What the Sky Arts team is reading...
So we make the show…but what do we read ourselves? We asked the Sky Arts team to tell us what book they’ve recently read and why they liked it…
Helen:
Whatever You Love by Louise Doughty
"Difficult, uncomfortable, brutal and moving, Doughty is always a worthwhile read and after meeting her at Cheltenham Literature Festival, I started this one. It's fab!"
Dan:
A History Of Modern Britain by Andrew Marr
“It filled in the gaps I had about contemporary British history, the 70s especially.”
Sari:
Phantoms In The Brain: Human Architecture And The Nature of The Mind by V.S. Ramachandran and Sandra Blakeslee
“A brilliant book on brains and what happens when things start going wrong. Cue phantom limbs, denial of paralysis, and the ability to see everything as cartoons. Truly fascinating!”
Annalisa:
An Utterley Impartial History Of Britain: (or 2000 Years Of Upper Class Idiots In Charge) by John O’Farrell
“I think he’s a really, really funny author”
Adrian:
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
“Possibly the best book I've ever read. Harrowing and moving, it had me in tears on the tube reading it! I’m recommending it to everyone I know – it was such an incredible book…and it made me think about my son.”
Sinéad:
Typhoon by Charles Cumming
“A stand-out thriller with a flavour of how it might have been in Hong Kong at the time of the handover and fast-forwarding to current time and the CIA plotting around the Beijing Olympics. A highly enjoyable read.”
James:
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson and Reg Keeland
“It was a contemporary take on the good old fashioned who-dunnit, where the locked room concept is actually a whole island. Conversationally it was strong and there were really believable characters.”
Tracy:
The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
“Although it was a novel, it gave me more of an insight into the world of Henry VIII”
Laura:
Wonderful Tonight: George Harrison, Eric Clapton and Me by Patty Boyd.
“I was interested in her as a person – she was a 60s model, she married George Harrison…she had an interesting life!”
Sarah:
Heat by Bill Buford
“I’m interested in cooking and I used to work in catering so I can really understand the kitchen culture he describes.”
Carla:
Girl With A Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
“It’s very evocative writing that really draws you in to the period it’s set in, and because the central love story is between characters who can’t admit how they feel, it’s one of the most poignant, and subtly told, books I’ve ever read.”
