Reading · Journal of Soulful Reflections

A monthly peek into the books I’m reading, the ones I’ve loved, and the next on my reading pile. A cosy corner for sharing stories, thoughts, and a few bookish ideas you might enjoy too.

If you missed last month’s, you can read it here.

I love secondhand books!

I love discovering someone’s name in the front, or the date it was gifted to them with a little message. I also love discovering words and sentences that have been underlined, or the corners of pages that have been folded.

I love imaging who may have read them before me, maybe even a few people. I love that we’ve held the same book, read the same pages and maybe even paused over and enjoyed the same parts.

I love that the book has had an adventure all of its own… I wonder where it travelled from and where its first destination was? Maybe it was enjoyed outside in the garden, in amongst the coolness of an ancient woodland, or on the beach. Perhaps it went abroad!

It may have helped someone going through a difficult situation, helping them to laugh again, find joy throughout the pages and to know they’re not alone.

Aren’t books magical?

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Here’s what I’ve been reading, what’s next on the pile, and a favourite pick from the bookshelf…

This beautiful little book is an absolute joy. Perfect for some cosy, nature-filled reading. It’s called Florigium and is by the lovely Joanne McCormick, who you can find over on Instagram.

Inside, Joanne writes how the idea for this book arrived while walking in the South Downs, and how she noticed the flowers gathered in communities, that this was important and such a beautiful thing. And after searching but being unable to find anything to celebrate collective nouns for flowers beyond ones like posy, bouquet or bunch, she decided to create her own.

Such a wonderful idea. Plus, it’s filled full of beautiful illustrations to accompany each flower.

You’ll discover collective nouns like a nourishment on clover, a romance of roses, a sweetness of honeysuckle and a reflection of buttercups.

This book has been on my wish list for AGES! I quite often go on World of Books when there’s a book I’m looking for. They also quite often have a 4 for the price of 3 offer on! As there were a couple of books I wanted to purchase (you can see where this is going!), of course I added this straight to my basket... along with another one.

It’s called Adventures in Opting Out by Cait Flanders… and I’m LOVING it! I read Cait’s other book, The Year of Less, a couple of years ago, and again, I loved it so much. It’s definitely way up top in my list of ‘the best books I’ve ever read’. I already know that this one will be added right next to it!

I’ve lost count the number of times I’ve said since beginning this book, “I feel like I’m reading about myself!” Cait shares such brilliant guidance and advice for living a more intentional life from her own journey and through the stories of others.

I really like the parallel Cait shares between taking a different path in life and hiking up a mountain. I love how honest she is throughout the pages. It’s filled with encouragement, and it really does feel like you’re chatting with a very good friend.

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I think David Barton spotted this book first. It was being promoted on Instagram. The words Nature and Swifts grabbed my attention, which meant it was added straight to my wish list quicker than you can say either of them!

So as you can imagine, I was very excited when I spotted that it had gone down to 99p. I quickly tapped the purchase button… that button is dangerous by the way!

It’s called Nature Needs You: The Fight to Save Our Swifts by Hannah Bourne-Taylor (definitely recommend following her on Instagram!).

“Nature Needs You tells the compelling story of how Hannah, without campaigning experience, funding or contacts, set out to save swifts from extinction in the UK. Her mission is to change the law and make ‘swift bricks’ mandatory so that the birds who nest in our walls will have a future in Britain.”

Have you read this book?

If you love sheep, you’re definitely going to LOVE The Wisdom of Sheep & Other Animals… but even if you’re not a huge sheep fan, you’re going to love this book just as much!

I was first introduced to this book a couple of years ago by my lovely friend, who very kindly got tickets for us both to attended a talk with Rosamund Young, which was part of the Lichfield Literature Festival. She also got me a copy of the book for my birthday, which I literally devoured. It was such a joy to meet Rosamund after and get our books signed.

This is a really beautiful, important and inspiring book (and very eye-opening too), filled with humour, warmth, discovery, lots of little pieces of wisdom (which you’ve probably already guessed from the name), along with the hard times and difficulties that life on a farm brings.

“Nature has everything if one knows where and how to look and as long as we humans don’t tidy, poison, cut down or otherwise destroy.”

Rosamund is an organic farmer who runs Kite’s Nest Farm in the Cotswolds, and what I love most about her approach is how closely connected it is to nature, and this connection is at the heart of everything she does.

“The months and seasons follow their unceasing rhythm, but every day the animals and the farm itself stop me in my tracks with surprise.”

I also have a copy of Rosamund’s other book, The Secret Life of Cows, which again is such an incredible book.

Have you read any of these books? Perhaps one or two have now made it onto your reading pile? I’d love to know what you’re currently reading?

From the Book Corner | June 2026

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