The Reading List

Get comfortable with a good book this winter and let the world slip away for a little while

COUCH THERAPY: A GRAPHIC TALE OF PSYCHOTHERAPY BY PHILIPPA PERRY

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Delving into what really happens in a therapist’s consultation room, best-selling author and psychotherapist Philippa Perry vividly recounts a year’s therapy sessions with a witty and thought-provoking exploration of how the therapeutic journey works as a search for understanding and truth. There’s some beautiful illustrations by Flo Perry, author of How to Have Feminist Sex, too.

IF YOU SHOULD FAIL: A BOOK OF SOLACE BY JOE MORAN

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All of us feel like a failure at some point in our lives and Professor Joe Moran’s book is a reassurance that failure is life’s small print and not every failure needs to be made into a success. The social historian explores how modern life makes us feel like frauds and imposters and how even the seemingly invincible figures in the history book, including Leonardo da Vinci and Virginia Woolf, felt like let-downs.

THE FOURFOLD REMEDY: EPICURUS AND THE ART OF HAPPINESS
BY JOHN SELLARS

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What do we really need in order to live a happy life? The Greek philosopher Epicurus suggested a simple answer: pleasure. Today we tend to associate the word ‘Epicurean’ with over indulgence but, as philosopher John Sellars shows, this was not the simple and tranquil vision envisioned by Epicurus. This book draws on the ancient wisdom that feels remarkably relevant today, offering a new way of thinking about what truly matters in our lives.

THE RAG AND BONE SHOP: HOW WE MAKE MEMORIES AND MEMORIES MAKE US BY VERONICA O’KEANE

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Memories have the power to move us, often when we least expect it, a sign of the complex neural process that continues in the background of our everyday lives. Psychiatrist Veronica O’Keane has spent many years observing what happens when this process is disrupted by mental illness and draws on the experiences of her patients to explain the role of psychiatry today and the extraordinary puzzle that is our human brain.

THERE ARE PLACES IN THE WORLD WHERE RULES ARE LESS IMPORTANT THAN KINDNESS BY CARLO ROVELLI

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Italian theoretical physicist and writer Carlo Rovelli invites us on a voyage through science, literature, philosophy and politics in this collection of writings of intelligence, across time and space. From Newton’s alchemy to Einstein’s mistakes, Dante’s cosmology and to the consciousness of an octopus, this book is the perfect gateway to understanding the influential physicists of our age. best of ways.

SCANDI RUSTIC: CREATING A COZY & HAPPY HOME BY REENA SIMON AND REBECCA LAWSON

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Hygge influencers Reena Simon and Rebecca Lawson are renowned for their love affair with all things Scandi. In their first book, Scandi Rustic Style, they reveal how to create a home that takes elements of Scandinavian design and introduces rustic natural materials and textures to create a Scandi-inspired interior that is cozy, relaxed and inviting.

LOSING EDEN: WHY OUR MINDS NEED THE WILD BY LUCY JONES

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Today many of us live indoor lives, disconnected from the natural world as never before. And yet nature remains deeply ingrained in our language, culture and consciousness. As we lose our bond with the natural world might we also be losing part of ourselves? This book explores how and why connecting with the living world can so drastically affect our health and how finding solace in the soil might just save us and the planet.

WINTERING THE POWER OF REST AND RETREAT IN DIFFICULT TIMES BY KATHERINE MAY

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Sometimes you slip through the cracks: unforeseen circumstances like an abrupt illness, the death of a loved one or a job loss can take you off course. For May, her husband fell ill, her son stopped attending school and medical issues led her to quit her job. Wintering explores how she not only endured this painful time, but how she found nourishment in deep retreat and joy in the hushed beauty of winter.

THE FUNNY THING ABOUT NORMAN FOREMAN BY JULIETTA HENDERSON

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Twelve-year-old Norman Foreman and his best friend, Jax, are a legendary comedic duo in waiting, gearing up to one day perform at the Edinburgh Fringe. But when Jax dies, Norman realises he’s not the funny one. This uplifting debut takes us on a road trip with a mother and son who will live in the reader’s heart for a long time to come, and teaches us that—no matter the odds—we must always reach for the stars.

THE STOIC GUIDE TO A HAPPY LIFE: 53 BRIEF LESSONS FOR LIVING BY MASSIMO PIGLIUCCI

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Philosopher Massimo Pigliucci offers a different approach to Stoicism that reflects modern science and attitudes, embracing the joyful bonds of affection, the satisfaction of a job well done, and the grief that attends loss. In his hands, stoicism isn’t about feats of indifference, but about enduring pain without being overwhelmed, while enjoying pleasures without losing our heads.