The former MP and Green Party leader picks her favourites. She will be talking about her new book, "Another England", at the Queen’s Park Book Festival on 31 August
Finding the Mother Tree
Simard’s extraordinary account of her discovery that trees can communicate through subterranean networks of fungi has transformed our view of the natural world. This isn’t just another book about saving the trees; it’s a book about how the trees might just save us.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Available on The Week Bookshop
The Poisonwood Bible
Barbara Kingsolver, 1998
I have read this many times over for the sheer joy of the exquisite writing, each sentence to be rolled in the mouth and savoured. I love her layered narrative structure, with its five different voices; each time I come back to it, I find myself identifying closely with a different character.
Available on The Week Bookshop
With the End in Mind
Kathryn Mannix, 2017
The irony of this book about dying is that it’s so wonderfully life-affirming. Mannix, a palliative care doctor, makes a powerful case for the need to talk about how to die well – and if we do, it will give us our best chance of living well too.
Available on The Week Bookshop
Anam Cara
John O’Donohue, 1996
Even better if you listen to the audio version read by John’s brother Pat, with his lilting Irish accent, this is a book of spiritual wisdom from one of the world’s most inspiring writers and philosophers.
Available on The Week Bookshop
Selected Poetry and Prose
John Clare, 1986
I’ve drawn heavily on the poetry of this pioneering 19th century poet in "Another England" to show how, in the very syntax of his writing, Clare captures the mutual dependence of humans and nature.
Jane Eyre
Charlotte Brontë, 1847
I reread this constantly as a teenager, totally transfixed by such a compelling love story, with its appealing message that wit, warmth and courage can be more attractive than beauty.
Available on The Week Bookshop
-
Pakistan: Trump’s ‘favourite field marshal’ takes chargeIn the Spotlight Asim Munir’s control over all three branches of Pakistan’s military gives him ‘sweeping powers’ – and almost unlimited freedom to use them
-
Codeword: December 6, 2025The daily codeword puzzle from The Week
-
Sudoku hard: December 6, 2025The daily hard sudoku puzzle from The Week
-
A postapocalyptic trip to Sin City, a peek inside Taylor Swift’s ‘Eras’ tour, and an explicit hockey romance in December TVthe week recommends This month’s new television releases include ‘Fallout,’ ‘Taylor Swift: The End Of An Era’ and ‘Heated Rivalry’
-
December’s books feature otherworldly tales, a literary icon’s life story and an adult royal rompThe Week Recommends This month's new releases include ‘The Heir Apparent’ by Rebecca Armitage and ‘Tailored Realities’ by Brandon Sanderson
-
Wake Up Dead Man: ‘arch and witty’ Knives Out sequelThe Week Recommends Daniel Craig returns for the ‘excellent’ third instalment of the murder mystery film series
-
Zootropolis 2: a ‘perky and amusing’ movieThe Week Recommends The talking animals return in a family-friendly sequel
-
Storyteller: a ‘fitting tribute’ to Robert Louis StevensonThe Week Recommends Leo Damrosch’s ‘valuable’ biography of the man behind Treasure Island
-
The rapid-fire brilliance of Tom StoppardIn the Spotlight The 88-year-old was a playwright of dazzling wit and complex ideas
-
Jane Austen lives on at these timeless hotelsThe Week Recommends Here’s where to celebrate the writing legend’s 250th birthday
-
‘Mexico: A 500-Year History’ by Paul Gillingham and ‘When Caesar Was King: How Sid Caesar Reinvented American Comedy’ by David Margolickfeature A chronicle of Mexico’s shifts in power and how Sid Caesar shaped the early days of television
