I’ve got to start this off by thanking Linda for putting together this amazing group of ladies who I love dearly! Linda was my uni/PhD wife for 8 solid years and books were one of the many things that bound us together - pun intended! I really think our book family is amazing, diverse and we really influence each other to push our reading boundaries (and crack each other up with our hilarity haha!) The family extends to you followers too - and we are just getting started! ⁣
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According to everyone in my family and numerous home movies I was forever reading books from SUPER early. Spot The Dog and anything Beatrix Potter were my jam. They say your love of reading never dies and I can absolutely say that is true! The books might be more grown up but I’m still there, book in hand (and snacks of course!) ready to lose myself in a story.⁣
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I can’t say for sure what my preferred genre of book is - I’ve read everything from biographies to epic modern novels and classic tales too - and of course as a scientist I dabble in a little popular sci lit on the side. I’m always willing to try something wacky and weird, even if I don’t like it in the end but I guess that’s why I’m part of The Candid Book Club, eh? ⁣
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If you asked me to recommend some books to you, I would say that Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy is my absolute favourite ever; it’s worth it, I promise! ⁣
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I also love: Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli (shout out if you read this in high school - it’s YA that really sticks with you) ⁣
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley⁣
The Good Immigrant edited by Nikesh Shukla (this is ESSENTIAL reading)⁣
Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami⁣
A Little Life by Hanya Yanigahara
Running Like A Girl by Alexandra Heminsley (thank you for helping me put my shoes on and get out of the door!)⁣
And of course - The Tale of Jemima Puddleduck by Beatrix Potter 😀⁣
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Things I did not like: Milkman by Anna Burns. Nope. Just absolutely NOPE.⁣
Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts. DOUBLE NOPE. Just could not get into it. ⁣
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. Yes I know BUT HEAR ME OUT. I got bored! I’m not averse to picking this one up again!