Summer Reading

Ivana BacikSenator and law professor

I am more of a voracious than judicious reader. I will read almost anything, and I always have at least one or two books on the go for pleasure reading. I would usually have more than one by my bedside; at the moment I am just re-reading Chris Mullin's classic 1980s political thriller A Very British Coup, and also dipping into Ben Goldacre's Bad Science, which is a great exposé of multiple medical scams. I have just finished Catherine O'Flynn's The News Where You Are– a perfect summer read as it's witty but also very moving. It details a few months in the life of a regional newsreader in contemporary recession-hit Birmingham – a reminder that we are not the only ones in difficult economic times.

I love selecting a range of different books for summer holiday reading. My perfect pool or beachside reading is Marian Keyes or Jilly Cooper, but I like to bring a few political and biographical reads as well. My biggest fear is running out of books before the end of a holiday – it has happened! Over the coming months, I'm looking forward to Alastair Campbell's latest diaries, and will read anything new on US politics, as I'm fascinated by that topic. Earlier this summer I read Race of a Lifetime: How Obama Won the White Houseby Mark Halperin and John Heilemann – it's an insider account of the last US election, and it was more gripping than any novel.

As told to Tony Clayton-Lea