Books
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Below, you'll find a list of all the books I recall reading, a short excerpt about each, and any thoughts I might have on them. You can probably find them in your local library, although I have linked to the cheapest version on the UK Amazon website if you'd rather buy.
Politics
O'Brien, J. (2024) How they Broke Britain. WH Allen.
This is the first book I've read about politics and is definitely very much left-leaning. It discusses various political figures and media empire owners, including Murdoch (owner of The Sun and The Times to name a few), Dacre (owner of The Mail), Farage, Cameron, Corbyn, Cummings, Johnson, Truss, and Sunak. It's definitely one of the more interesting books I've read and has definitely encouraged me to read more political commentary. I'd like to explore a title from the other side of the spectrum to see how each differs in their arguments for and against various policies, and the attacks on the other side.
Science
Marnham, P. (2013) Snake Dance: Journeys Beneath a Nuclear Sky. Chatto & Windus.
I actually read this book before the release of Oppenheimer, recommended to me by one of my A-level physics teachers. As you might be able to guess from the title, it details the advent of the nuclear bomb, the research behind it, and the various geopolitical issues that arose.
At the time, it was a bit difficult to follow all the ensemble of names, and like the Nolan film, the book jumped around from chapter to chapter. It was definitely a good read, however, and went into good depth without being too technical. Definitely worth a read if you have a reasonable understanding of physics, and a good memory for names.
Society
Land, S. (2019) Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive. Hachette Books.
I read this after watching the Netflix adaptation, as I found the story very moving and wanted to see if the book offered any more insights and how it differed to the televised adaptation. It details her struggles with the American benefits system, and how impossible it might seem to get back on your own two feet once you start living in poverty. I'd also highly recommend the TV series, and you can find all the ways to watch it here.
Travel
Winn, R. (2018) The Salt Path. Penguin.
This book was recommended to me by my Dad, after he read it following our decision to walk the South West Coast Path. It details a couple who lose their house and all possessions due to a small court-based mishap, and how they decide to set off on a journey walking this amazing path with very little money coming in, often wild camping at the side of the path.
The book also details the societal shunning of this couple when they phrase themselves as homeless, yet calling it a 'holiday' gets lots of admiration from others. It's a good book to read if you're thinking about tackling the SWCP yourself, or want to live it vicariously.
I'd been reading it on and off for a couple of days at a time as I tackled the coast path myself, but decided to start from the beginning and read it all in one whilst on holiday. I thought it might take me a few days or a week to do but to my surprise I started in the morning, and was done before 5! I suppose with nothing else to do other than sit by a pool and play tennis, you can really crack on... a highly recommended read from me. If you only pick one book from this list to read, make this one it.
Quotes I Liked
A group of divers squelched up from the beach, like penguins in drysuits with flippers in hand. The one nearest the shack peeled off the drysuit to reveal another, very feminine-shaped wetsuit underneath, removing her neoprene balaclava to set her long dark hair free in the rising wind. As she struggled to release herself from the black, body-hugging skin, the elderly fishermen of the next table fell silent. By the time she finally rolled it down over her thighs to reveal a perfect body in a red bikini, they were close to slithering from the bench in a state of self-transcendent ecstasy.
This is maybe a bit Fifty Shades of Grey-esque, but thought it was quite funny that most divers can't necessarily be distinguished in all their kit, and the stark contrast of the red bikini against the all-too-difficult-to-remove wetsuit was quite good.
[...] when he pulled me to him and kissed me with an urgency that wasn't in doubt, with a fervour that wouldn't fail, time returned. I was ten million minutes and nineteen years ago, I was in the bus stop about to go back to his house, knowing his parents weren't home, I was a mother of toddlers stealing moments in a walk-in wardrobe, we were us, every second of us, a long-marinated stew of life's ingredients. We were everything we wanted to be and everything we didn't. And we were free, free to be all those things, and stronger because of them. Skin on longed-for skin, life could wait, time could wait, death could wait. This second in the millions of seconds was the only one, the only one that we could live in. I was home, there was nothing left to search for, he was my home.
I enjoyed the raw love on display here, showing that as people, love for another person seems to be an almost never ending and all powerful thing, and even in moments of desperation, the physical attraction between two people can be all-consuming and stimulate an out-of-body experience.
Fogle, B., & Cracknell, J. (2006) The Crossing: Conquering the Atlantic in the World's Toughest Rowing Race. Atlantic Books.
I think I was given this book for a birthday or a Christmas present, back when I was rowing for the Southampton Amateur Rowing Club. It details Ben Fogle and James Cracknell's Atlantic crossing and the issues they faced trying not to break the race rules whilst still surviving. As with most of the other books listed here it was a very good read indeed, and I'd highly recommend it.