Alice Roberts: The Books that Shaped Her Humanist Perspective

Alice Roberts is a British author and academic who has been influenced by a wide range of books throughout her life. Her earliest reading memories date back to the "The Village with Three Corners" series by Sheila K McCullagh, which she loved for its colourful characters and humorous storylines.

Her favourite book growing up was Arnold Lobel's "Frog and Toad" series, which she enjoyed reading to her own children when they were young. She still revisits these stories with her family today, appreciating their humour, heart, and simple humanism.

As a teenager, Roberts was particularly drawn to the works of Alan Garner, Susan Cooper, and Rosemary Sutcliff. However, it was Richard Dawkins's "The Selfish Gene" that had a profound effect on her, inspiring her to read voraciously on evolutionary biology. Dawkins's gene's-eye view of evolution made sense to her, and she went on to read Stephen Jay Gould's essays on the subject.

Roberts' reading of Dawkins' "The Blind Watchmaker" marked a turning point in her life, as she began to seriously doubt the Anglican faith she had been brought up in. By the time she finished the book, she knew she had left that faith behind, embracing a humanist perspective instead.

The book that made Roberts want to become a writer was not one she had set out to write, but rather a handout she created to accompany her first television series, "Don't Die Young" on BBC Two. As a university academic, she wanted to write something for a general readership, and she credits Stephen Jay Gould's advice on communicating complex ideas without "dumbing down" as an inspiration.

One book that Roberts keeps coming back to is Charles Darwin's "On the Origin of Species by Natural Selection", which she loves for its wonderful details and insights. She also appreciates the way Darwin takes his readers on a journey from the known to the novel and strange.

In her later years, Roberts discovered George Eliot's "Middlemarch", which she had previously dismissed as boring and banal. However, after being persuaded to read it by Andrew Copson, chief executive of Humanists UK, she was blown away by its complexity and challenges to her prejudices.

Roberts is currently reading a range of books for work and pleasure, including Fritz Graf's "Roman Festivals in the Greek East" and Val McDermid's "Queen Macbeth". She is also enjoying listening to Otto English's "Notorious" audiobook and reading Liu Cixin's "The Three-Body Problem" to her teenage son.

Her comfort read is "The Little Book of Humanism", which she helped to compile and is full of wonderful, everyday humanist wisdom.

**Books that Shaped Alice Roberts' Humanist Perspective**

Roberts' love of reading and her humanist perspective have been shaped by a wide range of books throughout her life. From her earliest reading memories to her current reading list, she continues to appreciate the power of literature to inspire and challenge her.