BOOK CLUB
“It’s possibly the most thought- provoking non-fiction book I’ve ever read”
UNTAMED BY GLENNON DOYLE I’m fairly sure this will be the umpteenth time you’ve had this extraordinary book recommended to you. I wondered about whether to include it here, but I was swayed by the possibility that some readers might not yet have added it to their pile, or might be sniffily avoiding it because of its current ubiquitousness. Please therefore, take this paragraph as me pressing a copy into your hands, looking you in the eyes and encouraging you to read it immediately, because there’s a high chance it changes the way you see the world. But don’t take my word for it: here’s a friend from my own book group, reporting on their thoughts: “I loved it so much, it’s possibly the most thought- provoking non-fiction book I’ve ever read. It was ridiculously wide-ranging. It made me think so deeply about my marriage, religion, body image, race, raising a daughter, raising a son and so many other things. I don’t think I’d have believed someone if they said a book could be so broad, but seemingly go so deeply into each issue.” The book is written by author Glennon Doyle and is a whirlwind of a manifesto for change, punctuated with her own tale of redemption and rediscovery. If you’re furiously nodding in agreement having already read her work, then buy a copy for a friend who needs to read it (you definitely have one), and post it through their letterbox on your next walk. And remember – you can do hard things.
enjoyable to follow (her Paris cookies – which became a lockdown hit – and Saturday afternoon charred leek lasagne are two personal favourites). There are also exquisite and cheerful illustrations by artist Elisa Cunningham, but it is Ella’s heart-breaking personal story of love and loss, woven into each dish, that clutches at your hand so tightly. Nigella Lawson called Midnight Chicken a “manual for living and a declaration of hope”, and that is why I’d recommend it for these darker days. Food is restorative, biologically and psychologically, and a book that fills you with love and hope, as well as giving you ideas for dinner, is precisely what the doctor ordered during this time. THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS AN EASY JOB BY KIKUKO TSUMURA A perfect read for anyone who’s ever had a job they hated (which is everyone, right?), this book by award-winning author Kikuko Tsumura, translated from the original Japanese, follows the protagonist on her quest for a job that “was practically without substance, a job that sat on the borderline between being a job and not”. She works through a series of low-level positions, all of which sound simple at first, but that seem to ‘scope creep’ in curious and unexpected ways, while also presenting observations about the modern nature of work and our attitudes to responsibility. One character, Mrs Fujiko, tells her: “You should rest! It doesn’t do to be thinking about work all hours of the day, you know.” Reacting to this, the protagonist describes that her soul “had seized up and grown stiff”. She reports: “I felt a sudden urge to kick the coffee table away and hurl my teacup at the wall.” Hilarious, recognisable and addictive, gift this story to someone who might be on the edge of burning out, or read it yourself if the unending nature of our new-style daily grind is proving a little too much.
MIDNIGHT CHICKEN
BY ELLA RISBRIDGER There are recipe books, there are
biographies and there are philosophy books – but it’s rare that you encounter all three in one. This beautiful book is about to come out in paperback, but either iteration would make a superb seasonal gift for a food lover. Ella’s recipes are technically first-rate, clearly written and
IMAGES Glennon Doyle’s Untamed launches the reader on an inspiring journey to complete inner peace, disregarding other people’s expectations. Midnight Chicken by Ella Risbridger offers similar reflection through ‘biographical’ food recipes and Kikuko Tsumura delves into Japanese work culture in There’s No Such Thing as an Easy Job
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