The favourite books of Florence and the Machine singer Florence Welch
You may not know that Florence Welch of Florence and the Machine has a book club. In 2012, a fan of Florence suggested that she begin a group discussing her favourite books. The group ended up being called Between Two Books.
“When I was on tour about four years ago, I saw some fans tweeting about maybe starting a book club,” Welch said. “I just said it was a great idea and I’d love to help them and be involved somehow. I recommended the first book for them, which was Opposed Positions by Gwendoline Riley, and it took off from there.”
She added: “It began from me choosing books that I really liked. But actually I started to find it more fun and interesting to get people to recommend books. We’ve had a few guest recommendations so far. I’m always fascinated by what books people like and what they are reading, so this gives me a great excuse to ask people I love and respect what books have really affected them.”
Welch has been an avid reader since a young age. She took particular interest in Philp Pullman’s Northern Lights trilogy, and her parents used to read Orlando by Kathleen Hale and Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilders to her when she was a child.
“I think reading is essentially a solitary activity,” Welch said. “Growing up, I used reading as a form of escape. I was shy and sensitive, and so reading gave me a safe space. It’s a huge generalization to say that all readers are introverts, I’m sure there’s a lot of extroverted bookworms out there, but for me it’s nice to know people of similar inclinations can actually come together in a social way and talk about something that is inherently solitary.”
“Between Two Books has a really good energy I think,” she added. “I try not to spend too much of my life online – having a pretty addictive personality, it’s not great for my head – but this is definitely my favourite part of the internet.” Here is a list of some of Welch’s favourite books.
Florence Welch’s favourite books:
- Opposed Positions – Gwendoline Riley
- The Ice Age – Kirsten Reed
- Why Not Say What Happened? – Ivana Lowell
- Your Voice in My Head – Emma Forrest
- Their Eyes Were Watching God – Zora Neale Hurston
- Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven and Other Plays – Young Jean Lee
- A Confederacy of Dunces – John Kennedy Toole
- The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald
- The Marriage Plot – Jeffrey Eugenides
- The Day of the Triffids – John Wyndham
- The Goldfinch – Donna Tartt
- Not That Kind Of Girl – Lena Dunham
- Heartburn – Nora Ephron
- I Will Never Be Beautiful Enough to Make Us Beautiful Together – Mira Gonzalez
- Birthday Letters – Ted Hughes
- Just Kids – Patti Smith
- Night Flower: The Life and Art of Vali Myers – Martin McIntosh and Gemma Jones
- Fates and Furies – Lauren Groff
- The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle – Haruki Murakami
- Salt – Nayyirah Waheed
- Bone – Yrsa Daley-Ward
- Geek Love – Katherine Dunn
- The Rose That Grew From Concrete – Tupac Shakur
- In Praise of Shadows – Jun’ichirō Tanizaki
- The Descent of Man – Grayson Perry
- Last Exit To Brooklyn – Hubert Selby, Jr.
- The Lesser Bohemians – Eimear McBride
- Here I Am – Jonathan Safran Foer
- Too Much and Not the Mood – Durga Chew-Bose
- The Outrun – Amy Liptrot
