Reading lists

What I’m reading: Gaia Vince

The science writer and broadcaster reads 'to escape the confines of her own lived experience'. From a Booker longlisted novel to an exposé on eugenics, here's what's been on her bedside table recently.

Gaia Vince
Gaia Vince. Photo: Phil Fisk
Gaia Vince. Photo: Phil Fisk

Environmental journalist Gaia Vince wanted to experience the impact of globalisation and a rapidly-increasing population on the environment first hand, so she bought a ticket to Kathmandu in Nepal.

A trip that was meant to last six months turned into two-and-a-half-years travelling through over sixty countries, backpacking and documenting examples of human ingenuity from all corners of the world.

The book based on what she saw, Adventures in the Anthropocene, won the Royal Society Prize for Science Books in 2015 becoming, incredibly, the first woman to do so in its near 30-year history. Vince's latest book, Transcendence, looks at how human culture enabled us to become the most successful species on Earth. 

Here, she discusses her latest book pile with us.

And two that I’m looking forward to finishing:

Figuring by Maria Popova

Figuring is a mammoth book exploring the search for meaning in science and art, featuring a cast of mostly women (many of them gay) through history. Perfect for dipping into.

Gaia Vince's latest book, Transcendence, is out now. 

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