To Be Read Pile

I love to read. Always have. As a kid I wandered around Hogwarts with the Golden Trio (and wondered why there was not more Neville). As a teen, I adventured around Tortall with all the heroines. As an adult, I read ahead of Game of Thrones and felt really smug when people were theorising what was going to happen and I just knew. 

Over the last few years, I have struggled to keep up with reading. Between busy lives and Netflix being so easy to binge, books have stayed on the shelf. However, my family and friends have a book club which recently celebrated its second Birthday, and that gets me reading at least one book a month. (Providing I actually read the selected book, there have been a few which I didn't.) Still, slowly but surely, my love for reading is returning.

 And with that comes a TBR Pile.

A small section of my TBR Pile

My "to be read" pile largely consists of books borrowed from other people, but in it are a few books which I hope will help me to reduce my plastic consumption further and expand my love and respect for the sea.

Turning the Tide on Plastic - Lucy Siegle

Lucy Siegle @theseagull

 

I am very excited for this book. It had been on my Amazon wishlist before it was released. I was umming and ahhing about pre-ordering it, but it never counted towards the £20 free delivery so it stayed on my wishlist, just waiting. So imagine how happy I was to find it underneath my Christmas tree this year! (Massive thank you to my sister for that 😘.) 

For me, this book is further research on how I can reduce my plastic impact and make my lifestyle more ocean friendly. I have been doing so for nearly a year now but there are definitely still aspects of my plastic-free lifestyle I can improve. A fair portion of my food shop is still covered in plastic. There are still some plastics which seem unavoidable or thrust upon me. I'm hopeful this book will provide tips and tactics to work around that.

It's separated into two parts. The first part is about plastic and how it has created this massive problem. The second part is about solutions and positive changes we can make, focusing on the concept of "record, replace, refuse, refill, recycle".  The back of the book claims that if just 12 people take on her strategies that we would be using 15,000 less single items of plastic. So like the 2 Minute Solution book, this will be passed around my friends and family at book club!

The Book of Tides - William Thomson

William Thomson

  

This was one of those random finds. I was not looking for a book about the tides of Britain. But when I found one in the bargain bin of The Works, I knew I had to have it. Mostly because I have zero self control around books. I always buy more when the books in my TBR pile are already crying for attention. While it is very much an impulse buy, this book suits my lifestyle greatly. 

I am fighting for these waters. I want to dive these waters. It makes sense that I should want to know how they work too. I have actually started this book, it's content lends itself to dipping. I've dipped in a couple times and it is very easy to read. It's a visual book too. For all the content which can take a little getting your head around, there is a lovely diagram to explain what is going on. 

Page of info, page of pretty.

So far, it has made for fascinating reading.

Shark - Brian Skerry

Brian Skerry @brianskerry

 

Brian Skerry is an underwater photographer. Honestly, his instagram makes me drool. It is a amazing. I discovered him through NatGeo's instagram as they often featured his work. I've been insta-stalking him ever since. So when he announced he was putting together a book, I knew I had to have it. Being quite expensive, I felt like I had to have a reason to buy it. So when I got a new job, it was the perfect present to myself.

This. Book. Is. Beautiful. 

Just a cross-section of its loveliness.

My bad camera skills do not do justice to the beauty of this book. 

On appearance, it seems like a coffee table book: full of pretty pictures and unimportant text. But it is more than that. Each chapter is a comprehensive essay on a shark or aspect of sharks. This book is promoting the beauty and majesty of sharks; and not peddling the fear mongering "monster" image often associated with sharks. This book respects sharks and that concept shines through. 

I am about halfway through this book. And I should really keep it on our coffee table rather than the bookshelf, so that I may read some more of it.

Clearly, I want to read these books. I just also have about eight hundred more on the go!

I am currently reading:

Smiler's Fair - Rececca Levene

Rebecca Levene @BexLevene

It is a fantasy/adventure novel slowly being passed around book club. I have had it for months and only just started it. 

And this month's book club is:

Witch Fire - Anya Bast

Anya Bast

 

I'm not going to lie, this is smut. But it will be a quick read because February is going to be a short and very busy month. And sometimes we just like the laughs. 

So what are you reading? What's in your TBR Pile? Are there any good books about being plastic-free you'd reccommend? Any good shark books?

Listening to: Feel Good Friday