Books & ideas
Books worth your evenings, and ideas worth arguing about over dinner.
- What are the best books about cycling?The best cycling books that aren't about kit: Tim Krabbé's The Rider, Paul Fournel's Need for the Bike, and Tim Moore's two grand-tour misadventures.
- What are the best books about running that aren't training manuals?Four running books with no interval tables: Born to Run, Murakami's running memoir, Once a Runner and Feet in the Clouds, and who each one suits.
- What are the best books about swimming?Three swimming books worth packing: Roger Deakin's Waterlog, Bonnie Tsui's Why We Swim and Leanne Shapton's Swimming Studies, and who each suits.
- What are the best books about walking?Three walking books for three moods: Solnit's Wanderlust for ideas, Macfarlane's The Old Ways for old paths, Bryson's A Walk in the Woods for laughs.
- What are the best books about the history of Italian food?The best histories of Italian food: John Dickie's lively Delizia!, Capatti and Montanari's scholarly Italian Cuisine, and Artusi's 1891 classic.
- What are the best food books that aren't cookbooks?Food writing worth reading cover to cover: M.F.K. Fisher, Anthony Bourdain, Tamar Adler and Bill Buford, and which one to pick for your mood.
- Is Marcus Aurelius's Meditations worth reading today?Is Meditations worth reading? What Marcus Aurelius's private notebook is, how Stoic ideas run through it, which translation to pick and how to read it.
- Is The Leopard by Lampedusa worth reading?Lampedusa's The Leopard (1958): what it is about, why it is a classic, how to approach the Risorgimento background, and whether to watch Visconti's film first.
- What is Natalia Ginzburg's Family Lexicon about?Natalia Ginzburg's Family Lexicon (1963) is a memoir of a Turin family told through the phrases they repeated. What it covers, and why it reads so modern.
- What novels set in Italy are best for a summer holiday?Five novels set in Italy for a summer holiday, from Portofino escapism to Neapolitan friendship and Sicilian decline, matched to the kind of trip you are on.
- How do you read more books when you're busy?Practical ways to read more when life is full: always carry a book, read in the gaps, quit what bores you, count audiobooks, and read before the phone.
- Is Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat worth reading?Samin Nosrat's 2017 book teaches four principles instead of rules. What it covers, who it suits, and how it relates to the Netflix series.
- How do you start a book club that actually lasts?How to start a book club that survives its first year: the right size, a steady rhythm, fair book choices, simple food, and no guilt about unfinished books.
- What is The Enchanted April about, and is it worth reading?Elizabeth von Arnim's 1922 novel about four women who rent a castle in Portofino for a month: what happens, why it still charms, and who should read it.
- What does Atomic Habits actually argue?James Clear's Atomic Habits (2018) in our own words: small changes that compound, systems over goals, identity, the habit loop, and where readers find it thin.
- What is Murakami's What I Talk About When I Talk About Running about?Murakami's 2007 running memoir explained: what it covers, how it links running to writing, how long it takes to read, and who will enjoy it most.
- Where should you start with Elena Ferrante?Start with My Brilliant Friend, the first Neapolitan Novel. How the quartet fits together, what to read after it, and what the anonymity means for readers.
- Where should you start with Italo Calvino?Where to begin with Italo Calvino: Marcovaldo for charm, Invisible Cities for wonder, If on a winter's night for play, Italian Folktales for dipping.
- Who was Marcella Hazan, and which of her books should you start with?Marcella Hazan taught generations of English-speaking cooks Italian home cooking. Who she was, the famous tomato sauce, and which of her books to buy first.
- Who was Pellegrino Artusi, and why does his cookbook still matter?Pellegrino Artusi, the businessman behind the 1891 cookbook that gathered Italy's regional cooking into one book for home cooks, and why it still matters.