Secret Book Swap | No. 12 - Currie February 2026
Books We Swapped:
Nesting – Roisín O’Donnell
A tense and deeply empathetic novel about a woman trying to rebuild her life after leaving an abusive marriage. As she searches for safety and stability for herself and her children, O’Donnell explores resilience, motherhood and the quiet courage it takes to start again.Moral Ambition: How to Find Your Purpose – Rutger Bregman
Historian Rutger Bregman argues that talent and ambition should be directed toward solving the world’s biggest problems. Combining research, philosophy and real-world examples, this is a provocative call to rethink success and use our abilities for meaningful impact.A Walk to Remember – Nicholas Sparks
Set in a small North Carolina town, this tender love story follows rebellious teenager Landon and quiet, devout Jamie, whose unexpected relationship changes both their lives. Gentle and deeply emotional, it’s a novel about first love, faith and lasting transformation.The Marshmallow Test – Walter Mischel
Psychologist Walter Mischel explores the famous experiment that tested children’s ability to delay gratification. Blending science with storytelling, the book reveals what self-control means for success, relationships and decision-making throughout life.The Story of a Heart – Rachel Clarke
This moving true story traces the life-changing journey of a donated heart. Following both donor and recipient families, Clarke writes with compassion about grief, generosity and the extraordinary human connections made possible through organ donation.A Lobster Tale – Erica Manwaring
Laura Robinson has never quite understood people. Then one morning a tiny lobster hatches from her neck and gives her an extraordinary ability — visions revealing other people’s inner motivations and struggles. As Laura uses this strange gift to help others, she’s forced to confront the secrets and pain she has long tried to ignore in her own life.The Good Immigrant – Edited by Nikesh Shukla
This powerful anthology brings together writers of colour reflecting on race, identity and belonging in Britain. Honest, urgent and often darkly funny, the essays challenge stereotypes while offering deeply personal perspectives on modern multicultural life.The Midnight Library – Matt Haig
Between life and death lies a library where every book represents a different version of the life you could have lived. As Nora explores these alternate possibilities, she begins to understand regret, hope and the value of the life she already has.On Connection – Kae Tempest
Poet and performer Kae Tempest reflects on creativity, empathy and the human need to truly see one another. Thoughtful and intimate, this short work considers how art, language and attention can bridge the growing gaps between us.Green Dot – Madeleine Gray
A sharp, witty debut about a young woman drifting through work, friendships and a complicated affair with a married colleague. Funny and painfully relatable, it captures the uncertainty of modern adulthood and the messy search for meaning.Educated – Tara Westover
Raised in a strict and isolated survivalist family in rural Idaho, Westover grows up without formal schooling before eventually pursuing education against all odds. Her extraordinary memoir is a story of learning, self-invention and the cost of breaking away.You Are Here – David Nicholls
When two strangers join a long-distance walking group across the English countryside, their journey becomes more than just miles covered. Warm, observant and quietly romantic, Nicholls explores loneliness, connection and the unexpected paths toward companionship.
Our Guest , Erica Manwaring
Erica describes herself as an “author of things a little bit weird, a little bit true”—and that’s exactly what you’ll find in her writing.
With a background in Philosophy and Psychology, she brings a thoughtful, curious lens to big questions about identity, perception, and what really makes us who we are.
Her novels, blend emotional depth with just the right amount of the surreal.
A Lobster Tale
Laura Robinson can’t be doing with people: she understands the theory but fails the practical. One day a lobster arrives that only she can see, and it lets her glimpse people’s inner motivations and torments.
Laura goes from knowing nothing about people to knowing everything, and uses this power to get the life her mother always wanted. But is she happy?
To avoid that question, she tries to help others with Lobster’s guidance. She’s been living underwater, and it’s time to come up for air.
Banned Book Reading
Giovanni’s Room, James Baldwin
This month’s banned book talk marked LGBTQ+ History Month, and we explored the long history of books being challenged simply for portraying same-sex love.
The conversation was sparked by a recent investigation from The Ferret, which found that complaints about books in Scottish school libraries are quietly reshaping what young people can access. Freedom of Information requests revealed 29 official complaints over three years, with more than a third relating to LGBTQ+ themes. In some cases books were removed entirely; in others they were restricted, moved to older sections, or only available with parental permission. Librarians described a “chilling effect”, where the possibility of complaints leads to second-guessing what gets stocked in the first place.
From there we looked at the longer history behind these debates. In 1928, Radclyffe Hall’s The Well of Loneliness was banned in the UK after a court ruled that its sympathetic portrayal of a lesbian relationship was obscene. Decades later, Nancy Garden’s Annie on My Mind, a young adult novel about two girls falling in love, was removed from a school library in Kansas and even publicly burned after complaints in the early 1990s, before later being reinstated following a legal challenge.
We also reflected on books we’ve discussed previously, including This Book Is Gay by Juno Dawson and the picture book And Tango Makes Three, both of which have faced challenges in schools and libraries because they portray LGBTQ+ lives openly.
To close the evening, we shared a short quote from Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin:
“Love him and let him love you. Do you think anything else under heaven really matters?”
And left with question that have been asked across decades of censorship debates:
Who gets to see their love story on the shelf?
And who decides whether it belongs there?
Join us at future secret book swaps: