What Three Books

On finding location

Recently my car got a flat tyre. Really annoying, especially as I am hopeless at practical things, and would have taken many hours to jack the car up, get the wheel nuts off, remove the flat, and get the temporary spare fitted, which any basically competent person probably ought to be able to do.

So like the “helpless-at-adulting” person I am, I called the breakdown service. That was just the start of the day’s woes. Anyway, to save you the gory details, it took them nearly three hours to arrive by which time it was dark, freezing cold, and my phone battery had died. One of those days.

To make matter worse, when I wanted to tell them where I was, while on the phone before the battery died, that really helpful app on my phone called “What Three Words” failed to load, as it needed updating.

So I was left trying to describe the layby I was in, which was in the middle of f***ing nowhere. I was trying desperately to remember the last landmark I had passed, but in typical fashion, my brain had been in neutral prior to the flat tyre, and I didn’t have much of a clue, which will probably be my epitaph.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, and come to the point, it occurred to me, while stuck in my layby in the middle of nowhere, that “What Three Words” is really helpful, when it works. It tells the different services that may need to locate you, exactly where you are, often in locations where there may not be a postcode to work on, or you have no idea what the postcode is.

Just as “What Three Words” is a genius concept, assuming you remember to update the app regularly like any sensible person, it also occurred to me that many of us on Medium who love reading, also have certain books that have shaped our view of the world, that help us find direction or locate us.

This article is to introduce a new series to be called, you guessed, “What Three Books”. The purpose of the series is for readers to name the three book that have most influenced the way you view the world or shaped your opinions. Or even just your three favourite books of all time.

You may just name them in the comments section of this article. Or if you would like to write an article about the reason for your selection in more detail, which would be really great to share, please indicate this in your comment, and I will add you as a writer for the “Writing Academy” publication, and you can submit an article about your choices.

Oh, and since you ask, as someone with a serious book habit, I would struggle to keep to three books but briefly, mine would probably be:

“The Selfish Gene” by Richard Dawkins- This book shaped my view of how humanity has evolved on our planet, the Darwinian theory of survival of the fittest, and our contingency on the right environmental niche remaining.

“Gaia: A New Look At Life On Earth“ by James Lovelock- This book opened my eyes to the living planet we are part of, a beautiful concept that switched me on to environmental awareness and green politics. Lovelock describes our Goldilocks planet, neither too hot like Venus, nor too cold like Mars, and how life on Earth has evolved into a self-regulating being, Gaia, which we disrupt at our peril.

“How To Be Free” by Tom Hodgkinson- It is very easy to get stuck on the treadmill of career and getting ever more material possessions, so that we end up working for “The Man”, paying off endless debts rather than being able to enjoy the present day, and live in the moment. So we end up constantly deferring the dream of what we would really like to be doing, even though we only have one life, one shot. This book suggests how to step off the treadmill, and appreciate what really matters in life: health, family and friends.

But enough about me. I may expand on these three choices at some point, but this series is about you.

I look forward to hearing from you, and about “What Three Books” have shaped who you are or how you view the world.

As always, thank you for reading.

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