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Favourite reads:
The Approachable Books Edition

my top five medium length reads so far

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

by Robert M. Pirsig

560 pages

Yes, I know that medium-length is subjective and that 560 pages can be considered a fat book, but hear me out! This is quite small in size, so in my books (hehe) it totally counts.

I read this book during Uni for the first time and then twice again later because I felt that I didn’t have the depth of knowledge and understanding to really appreciate it on the first read. Zen is an enquiry into values, a philosophical treatment of the meaning of Quality in the scientific and artistic worlds, framed within a father-and-son roadtrip. I loved it because it was a very intimate trip into the fundamental questions about how we live and was almost meditative at points without ever becoming dull.

I would say it’s not an easy read because the subject matter it tackles requires some prior knowledge of philosophical thinking, but I truly loved it and I think it’s high time I gave it another read as an almost-30-year old with a wider perspective of life.

Prisoners of Geography

by Tim Marshall

320 pages

THIS book. THIS author!

Tim Marshall explains to us how a series of historical and political events unfolded in the world due to the geographical makeup of the countries in question.

For me this was super mind blowing and I have no idea why it’s not the first thing that’s mentioned in all history lessons spanning from Middle Eastern affairs to why the hell the USA is a superpower. A must read for anyone interested in politics and current affairs, and Tim Marshall also has other similar books that I’m on the quest to acquire.

On All Fronts

by Clarissa Ward

352 pages

For anyone not familiar with Clarissa Ward, she’s the most badass woman you will possibly meet. A renowned conflict reporter for some of the biggest stations including CNN, Clarissa finally puts down her experiences reporting from the front lines in her own book. I snapped this up the second it was released.

It’s actually a fast read because the pace of existing within a warzone is crazy, but there are also intimate moments of quiet reflection, on the fact that after seeing ceertain acts of brutality, one can never truly get to grips with our own comfortable way of life again. This was a stunning book from beginning to end.

The Marriage Portrait

by Maggie O’Farrell

448 pages

Also arguably not medium length, but this was such a fast read. The story itself is gripping, a historical fiction around Lucrezia Medici’s birth, upbringing, arranged marriage and ultimate death. Based in Renaissance Florence (LOVE), it’s intricate, clever and flowing. Being slightly eternally enraged and unconventional myself, or so I feel, I loved Lucrezia’s charater and gobbled this up in a couple of days. I feel this is a far more beautiful read than Maggie O’Farrell’s far more famous book Hamnet, which was a bit of a drear for me.

If you like art history, murder plots, Renaissance anything, damsels in distress who aren’t waiting around for a knight in shining armour, this is your kind of read.

Where the Crawdads Sing

by Delia Owens

384 pages

Pretty much everyone on Instagram was raving about this one but I didn’t like the cover enough to buy it, until I came across it at Jacob’s Cafe, which has a small books corner that you’re allowed to take, swap or donate against. Anyway, I picked it up.

But what a lovelyyyy read! The writing is so beautiful and light, and the storytelling was incredible. A lonely abandoned swamp girl who has to grow tough to make her way through a very unfair life, while still finding joy in the seashells, the swell of the sea and the chirping of the seasonal birds who visit her. And then the messy fingers of human life reaching her; a real love and a manipulative one, and hope and hurt and despair. I really loved this book and recommend it for sure.