Adventures with Topping & Co.

Ruby Recommends...

To The River — Olivia Laing

This is a book of meanders, in all senses of the word. We follow Laing along the banks of the River Ouse, Sussex, the water in which Virginia Woolf drowned herself in 1941. Before her death, she had become fixated upon this landscape. Sixty years later, a harried and heartsore Laing picks up the baton. From source to sea, we are guided by her winding internal monologue, picking up histories out of the water. Fairy tales, Dante, battles and floods and dinosaur bones are some of what she finds beneath the surface.

Laing writes as though flora and fauna were her first language. Where she describes nature her voice shimmers away into dragonfly wings and pollen clouds. Wherever you find yourself over reading week, this book will have you wandering and wondering.

Murray Recommends…

Into the Wild – John Krakauer

“I don’t want to know what time it is. I don’t want to know what day it is or where I am. None of that matters.”

Into the Wild speaks to the innate urge to reject modern society and return to nature. It follows Christopher McCandless, who embarks on an adventure to find freedom, wisdom, and solace far from the trappings of modern society. As he abandons his identity, wealth, and security, McCandless ventures into the American wilderness with little more than his convictions.

Through his encounters along the road, we are filled with hope for the good in this world, while also being grounded by the very real dangers of both modern society and the desolate wilderness. This heart-wrenching journey serves as a haunting reminder of the fine line between idealism and reality, echoing the yearning in all of us for something more profound than the confines of civilisation.

Claudia Recommends...

The Doll People by Ann M. Martin and Laura Godwin

My most nostalgic childhood book, one that has continued to bring me joy in adulthood, is the timeless novel The Doll People by Ann M. Martin and Laura Godwin. The story follows the secret lives of a Victorian porcelain doll set that has been passed down through generations of girls in the Palmer family. Now owned by Kate Palmer, Annabelle, with her painted green hair, is tired of being cooped up in the dollhouse. Accompanied by a friend, she embarks on an adventure to find her missing Auntie Doll.

There is something so enchanting about exploring the crevices of a house from a doll’s perspective and dodging their biggest enemy, the Palmers' cat. Although a children's book, the story’s blissful plot, along with Brian Selznick’s vivacious illustrations, makes this novel jubilant for any age.