Books

Favourites

I was rambling on to Andrew last night about what a “good run” of books I have had recently and I think he thought I was slightly loopy. I was trying to explain the difference between the love I have for all books, generally (there are very few I don’t enjoy), and the sheer delight…

2021 in Books…

Like everyone else, I didn’t find 2021 the easiest year. As I pushed my way through it (much as one might hack through relentless thornbushes: with a lack of verve, but a certain sense of grim resolve), I found ways to take care of myself amid the sheer exhaustion. I threw myself into short power…

What I’ve Been Reading: Once Upon a Time in the East, by Xiaolu Guo and Hungry, by Grace Dent

These are two ostensibly different memoirs, but they have in common authors who reveal an immense force of vulnerability, strength, tenderness and passion. Both women have sharp intelligence, gritty determination and a gift for insightful, vivid writing. In both books, we explore childhood: Guo’s in rural China and Dent’s in working class Carlisle. Both authors…

Hope

If you’re in need of a dose of hope – and let’s face it, who isn’t right now? – then pick up a copy of The Phone Box at the Edge of the World, by Laura Imai Messina. As soon as I started reading the first page, I knew that this was a book I…

Regeneration: The Rescue of a Wild Land by Andrew Painting

Regeneration is my brother’s book about his time working as an ecologist in the Cairngorms in Scotland. Regeneration is my brother’s book. Which makes writing about it that bit more complicated. But, fortunately, it’s a really good book. A lot of people have already written about it, using words like “ground-breaking” and “remarkable”, so we’ve…

Happy World Poetry Day!

“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” This famous quote from Mary Oliver’s poem, The Summer Day, is something I think about a lot these days. It’s a poem – a very beautiful one – about paying attention to the small things in the world. Read…

Lions, Gingerbread Bears, Ants and Eagles (or, What I’ve Been Reading)

I was sat on the floor in the dark, a duvet pulled over me, while my son struggled to settle to sleep. Both of us were out of sorts, tired and restless. By the dim light of my phone, I began to read to him. The book happened to be Prince Caspian, by CS Lewis,…

As the winter sets in, there is nothing better than cosy days curled up with a book, a blanket and a mug of something warm. It’s time to share some of the books I’ve enjoyed this year! Books are THE thing that I have kept for myself through the demands of family and working life….

Lost and Found

More and more, I am a reader of novels. Avid to the point of addiction. I am obsessed with the way stories can connect us so much with our own truths and the truths of others. It so happens that the last two books I have read have both been stories of adoption. They are…

All you need is LOVE

What does balance look like for you? This is the question Fearne Cotton asks in her wise, engaging pep-talk of a book, Happy.‘ I’ve been trying to give myself the pep-talk for a while now. You know, the whole self love, self care, self respect kind of pep-talk. (It’s not about being selfish, by the…

Books for Tough Times

We all go through difficult times and when I do, books are often part of my therapy, offering escapism, wisdom, connection and hope. Here are some of the books that have helped me most in harder seasons: 1. A Thousand Gifts, by Ann Voskamp This book completely changed me. It’s essentially about gratitude, but not…

Gardens

It’s June, and as you’ll have read in my previous post, that means I’m sticking to my tradition of celebrating ’30 Days Wild’, along with many others. Since having children, one of my favourite places to go is RHS Rosemoor. In every season, this place is beautiful and fragrant, full of flowers, herbs and trees….