lou's library

One of the things I love most about reading is its ability to change my mind, to introduce new ideas and points of view into my thinking, broaden my horizon and thereby hopefully turn me into a more empathetic human being. Also, I just think it’s incredibly fun to discover a new angle to a topic that genuinely makes me reconsider everything I’ve thought about it before. The following is a list of books that have done that for me, some in smaller and some in bigger ways.

Factfulness by Hans Rosling, Anna Rosling Rönnlund and Ola Rosling

This is a book that couldn’t be more perfect for this list, because it literally asks you to reconsider your perspective on the world in a rather groundbreaking way. In Factfulness, the authors argue (based on scientific research and studies they conducted over many years) that the world is in fact not as bad as we usually make it out to be. They argue that, if we focus on the facts, the world is not in as bad a state as we commonly presume and that, furthermore, the solutions for existing problems are already there. Now, in times like these, where something absolutely heartbreaking or shocking seems to happen almost daily, those are some seriously good news. I still think there’s no denying that we do have some rather serious problems and that a lot of things aren’t looking too great right now. But Hans Rosling and his co-authors really do make a case for putting things in perspective, relying on data and taking hope and courage from that. For example, poverty has been decreasing for quite some time now, so have many fatal diseases. The news we consume simply don’t tend to highlight these successes, so we rarely get to hear about them. Again, this is not to downplay the problems that do exist, but simply a call to learn from our successes to ensure we will be able to solve the crises ahead. And I just think that’s an important message these days, and a little bit of hope and good news is very welcome, if you ask me.

On Writing by Stephen King

If you ask any writer what book about writing you should read, the chances are very high they will recommend On Writing by Stephen King. And for good reason. Stephen King is obviously best known as a prolific writer of horror books, but about twenty years ago he published his memoir On Writing, in which he writes about his life as a writer, a near-fatal accident (and how it influenced his writing), but he also gives concrete writing advice and tips. Needless to say, it’s written incredibly well. It features on this list because Stephen King stresses something in it that I really needed to hear when I read the book. One of his biggest pieces of advice for writers is to take their writing seriously. It’s so simple, and yet was totally perspective-shifting for me. If you’re not from a family where creative careers are the norm (or even exist at all), then you might believe it to be not an option for you. But Stephen King argues that even if you maybe won’t be able to earn a living from writing, you still need to be serious about it, if you wanna be any good at it. And for me, that was exactly what I needed to hear. It allowed me to feel less silly about it and reminded me that if I don’t get it done, no one else will. I guess I just needed someone to tell me that even if my writing is bad, I have to commit to it in order to get better. That somenoe turned out to be Stephen King and I’ll always be grateful to him for writing this amazing book on writing. It’s full of great, hands-on advice and also just a joy to read!

Freedom by Angela Merkel

I’m German, so Angela Merkel is someone I have seen on the news almost daily for the vast majority of my life. Before she stepped down as chancellor in 2021, I could literally not remember any other chancellor in office. To me, she was the chancellor. So, when she announced her auto-biography Freedom, I knew I was going to read it straight away. And I’m so glad I did. It’s a bit of a doorstopper, but honestly one of the most well-written political memoirs I’ve ever read (maybe excluding Barack Obama, that man can either write so well he deserves a Pulitzer Prize or has an incredible ghost writer). What Freedom did for me is it opened a door for me that let me peek inside Angela Merkel’s brain a bit and understand her in a way I hadn’t before. As chancellor, she’d never been exactly open or clear about her decisions, so getting to read about them in detail was revealing and fascinating. Even more importantly, it showed me what it was like for her as the first female chancellor Germany has ever had. What it was like for her to have grown up in East Germany. How it felt to have to make incredibly hard decisions and then be criticised for them relentlessly. I’m not saying I agree with all her actions and how she justifies them. But reading Freedom gave me a new perspective of Germany and this woman who led us through so many crises for 16 years. I guess I have more empathy for her now, but am also clearer on the points I disagree about with her. And it’s been a reminder that in our fast-paced world of endless breaking news, sometimes it’s a good idea to listen to someone who’s been in the thick of it all. To really listen to them, even for 700 pages.

Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer

I can hear you laughing at me for including Midnight Sun on this list. How about you listen before you judge, you Twilight snobs??? I reread the entirety of the Twilight series last year and had a right old blast. The grand finale was reading Midnight Sun, the first book in the series from Edward’s perspective, for the very first time. As a life-long Team Edward member, needless to say I was excited. That was, until I reached maybe chapter two of this MASSIVE book. That’s when I realised Edward was just a bit annoying. Suffice to say, the closer he got to Bella, the more annoying he became. So unbearably over-protective while also wanting to suck her blood? Obviously, that wasn’t exactly news to someone who had read the original book about two dozen times, but somehow, reading about it from his perspective made it incredibly weird. From Bellas’s point of view, I always managed to sort of justify his actions as loving and caring (might have been lying to myself a bit there), but from Edward’s perspective, it was very obvious to me how over the line his opinions and decisions are. At the same time, I loved getting more insight into the Cullens’ family life, I ate that stuff up like candy!!! But my god, Edward, chill the hell out, would you? It’s probably for the best that Midnight Sun opened my eyes a bit and put Edward into perspective for me. I’m pathetic enough to still proudly be a member of Team Edward though, obviously.

V by Florence Schechter

V is a non-fiction book about the vulva and I love everything about it. It discusses lots of common misconceptions about vulvas and the female body in general and was a real eye-opener for me in terms of how bad my sexual education was in school. But it was also a change in perspective for me in that it made me realise that I’m no longer in school and therefore responsible for my own education. So, if I feel like I don’t know enough about my own body, then I should probably do something abou it. And V is such a great place to start! You can dive into it without any prior knowledge whatsoever, it’s written accessibly and the illustrations are not only super helpful, but also gorgeous! This book made me very proud of my own body, and reminded me that I should be grateful to have it and treat it with as much kindness and compassion as possible. V was also groundbreaking for me because it showed me how women are made to feel insecure about their bodies, and how that’s so unjustified. Honestly, this book was a real education for me and I hope it will find its way into the hands of many, many people. This is not just essential reading for women and queer people, but also for men! Maybe if they had a clue what women’s bodies achieve all the time, they’d treat us with a bit more respect (maybe not, but a girl can dream).

Those are my top perspective-changing reads! I hope you find some inspiration from them and enjoy gaining new perspectives ❤