What Sophie Said

This is by far one of my favourite reading lists, in that these books were all five star. Some I had been meaning to read for a long time before finally picking them up, and I’m so glad I finally read them. Others I had never heard of until picking them up and now can’t stop recommending them. Dominion, C. J. Sansom It is 1952, in a world where Britain surrendered to Hitler in 1940, and Churchill is leading an underground resistance movement. Full of spies and political drama, this was a real page-turner. The story was good, but what I loved the most was how utterly convincing the world created was. It felt like a very realistic scenario, and this was sustained throughout the novel. I’ve recommended this one to a lot of people. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire & The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, Stieg Larsson The plot begins in the first book, with Mikael Blomkvist researching the Vanger Corporation for an unsolved myst...

How do you choose which book to read next? I read such a wide range of ‘types’ of books, both novels and non-fiction, that it can sometimes seem pretty overwhelming settling on the one book you’re going to read next. Below are my latest mini-reviews. What’s Stopping You? Robert Kelsey A book about understanding your fears, accepting who you are and negotiating obstacles, this reads like a white paper. It pulls together years of research and theories, with Kelsey providing his own highlights and tips. The main focus is on overcoming fear of failure, and the book outlines seven key steps to attempting this. This was an interesting read, and pulled together a whole collection of books of this nature, so provides a nice little overview of ideas in the field. How to Build a Girl, Caitlin Moran Although this is a work of fiction, it has the same distinctive tone as Moran’s other books. It’s a story of growing up and of self-discovery. Though claiming to...