10 books to take to the spa

My partner recently booked a spa break and was highly amused when I greeted the news with alarm; I only had an hour to get to the book shop to secure a spa book.

Spa books, dear reader, are a different kettle of fish to the other to-be-read books piled around my house. Nobody wants to be sitting by the pool, breathing in lavender essential oil and trying to de-stress whilst reading about civil war, our failing legal system, or our burning planet.

The spa book is an elusive creature. It must be zen enough to help you forget your troubles but with enough plot or interest to stop your worries rudely sidling back in.

Here are ten of my tried and tested spa books, in no particular order. Click the linked titles for my full review.

1. The Edge of the Sea, Rachel Carson

Contemplating the teeming life of the shore, we have an uneasy sense of the communication of some universal truth that lies just beyond our grasp...The meaning haunts and ever eludes us, and in its very pursuit we approach the ultimate mystery of Life itself.

Wall to wall nature writing and natural history knowledge, Carson takes us on an exploration of the intertidal zone without any of the dull filler that seems to pervade modern nature books. Delicate illustrations and easy reading style mean this book teaches so much whilst lulling you into relaxation with the waves Carson writes about.

2. Gathering Moss, Robin Wall Kimmerer

It seems as if the entire forest is stitched together with threads of moss.

Taking a break from life to visit the spa is the perfect time to delve into a niche topic and find solace in the small. In Gathering Moss, Kimmerer treasures the roles of mosses and explores the way that they live.

Fascinating and touching, treasure this short book on miniature marvels.

3. The Windsor Knot, S.J. Bennett

Ahead of her, above the treeline of Home Park, Windsor Castle glowed silver in the morning light. The Queen brought her pony to a standstill to admire the view

A wholesome, lighthearted murder mystery with Queen Elizabeth II as amateur detective, The Windsor Knot is whimsical, sentimental easy reading with enough plot to keep you turning the pages.

4. When Women Were Dragons, Kelly Barnhill

All women are magic. Literally all of us. It's in our nature. It's best you learn that now.

One day, on a perfectly ordinary afternoon in April, exactly 642,987 women were not eaten by dragons, as was originally reported. Rather, they became dragons. All at once. En masse. And then they left everything behind: babies in strollers and roasts in ovens and laundry half-hung on the line.

A powerful idea wrapped in a warm, easy-reading jacket, this book tells the story of women regaining themselves and leaving behind what didn't serve them.

5. Where the Crawdads Sing, Delia Owens

There are some who can live without wild things, and some who cannot.

This book has some heavy themes (including a TW for SA), so avoid if you want a truly relaxed spa reading experience. If you want to feel a lot of emotions, take this book with you.

It's a story about loneliness and the power of the natural world. It is heart-breaking and heart-warming in equal measure; you’ll cry happy and sad tears before you’re finished.

6. The Most Perfect Thing, Tim Birkhead

On a cold winter's day early in 2014 I visited the ornithology department at the Natural History Museum in Tring, Hertfordshire, to look at Lupton's assemblage of over one thousand Bempton eggs.

Much like Gathering Moss, The Most Perfect Thing is a great spa book because it focuses on the detail of something small: birds' eggs.

How are birds’ eggs formed? How are they coloured? Why do they look the way they do? What goes on inside them? Why are they different shapes? How does a chick grow and hatch? It's hard to accidentally think about PowerPoint when you have the answers to these fascinating questions (and more) tucked in the pocket of your fluffy bathrobe.

7. Everything I Know About Love, Dolly Alderton

Nearly everything I know about love, I've learnt from my long-term friendships with women.

An honest and raw exploration of love and of growing up, Alderton's Everything I Know About Love will have you laughing and thinking.

8. How to Kill Your Family, Bella Mackie

I'm 24, I've been thinking about how best to avenge my mother for many years now, and this is the biggest step I've taken so far.

A funny, black satire page-turner, a celebration of Mackie's dry wit.

9. Away With the Penguins, Hazel Prior

There are three types of people in this world, Very. There are those who make the world worse, those who make no difference, and those who make the world better. Be one who makes the world better, if you can.

Away with the Penguins is a lovely, heart-warming winter read. Veronica McCreedy is in her 80s and lives in a mansion by the sea in Scotland. She’s lonely and wondering what to do with her fortune when she watches a documentary about penguins, and decides to go and see them in Antarctica.

This book is a lesson in empathy, a lovely tale that emphasises the importance of appreciating older people and listening to their stories.

10. Etta Lemon, Tessa Boase

In Britain, birds belong, instinctively it seems, to the boys. It was not always so. The RSPB was founded by women.

Etta Lemon follows the life of the woman responsible for the formation of the Royal Protection for the Society of Birds. The RSPB today is one of our biggest conservation charities, often described as a behemoth. And it started with women.

A fascinating, detailed insight into the lives and triumphs of women largely forgotten by history.