I’m reading three at the moment. A long novel, a collection of short stories and a non-fiction book.

Precipice by Robert Harris is a historical spy story (1914). I got off to a slow start with this because I wouldn’t usually choose a war/political story — this was a book club pick. However, if I’d seen this advertised on Netflix I’d add it to my to-watch list. I can’t say I’m loving it (just yet) but I will finish it.

Summer 1914. A world on the brink of catastrophe.

In London, 26-year-old Venetia Stanley – aristocratic, clever, bored, reckless – is having a love affair with the Prime Minister, H. H. Asquith, a man more than twice her age. He writes to her obsessively, sharing the most sensitive matters of state.

As Asquith reluctantly leads the country into war with Germany, a young intelligence officer is assigned to investigate a leak of top secret documents – and suddenly what was a sexual intrigue becomes a matter of national security that will alter the course of political history.

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I have a fabulous little book of short stories on my Kindle called, You can Take the Girl From the Prairie by Darlene Foster. The stories are based on the author’s memories of growing up on the Canadian Prairies. I bought it ages ago and pick it up now and then for a quick read, which is how I usually read short stories and poetry books.

A collection of short stories inspired by growing up on a prairie farm in the fifties and sixties. Some of the stories are humorous and others sad, but all heartfelt. Stories about family life, cowboy wisdom, immigrant grandmothers, an inspiring teacher, and the arrival of a new sibling are part of this collection of tales from another time and another place. Proof that you can take the girl from the prairie but you can’t take the prairie from the girl.

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The non-fiction book I’m reading on and off these days is, Ultra Processed People by Chris Van Tulleken. It really makes you think about what you put into your body; very thought-provoking.

I’m fairly health-conscious but don’t deprive myself of the odd glass of red wine, or a bar of chocolate now and then. Reading books like this one means I get to make informed decisions about my food choices. I know processed food is bad for me — I’ve always known that. I eat as little of it as possible and when I do, I don’t stress over it because I know it’s not something I do every day.

Having said all that… I might think differently when I’ve finished the book.

It’s not you, it’s the food.

We have entered a new ‘age of eating’ where most of our calories come from an entirely novel set of substances called Ultra-Processed Food, food which is industrially processed and designed and marketed to be addictive. But do we really know what it’s doing to our bodies?

Join Chris in his travels through the world of food science and a UPF diet to discover what’s really going on. Find out why exercise and willpower can’t save us, and what UPF is really doing to our bodies, our health, our weight, and the planet (hint: nothing good).

For too long we’ve been told we just need to make different choices, when really we’re living in a food environment that makes it nigh-on impossible. So this is a book about our rights. The right to know what we eat and what it does to our bodies and the right to good, affordable food.

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Thank you for reading.

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