoyed it, and I'd recommend it to some, but my experience was notably mixed.

The audio narration was stellar. The narrator, Imogen Wilde, performed Annabel’s thoughts with personality and intimacy, but not to excess. I hope to listen to more of her work in the future.

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I am she, and she is me.

Practice: A Novel, by Rosalind Brown follows (internally) an Oxford student, Annabel, for one day while she tries to commence an essay on Shakespeare’s Sonnets that is due soon.

It’s winter and the majority of the novel takes place in Annie’s dorm room where she is preoccupied with making coffee, fighting with the furnace, and imagining conversations with real and fictional men—and even Shakespeare himself.

For the entirety of the novel, we are in our MC head and I loved every moment of it. It reminded me alot of ‘The Novelist’ which I also read this year—but I loved this so much more. It’s slim and a quick read, but one I was totally immersed in. The format is like little episodes, much like chapters, but aren’t named or numbered . There’s lot of page breaks which I appreciated as my attention span is all too much like Annabel’s.

I hope those who like character driven novels pick this one up next week (June 25th) once it’s published .

Sending out a huge Thank You to @fsgbooks for sending me this #advancedreview and @netgalley for approving me for the #audiobook so I could revisit it for a second time !
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#practice #practiceanovel #rosalindbrown #fsg #fsgbooks #netgalley #audioversion #arc #giftedcopy #bookstagram #justbooksbookstagram #readersofinstagram #igreads #litfic #oxford #uni #shakespeare #thebard #thesonnets #shakespearessonnets #reading #shelved #bookrecommendations #bookreview #partners #shereadsalot

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A book about procrastinating, perfect to read when you’re procrastinating. Our main character starts the book endeavoring to write a college essay about Shakespeare’s sonnets, and (not a spoiler) is getting about as far as Spongebob in that scene where he tries to write and just gets the first letter.

In the span of a day, Annabel lets her mind continuously wander, and we wander along with it, becoming enlightened to her family dynamic, her relationship with an older man, and a fan-fiction like storyline between two unknown men that she cultivates strictly in her head, among any other worthwhile thought that is more important to her at the moment than the essay she cannot for the life of her begin to write or imagine.

Short and quiet, the book is the perfect low maintenance read to pick up when you are avoiding thinking about something else but also don’t want to work to hard to read either. It does not present as intensely entertaining or plot driven, it’s definitely more of a stream of consciousness novel, and while it didn’t wow me, it was a comforting yet interesting audiobook to have on in the background, the calm nature of it definitely contributed to by the narrator who had a very soothing voice and cadence.

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Thanks to MacMillan Audio & NetGalley for providing an audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This little book is an interesting experiment in parts, and kind of boring in others. It covers a day in the life of Oxford English student Annabelle, who is preoccupied with her physical body (as we all are): what she eats, her toilet experiences, and her own sex drive; not to mention an ongoing, ever-changing, erotic-but-not-quite story of two male students in a will-they-or-won't-they narrative in her own mind. These issues, along with musings over her much-older boyfriend and her same-age could've-been boyfriend (now dating another student, the friendship entirely lost in the wake of the new romance) make up the goings-on in Annabelle's brain as she tries to stick to a work schedule and start her paper on Shakespeare's sonnets.

Another reviewer described this sort of books as "no plot, just vibes," and that is accurate. You'd have to give it a whirl to see if it works for you - this is my first book of this sort, and I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it either. I was glad it was shortish, and I wish that Annabelle was a bit more interesting. A bit more to do with the much-older BF would've been welcome (she is 19 and he is almost twice that, it's a bit icky).

2.5 stars rounded up

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This book covers the episodic activity and thoughts of someone trying to make it to their academic deadline. It's a little too redundant at times, not personally connected to the one especially her metaphorical erotic fantasies partially inspired by the sonnets she is working on. But I was invested in her limited social interactions, her daily routines, and especially the ones involving her childhood and the accident involving her friend. It's very much a 'no plot, just vibes' book, but the author has executed it skillfully.
3.75/5
Thank you very much to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for the audiobook ARC. The narrator did a great job.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6547487912

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"Practice" by Rosalind Brown? More like "Practically a Pain in the Brain"! This so-called "theatre of the mind" is like a wild rollercoaster ride through Annabel's chaotic day, where she spills all the tea from bathroom breaks to her craziest daydreams, all while battling to write an essay on Shakespeare. Academic vibes usually get me going, but this book? It's like it's trying to be the drama queen of literature, but it's missing the mark big time. Love it or hate it? Well, that's up to you. Personally, I found it more draining than brain-boosting, with its over-the-top drama and wannabe poetic style. Inspired by Shakespeare? More like a Shakespeare wannabe on a caffeine rush. It's like Shakespeare with a twist, but missing the cleverness. Maybe it'll tickle your fancy, but for me, it's a hard nope.

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ℝ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ | 𝔽𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕒𝕥: 𝒜𝓊𝒹𝒾𝑜𝒷𝑜𝑜𝓀

ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨: (𝟐.𝟓 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐩.) 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐝𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝! 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐬𝐨 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈’𝐯𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐢𝐭. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐩𝐨𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐜𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐲 𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬. 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐛𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬—𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐞𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐛𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 (𝐮𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲, 𝐈 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐨𝐫𝐲, 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐱𝐮𝐚𝐥).

𝒯𝒽𝒶𝓃𝓀 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝑜 𝑅𝑜𝓈𝒶𝓁𝒾𝓃𝒹 𝐵𝓇𝑜𝓌𝓃, 𝑀𝒶𝒸𝓂𝒾𝓁𝓁𝒶𝓃 𝒜𝓊𝒹𝒾𝑜, & 𝒩𝑒𝓉𝒢𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑒𝓎 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒜𝑅𝒞! 𝒜𝓁𝓁 𝑜𝓅𝒾𝓃𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓂𝓎 𝑜𝓌𝓃.

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"Practice" by Rosalind Brown was described to me as "theatre of the mind," a remarkably fitting label. The novel spans twenty-four hours in the life of Annabel, a college student scrambling to complete an essay on Shakespeare's sonnets. By the conclusion, readers are intimately acquainted with Annabel—from her hopes and bathroom habits to her friendships and sexual fantasies—often in more detail than one might wish. While I typically enjoy academic themes, the level of personal disclosure in this book seemed to prioritize shock over literary merit. Perhaps I was not the intended audience, but the explicitness felt more sensational than substantive.

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