1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:13,419 are there any books that you think everyone should read that's really tough because it 2 00:00:13,419 --> 00:00:18,640 depends a lot on the person I think but I think the one thing I would say that I think everybody 3 00:00:18,640 --> 00:00:24,640 should read is Harry Potter I think from like all of my friends that are my age we all kind 4 00:00:24,640 --> 00:00:29,199 of read it when we were young and it just becomes like everyone knows what you mean when you talk 5 00:00:29,199 --> 00:00:34,539 about your Hogwarts house for example and you just kind of lose yourself in this fantasy the 6 00:00:34,539 --> 00:00:39,700 book that you read as a child I still kind of reread it every few years and a lot of people 7 00:00:39,700 --> 00:00:44,280 have said that it's helped them deal with like grief and things like that so I think it's actually 8 00:00:44,280 --> 00:00:49,399 quite powerful I think also because like you were saying you you sort of grew up with it so you grew 9 00:00:49,399 --> 00:00:56,060 up with the characters and and they kind of become part of some larger literal literary 10 00:00:56,060 --> 00:01:02,880 sorry family yeah and everybody knows what everybody else is talking about but then having 11 00:01:02,880 --> 00:01:09,040 said that i've i've never read it i've never seen the films now i'm shocked and then when people 12 00:01:09,040 --> 00:01:15,760 are talking about it in the office or when i'm out i haven't got a clue what they're talking about 13 00:01:15,760 --> 00:01:22,879 and i feel a little bit out of it and maybe maybe i should read it you should i think only for from 14 00:01:22,879 --> 00:01:29,519 a sort of social perspective it's so huge and it's influenced so many people in every country not 15 00:01:29,519 --> 00:01:36,159 just in the UK or not just Western countries, but all over the world, that I think it becomes, 16 00:01:36,159 --> 00:01:40,980 like you were saying, a common language of sorts and also becomes almost like a social 17 00:01:40,980 --> 00:01:49,099 history in a way. So it becomes, it's more than a book. It's a kind of a common experience 18 00:01:49,099 --> 00:01:50,099 maybe. 19 00:01:50,099 --> 00:01:57,400 I once read The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. That was a good book, very short book. And 20 00:01:57,400 --> 00:02:07,319 was about a gentleman, he had a stroke, and he only could communicate the book through 21 00:02:07,319 --> 00:02:16,680 blinking an eye, an eyelid, and it was quite a moving thing to read, but also uplifting 22 00:02:16,680 --> 00:02:19,199 as well at the same time. I'd definitely recommend it. 23 00:02:19,219 --> 00:02:22,879 I think things like that are great because it's learning about other people's experiences 24 00:02:22,879 --> 00:02:28,340 and kind of finding empathy or just experiencing, 25 00:02:28,639 --> 00:02:30,159 oh, my goodness, this has happened to someone. 26 00:02:31,259 --> 00:02:33,759 Because I read a great book recently by Dolly Alderton 27 00:02:33,759 --> 00:02:38,919 just about her life and her growing up and things 28 00:02:38,919 --> 00:02:41,919 and just it's kind of like a real celebration of, like, female friendship 29 00:02:41,919 --> 00:02:43,979 and I just wanted to recommend it to all my friends. 30 00:02:44,240 --> 00:02:45,759 What period was that set in then? 31 00:02:46,180 --> 00:02:48,159 It's present day, so it's about her growing up. 32 00:02:48,159 --> 00:02:50,379 It's called Everything I Know About Love. 33 00:02:50,379 --> 00:02:54,460 I think that what you said there about empathy and understanding other people's experiences, 34 00:02:54,460 --> 00:03:00,620 I think that is the key to any good book and I think that is what makes books so important. 35 00:03:00,620 --> 00:03:08,280 Not only to expand people's imagination in their minds and practical knowledge, but the 36 00:03:08,280 --> 00:03:15,120 idea of empathy, particularly in the world we live in today, allowing that time to understand 37 00:03:15,120 --> 00:03:18,680 other people's experiences is vital, I think.