Siobhan Curham: An Imagination Expanding Reading List

I say that I’m a writer – and it still gives me a thrill to be able to say that as it was my dream for so long.

Tom Paine: A Political Life by John Keane and The Underground Girls of Kabul by Jenny Nordberg, which is a fascinating account of girls in Afghanistan being raised as boys in order to have access to the same rights.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. I completely lost myself in the world of Narnia – the characters felt so real and I could practically taste the Turkish delight! And it was the first book that made me cry, when I thought that Aslan had died. This was when I first realised how powerful books could be.

Apart from a brief flirtation with wanting to be a pathologist – after becoming addicted to the TV show Quincy(!) – I always wanted to be a writer. Exactly what kind of writer varied over the years – from novelist to journalist to screenwriter – but being a wordsmith was always my number one dream.

I think that my primary school aged self would be shocked – I was very shy as a young child so I’m sure she’d never imagine me becoming a public speaker. As an avid bookworm I think she’d be really chuffed that I’d gone on to write so many books. I think my high school aged self would be proud that I use my writing to highlight issues that are important to me. I’d become a bit of an activist once I got to high school!

What a great question and what a great idea! I think I’d give myself a copy of The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran as it contains great advice on every aspect of life written in a beautifully poetic way.

I love to read at the end of the day in bed, I find it the perfect way to wind down. I also love reading for hours on lazy Sundays and totally losing myself in a book. I’m usually so busy during the week this feels like a real luxury to me.

I read Solutions for Novelists by Sol Stein when I was writing my first novel and it was a game-changer. It really helped me to hone my craft as a writer.

I have a shelf full of books given to me by my dad, mainly spiritual texts – everything from the poems of Rumi to the Bhagavad Gita. My favourite is probably Letters on Life by Rainer Maria Rilke.

I recommended Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert to a lot of my female friends and family. And On Writing by Stephen King to most of my writing friends.

I like them both equally. I find non-fiction educational and inspiring but I love the way I can immerse myself in a good novel.

Absolutely. Reading gives us access to other worlds. It expands our imagination. And it gives us a welcome respite from the fast-paced world of the internet.

I just read The Girls by Emma Cline and it had me gripped.

I like digital books if I’m travelling for practical reasons but I always buy physical copies of my favourite books. You just can’t beat a real book in my opinion – the feel, the smell, the well-loved, dog-eared pages. I feel the same way about music – you can’t beat vinyl. Digital books and music feel slightly soulless to me.

Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl. Written after his struggle for survival in Auschwitz, it’s so full of hope and contains such profound message for us all.

Seven Masters One Path by John Selby certainly had a big effect. I was brought up in a very anti-religious household. This book opened my eyes up to the messages of peace and love at the heart of all of the world’s major religions by stripping away the dogma and zooming in on the key teachings at the core.

Fools Rush In by Bill Carter is brilliant. It tells the story of what happened when he travelled to war-torn Sarajevo after suffering a devastating personal loss and how he managed to enlist the help of the rock band U2 to draw the world’s attention to the city under siege. It’s gripping, fascinating and uplifting.

Earlier this year I was invited to speak at a literary festival in the Middle East and this opened my eyes up to the Arabian tradition of story-telling so I’m planning on reading a lot more on this subject. In Arabian Nights by Tahir Shah is top of my reading list. It was recommended to me by a world expert on story-telling at the festival.

I’m currently working on what I guess you would call a spiritual memoir which has the title Grit, Grace and Gratitude.