SPARK Recommends

Autumn reads – book recommendations from SPARK

By Sophia Simon-Bashall There’s nothing better than finding a shady spot and sitting in it for hours, safe from boiling to death. If it’s your thing, you can also lie out in the sun with your book – just don’t forget the sun-cream! If you’re stuck on what to read, you’re probably surrounded by suggestions…

Read more >>

Five books to read this summer written by women

By Anna Hill I’ve been enjoying even more than usual the summer time and its space for me to read, able to pick up and gorge myself on the books I want to read, rather than those picked out for me by out of touch, boring men. Here are a few that you might enjoy,…

Read more >>

Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month: Artists to Check Out

By Stephanie Wang May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, a designation to celebrate the culture, traditions, and history of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States. As a child of immigrants from China, my Asian American identity has been a core part of my identity, allowing me to experience both…

Read more >>

When I Hit You by Meena Kandasamy – a review

By Anna Hill Content warnings: domestic and sexual violence When I Hit You by Meena Kandasamy is the first book I’ve read from the Women’s Prize for Fiction longlist this year (you can see the whole longlist and the newly released shortlist here), and it has certainly set a high standard. I’ve never read anything from Kandasamy…

Read more >>

“On Anxiety” anthology – a review

By Pip Williams Content note: Discussion of anxiety On Anxiety is the first anthology from British micropublisher 3 of Cups. The press was set up by founder Clare Bogen, with the admirable goal of “providing a platform for voices otherwise unheard in the mainstream.” This means that On Anxiety is a diverse project, full of wide-ranging voice and experiences…

Read more >>

The allegory behind Black Mirror’s “USS Callister”

By Stephanie Wang WARNING: the below includes major plot spoilers for season 4 episode 1 of Black Mirror, “USS Callister” Content note: Sexual violence, control At first glance, “USS Callister” seemingly features some odd Star Trek-adjacent fantasy of a genius programmer, Robert Daly. And at first, viewers tend to sympathise with him – he’s clearly shy…

Read more >>

SPARK’s Alternative/Indie Albums to Look Forward to in 2018

By Stephanie Wang 2017 was a great year for music, but it’s looking like 2018 may be an even bigger year, especially for alternative and indie fans, with highly anticipated releases from artists like Fall Out Boy, the 1975 and the Arctic Monkeys. While many of these artists have remained silent on the titles and/or…

Read more >>

SPARK’s Top Queer/Feminist Books 2017

By Anna Hill Do you like feminist and queer books? I’ve read some really incredible stuff this year – some are just new to me in 2017 and some were published in 2017! We Are Never Meeting In Real Life by Samanth Irby I read this at the very beginning of the summer and it was…

Read more >>

Contact Us!