The books that CHANGED MY LIFE

THE LAST BOOK THAT MADE ME LAUGH

Martha Lane Fox

Businesswoman Martha Lane Fox CBE, the chair of judges for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2020, shares the books that have made her laugh, cry and think… I loved Weather by Jenny Offill – it’s funny, interesting and challenging. It makes you laugh out loud, while also making you slightly despair.

THE LAST BOOK THAT MADE ME CRY

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett. It’s the story of identical twins who choose different paths. It’s especially moving at the moment with the death of George Floyd and the focus on the Black Lives Matter movement.

THE BOOK THAT CHANGED THE WAY I THINK

Every book changes the way you think. What I love about reading is that it shifts your perception. The book that did that for me most recently is Why I’m No Longer Talking To White

People About Race by Reni Eddo-lodge. It asks readers directly to change the way they think – and I did.

THE BOOK THAT GOT ME THROUGH A DIFFICULT TIME

Aged 31, I was in hospital for two years following a car accident. I was so broken that I was unable to sit up in bed, but I remember my mum read me Winnie-the-pooh. It links to those happy times of being a child, but also has a brilliant adult subtext. I defy anyone not to be comforted by it.

THE BOOK I MOST OFTEN GIVE TO OTHERS

I love giving the gift of poetry. The book I currently turn to is The Poetry Pharmacy by William Sieghart. It’s based on the idea that poems can act as medicine, so it has ones for heartache, loneliness, stress and tiredness. It’s a really fabulous collection.