Today is World Book Day, a chance to celebrate our favourite books and authors and talk about what we love to read.  So, please use the comments to talk about your favourite political books and those you read for pleasure.

One of the things which upsets me most about Long Covid is that I have been able to read so little for pleasure. Normally I’d read one book a week. Last year,  in total, I read one whole book and two half books.  However, in January alone, I’d already surpassed that. February has not been so good as I’ve been slowly increasing my hours at work which has used up pretty much all my energy.

It’s always good on World Book Day to scroll through social media and see all the children heading off to school dressed up as their favourite character. It’s a testament to the creativity and ingenuity of their parents. All too often they find out at 8pm the night before that such an event is happening and have to magic an outfit out of nowhere.  And as we come up to International Women’s Day next week, it’s worth mentioning that it is likely to be the unseen and under-appreciated work of women that  makes these things happen.

My favourite political book of all time has got to be the memoir of the 1992 US presidential campaign written by James Carville and Mary Matalin. He was Clinton’s campaign director, she was a senior member of the Bush campaign. They fell in love just before the campaign kicked off.  All’s Fair – Love, war and running for President was their hilarious account of that campaign, which shows their eccentricities off at beautifully and is a superb piece of history.

Purple Homicide, by John Sweeney, is a brilliant reminder of one fo the 1997 election’s non Lib Dem highlights. Former BBC journalist  Martin Bell took on Conservative MP Neil Hamilton in an anti-sleaze campaign after Hamilton was implicated in the Cash for Questions affair.  Again, this account is hilarious, getting its title from the “homicidal purple” trousers worn by Christine Hamilton to a dramatic encounter on Knutsford Heath.

Shirley Williams’ autobiography Climbing the Bookshelves is another special book for me. Shirley is one of my political heroes and when I read it I hear the words as she would speak them. From her evacuation across the Atlantic as a child during the war to her election as an MP, to her career as a Labour minister and then with the SDP and Liberal Democrats.

I also like reading anything by Laura Bates, who started off the Everyday Sexism campaign. Her initial book, Everyday Sexism set out the barriers facing women in our society with clarity and eloquence. Her latest, Fix the system, not the women remains on my long to-read list. My lack of energy to read has not in any way stopped me buying books.

But how do we take those barriers down? Jo Swinson’s 2018 book Equal Power is very Jo. She ends each chapter with a number of action points for readers to work through.

Away from politics, one book which affected me most recently have been Hamnet, by Maggie O’Farrell, which is the story of Shakespeare’s young son who died at the age of 11. It put my emotions through a mangle. The worst bit is devastating even though you know it’s coming. What particularly stands out from this book is the brilliant female characters, in particular the way in which O’Farrell attempts to restore the reputation of Anne Hathaway.  History has cast her in a very dim light, but O’Farrell sees things in her life that tell a very different story.

Secondly, 10 minutes and 38 seconds in this Strange World by Elif Shafak is an incredible book, one one hand grim and brutal in its depiction of violence and hatred and on the other joyful in its themes of togetherness and friendship and bonds between people. It goes from a truly grim portrayal of the ways in which patriarchal society harms women to an utterly madcap final section.

I feel like I should also mention the books of our Party President Mark Pack. From 101 ways to win an election, to Bad News, a book that helps you analyse the biases of reporting, to Polling Unpacked which shines a light on the art of opinion polling, they are useful for anyone in or around politics.

I have had many disagreements with Mark during his tenure as President, and he is probably very glad to see the back of me from the Federal Board. I should say we have also worked together very effectively over the years on party committees and, of course, when he was co-editor of this site. However, I have nothing but respect for someone who has basically given up a secure job to work full time plus for the party in an incredibly stressful volunteer role. I guess the least we can do to show appreciation is to read his books.

So what are you reading at the moment, and what would you recommend to other LDV readers?

* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings