The “Countdown” lexicographer picks her favourites. She’ll be talking about her new book, “The Roots We Share: 100 Words That Bring Us Together”, at Wimbledon BookFest on 25 October.
Oxford English Dictionary
Le Grand Meaulnes
Henri Alain-Fournier, 1913
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.
This was the first book to stop me in my tracks – I was about 14 and completely receptive to a story set in the twilight world between childhood and adolescence. It is wistful, melancholy, achingly romantic and full of longing. I found it so magical that I’m almost scared of picking it up again in case the spell is broken.
In the Shadow of Man
Jane Goodall, 1971
This book changes your view on what it is to be human. Of all the creatures on the planet, the chimpanzee is the one that most closely resembles us, and Goodall has dedicated her life to understanding this beautiful animal. This is a book that continues to teach us that, as humans, we are no more entitled to our glorious planet than the chimps Goodall so lovingly protects.
Thursday’s Child
Noel Streatfeild, 1970
As a child, I cherished this book, which is about a foundling who escapes her orphanage and finds work as a legger on a canal. I loved its spirit of adventure, and for years afterwards I wanted to live on the canal. For some reason the young me was drawn to stories involving orphans: I think I liked the romance of making one’s way in the world with no one to guide you, except perhaps the occasional mouse.
Writing on the Wall
Madeleine Pelling, 2024
I’ve recently enjoyed this fascinating account of how ordinary citizens have carved and scribbled their thoughts across the surfaces of our cities for centuries. Graffiti is probably the most democratic form of writing we’ve ever had.
Titles in print are available from The Week Bookshop
-
Homo Floresiensis: Earth’s real life ‘hobbits’Under the Radar New research suggests that ‘early human pioneers’ in Australia interbred with archaic species of hobbits at least 60,000 years ago
-
Homes by renowned architectsFeature Featuring a Leonard Willeke Tudor Revival in Detroit and modern John Storyk design in Woodstock
-
Looming drone ban has farmers and farm-state Republicans anxiousIN THE SPOTLIGHT As congressional China-hawks work to limit commercial drone sales from Beijing, a growing number of conservative lawmakers are sounding an agricultural alarm
-
Homes by renowned architects
Feature Featuring a Leonard Willeke Tudor Revival in Detroit and modern John Storyk design in Woodstock
-
Film reviews: ‘Hamnet,’ ‘Wake Up Dead Man’ and ‘Eternity’Feature Grief inspires Shakespeare’s greatest play, a flamboyant sleuth heads to church and a long-married couple faces a postmortem quandary
-
We Did OK, Kid: Anthony Hopkins’ candid memoir is a ‘page-turner’The Week Recommends The 87-year-old recounts his journey from ‘hopeless’ student to Oscar-winning actor
-
The Mushroom Tapes: a compelling deep dive into the trial that gripped AustraliaThe Week Recommends Acclaimed authors team up for a ‘sensitive and insightful’ examination of what led a seemingly ordinary woman to poison four people
-
‘Chess’feature Imperial Theatre, New York City
-
‘Notes on Being a Man’ by Scott Galloway and ‘Bread of Angels: A Memoir’ by Patti Smithfeature A self-help guide for lonely young men and a new memoir from the godmother of punk
-
6 homes built in the 1700sFeature Featuring a restored Federal-style estate in Virginia and quaint farm in Connecticut
-
Film reviews: 'Wicked: For Good' and 'Rental Family'Feature Glinda the Good is forced to choose sides and an actor takes work filling holes in strangers' lives
