Books and articles
This is a running list of books and articles I’m currently reading or have recently finished.
I update it as I go, with the most recent entries at the top. The notes are intentionally brief and written for my own reference as much as anyone else’s — a simple record of what I’ve been reading and what I took from it at the time.
Some book titles link to Amazon. These are affiliate links where applicable.
The most recent entries appear first.
Orwell’s England
Edited by Peter Davison
Genre: Literary essays
Pages: 496
Acquired: Secondhand (Amazon – World of Books)
Date added: 16 January 2026
This collection brings together a range of George Orwell’s essays and longer works that reflect on England — its culture, class structures, politics, and social character. It includes The Road to Wigan Pier, among other pieces, offering both an insight and reflection on the realities of working-class life and the contradictions within English society.
Initially drawn to it as a way of understanding Orwell beyond the novels most people know. His essays feel grounded and observational, concerned less with abstraction and more with lived experience. Distilled clarity that reading them now offers a window into both a particular historical moment and questions that remain surprisingly current.
Status: Currently reading
Orwell’s England details on Amazon →
[Utopia for Realists details on Amazon →](https://amzn.to/3NocjaC)
Utopia for Realists
Rutger Bregman
Genre: Non-fiction, philosophy
Pages: 316
Acquired: Secondhand
Date added: December 2025
In Utopia for Realists, Rutger Bregman explores how modern societies might aspire to a healthier and more fulfilling vision of the future. One where equality is strengthened and poverty meaningfully reduced. He challenges the idea that quality of life should be defined primarily by income, instead arguing for a model that places greater value on leisure, security, and the freedom to pursue activities that are both personally meaningful and socially beneficial.
Status: Read
[Listen the Rutger Bregman’s Reith Lectures on BBC Sounds](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/b00729d9?partner=uk.co.bbc&origin=share-mobile)
Six Silent Men
Gary A. Linderer
Genre: Non-Fiction, Military History
Pages: 372
Acquired: Secondhand
Date added: July 2025
This is a first-hand account of the Vietnam War that captures both the bravery and the quieter lessons learned under sustained pressure. Linderer describes the role of the Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol (LRRP), whose members operated deep inside hostile territory, often in close proximity to the enemy and far from any immediate support. The risks were constant, but so too was the value of the intelligence these small teams gathered.
While most of us will never face comparable circumstances, there is much to learn from the experiences of the combat veterans of the 101st Airborne’s LRRP companies. The book offers insight into how individuals operate under prolonged uncertainty, danger, and fatigue.
From my own experience, the military places strong emphasis on meeting challenge with a positive and disciplined mindset. The conduct of the men described in Six Silent Men reflects this clearly. It has been a compelling read — not because it seeks to dramatise events, but because the reality described on the page is more gripping than fiction.
Status: Currently reading (nearly finished!)
The Lord of the Rings
J.R.R. Tolkien
Genre: Fiction, fantasy
Pages: 1078
Acquired: Secondhand
Date added: August 2023
I grew up listening to the BBC radio adaptation of The Lord of the Rings. My dad, an avid Tolkien fan, introduced it to me from a young age. Tales of adventure, companionship, long journeys, hearty food and drink, mountains, dragons, elves, swords, and wizards captured my imagination early on.
As I grew older, I read The Hobbit and later watched the film adaptations, seeing characters I had long imagined brought to life. So when I came across a secondhand copy of The Lord of the Rings collected in a single volume, it felt like the right moment to embark on the journey properly. Reading it now has been an adventure in itself. Tolkien has a rare gift for conjuring vivid, fully realised worlds through language alone.
Status: Currently reading
[The Lord of the Rings details on Amazon →](https://amzn.to/494Besv)
Reworking Joseph 