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Recommendations based on Watching the English: The Hidden Rules of English Behaviourby Kate Fox
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Notes from a Small Island
by Bill Bryson
A humorous travelogue of Bryson's final tour of Britain before moving to the US. He reflects on the quirks and charms of British life.
"Suddenly, in the space of a moment, I realized what it was that I loved about Britain-which is to say, all of it." After nearly two decades spent on British soil, Bill Bryson - bestselling author of ... (Goodreads)
Long Walk to Freedom
by Nelson Mandela
A remarkable story of courage, perseverance and hope in the face of oppression.
Nelson Mandela is one of the great moral and political leaders of our time: an international hero whose lifelong dedication to the fight against racial oppression in South Africa won him the Nobel ... (Goodreads)
My Family and Other Animals
by Gerald Durrell
A humorous memoir of a family's experiences living on the Mediterranean island of Corfu.
When the unconventional Durrell family can no longer endure the damp, gray English climate, they do what any sensible family would do: sell their house and relocate to the sunny Greek isle of Corfu. ... (Goodreads)
A Year in Provence
by Peter Mayle
A humorous memoir of a British couple's first year in Provence, France, adjusting to the culture shock and idiosyncrasies of their new home.
In this witty and warm-hearted account, Peter Mayle tells what it is like to realize a long-cherished dream and actually move into a 200-year-old stone farmhouse in the remote country of the Lubéron ... (Goodreads)
The Lost Continent: Travels in Small Town America
by Bill Bryson
A humorous journey through rural America, exploring its secrets and idiosyncrasies.
'I come from Des Moines. Somebody had to' And, as soon as Bill Bryson was old enough, he left. Des Moines couldn't hold him, but it did lure him back. After ten years in England, he returned to the ... (Goodreads)
Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace ... One School at a Time
by Greg Mortenson
A man's mission to build schools in remote areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan to promote peace.
The astonishing, uplifting story of a real-life Indiana Jones and his humanitarian campaign to use education to combat terrorism in the Taliban’s backyard Anyone who despairs of the individual’s ... (Goodreads)
Everyday Sexism
by Laura Bates
An exploration of the various ways sexism manifests in society and the need for change.
In 2012 after being sexually harassed on London public transport Laura Bates, a young journalist, started a project called Everyday Sexism to collect stories for a piece she was writing on the issue. ... (Goodreads)
Nigella Express: Good Food, Fast
by Nigella Lawson
A cookbook full of delicious recipes that can be prepared quickly and easily.
This is the first time that we've ever launched a cookbook alongside a brand new show. Nigella's ratings are through the roof, and she was recently featured in In Style . The cookbook is all of the ... (Goodreads)
A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail
by Bill Bryson
A humorous account of a man's attempt to hike the Appalachian Trail, reflecting on the beauty and history of the American wilderness.
The book starts with Bryson explaining his curiosity about the Appalachian Trail near his house. He and his old friend Stephen Katz start hiking the trail from Georgia in the South , and stumble in ... (Wikipedia)
Plenty
by Yotam Ottolenghi
A collection of vegetarian recipes, featuring exciting flavors and ingredients from around the world.
With his fabulous restaurants and bestselling Ottolenghi Cookbook , Yotam Ottolenghi has established himself as one of the most exciting talents in the world of cookery and food writing. This ... (Goodreads)
In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto
by Michael Pollan
Argument for a return to traditional diets and away from processed, industrialized food.
Michael Pollan's last book, The Omnivore's Dilemma , launched a national conversation about the American way of eating; now In Defense of Food shows us how to change it, one meal at a time. Pollan ... (Goodreads)
McCarthy's Bar: A Journey of Discovery In Ireland
by Pete McCarthy
A humorous and heartfelt exploration of Ireland and its people, culture, and history.
The book describes a series of trips McCarthy makes to Ireland in the late 1990s exploring his past and family history, as well as documenting how Ireland is coping with changing realities. ... (Wikipedia)
What If? Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions
by Randall Munroe
A humorous exploration of science, tackling the most bizarre questions with real-world scenarios.
Randall Munroe left NASA in 2005 to start up his hugely popular site XKCD 'a web comic of romance, sarcasm, math and language' which offers a witty take on the world of science and geeks. It now has ... (Goodreads)
Jerusalem: A Cookbook
by Yotam Ottolenghi
Exploring the vibrant flavors of Jerusalem through recipes, stories, and photographs.
With Jerusalem, Ottolenghi re-teams with his friend and co-owner of his restaurants, Sami Tamimi. Both men were born in Jerusalem in the same year: Tamimi on the Arab east side and Ottolenghi in the ... (Goodreads)
Emotional Intelligence 2.0
by Travis Bradberry
Exploring how to use emotional intelligence to achieve success and build stronger relationships.
"Emotional Intelligence 2.0 succinctly explains how to deal with emotions creatively and employ our intelligence in a beneficial way." –THE DALAI LAMA For the first time ever in a book, TalentSmart's ... (Goodreads)
Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance
by Barack Obama
An exploration of the Obama family history, tracing the threads of identity and race.
In this lyrical, unsentimental, and compelling memoir, the son of a black African father and a white American mother searches for a workable meaning to his life as a black American. It begins in New ... (Goodreads)
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
by Stephen King
A series of personal reflections on the art of writing, and the power of story-telling.
"Long live the King" hailed Entertainment Weekly upon the publication of Stephen King's On Writing. Part memoir, part master class by one of the bestselling authors of all time, this superb volume is ... (Goodreads)
The Death and Life of Great American Cities
by Jane Jacobs
Exposes the flaws of urban planning, advocating for a more organic approach.
A direct and fundamentally optimistic indictment of the short-sightedness and intellectual arrogance that has characterized much of urban planning in this century, The Death and Life of Great ... (Goodreads)
Status Anxiety
by Alain de Botton
An exploration of the psychological repercussions of modern society's obsession with status.
Anyone who’s ever lost sleep over an unreturned phone call or the neighbor’s Lexus had better read Alain de Botton’s irresistibly clear-headed new book, immediately. For in its pages, a master ... (Goodreads)
We Should All Be Feminists
by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
A call to action for an inclusive, gender-equal society through an examination of feminism.
What does “feminism” mean today? That is the question at the heart of We Should All Be Feminists , a personal, eloquently-argued essay—adapted from her much-viewed TEDx talk of the same name—by ... (Goodreads)
This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor
by Adam Kay
An honest, funny, and heartbreaking account of life on the NHS frontline.
Welcome to the life of a junior doctor: 97-hour weeks, life and death decisions, a constant tsunami of bodily fluids, and the hospital parking meter earns more than you. Scribbled in secret after ... (Goodreads)
The Six Wives of Henry VIII
by Alison Weir
A historical account of the tumultuous lives of Henry VIII's six wives, their political and religious struggles.
The tempestuous, bloody, and splendid reign of Henry VIII of England (1509-1547) is one of the most fascinating in all history, not least for his marriage to six extraordinary women. In this ... (Goodreads)
The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying
by Sogyal Rinpoche
Guide to attaining inner peace in life and death, drawing from Buddhist wisdom.
“A magnificent achievement. In its power to touch the heart, to awaken consciousness, [ The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying ] is an inestimable gift.” — San Francisco Chronicle A newly revised and ... (Goodreads)
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking
by Susan Cain
An exploration of the power of introversion, examining the implications of modern society's emphasis on extroversion.
The book that started the Quiet Revolution, At least one-third of the people we know are introverts. They are the ones who prefer listening to speaking; who innovate and create but dislike ... (Goodreads)
The Hare With Amber Eyes: A Family's Century of Art and Loss
by Edmund de Waal
A journey through time, tracing the history of a family's collection of art and their struggles with loss.
The Ephrussis were a grand banking family, as rich and respected as the Rothschilds, who “burned like a comet” in nineteenth-century Paris and Vienna society. Yet by the end of World War II, almost ... (Goodreads)
So You've Been Publicly Shamed
by Jon Ronson
An exploration of the impact of public shaming in the digital age, and its implications for justice.
For the past three years, Jon Ronson has travelled the world meeting recipients of high-profile public shamings. The shamed are people like us - people who, say, made a joke on social media that came ... (Goodreads)
If This Is a Man • The Truce
by Primo Levi
A memoir of Primo Levi's time in Auschwitz and his journey home. The Truce follows his travels through war-torn Europe.
'With the moral stamina and intellectual poise of a twentieth-century Titan, this slightly built, dutiful, unassuming chemist set out systematically to remember the German hell on earth, steadfastly ... (Goodreads)
Liar's Poker
by Michael Lewis
A Wall Street insider's look at the culture of high finance and the dynamics of the markets.
The time was the 1980s. The place was Wall Street. The game was called Liar’s Poker. Michael Lewis was fresh out of Princeton and the London School of Economics when he landed a job at Salomon ... (Goodreads)
A History of the World in 6 Glasses
by Tom Standage
A look at the history of the world through the lens of six beverages.
The, New York Times, Bestseller, ,“There aren’t many books this entertaining that also provide a cogent crash course in ancient, classical and modern history.” —,Los Angeles Times , Beer, wine, ... (Barnes & Noble)
You Can Heal Your Life
by Louise L. Hay
A journey to emotional and physical healing through the power of self-love and positive affirmations.
Louise’s key message in this powerful work is: “If we are willing to do the mental work, almost anything can be healed.” Louise explains how limiting beliefs and ideas are often the cause of illness, ... (Goodreads)
