My Bookcase and Me!

ID: The picture above is of a black book case with numerous fiction and non-fiction books on various shelves including professional books on the criminal justice system and psychology.

It is said that you can't tell a book by its cover. When you go to a book store or library what attracts you to the book you pick? If you were to cast your eyes on my book shelves you would notice various authors covering all sorts of topics from cooking, true-crime, mental health, forensic and clinical psychology, forensic psychiatry, autobiographies, legal text books etc. Not forgetting my love for all things fictional crime. I also have a copy of George Orwell's 1984 - which I have read believe it or not! These many authors tell a tale about me as a person. How so? Well they all have one thing in common - the use of psychology. Whether we are trying to understand what made a serial killer like Peter Sutcliff (Michael Bilton) a murderer in real life or a killer who is part of a plot within fictional literature (Richard Osman), psychology is at the core of how the crime was solved and helped find the answers to the who, when, where and why.

Outside of literature, my personal journey within psychology began in 2014 and my registering to attend The Open University to study an honours degree in forensic psychology. My quest to understand how the grey matter between our ears worked, has grown in time (sadly not my brain). My passion for investigating the biological and chemical intricacies of the brain and how these intersect with our environment have helped me grow as a person and professional with the knowledge gained in part by books.

Our Biological Brains

ID: This is a picture of a doctor analysing data on a number of computer screens with MRI images on them.

We all like to think of ourselves as more than just a collection of cells. Truthfully speaking, you and I are just that - made up of various cells that group together to form the complex organs of our bodies. But we are also more than a group of cells - we are a living being! We have conscious thought, emotions, wants and needs - hates and passions. For example, my cats know when I am ill in particular when I am going to have a seizure and take turns to watch me until they feel that the worst part is over. Their love and loyalty brings me unlimited joy and happiness. Although these feelings are triggered in response to chemical and electronic signals, my psyche tells me that these particular signals are happy ones. Professor Robert Hare who has authored and co-authored numerous scientific papers has written a number of books on a brain fault called Psychopathy. His book Without Conscience explains how when these brain signals go wrong that they can cause devastating consequences - violence, fraud and death for those around them (Hare, 1999).

By understanding as much as we can about our marvellous brains not only teaches us about being human but helps us understand other animals around us. It has assisted us in understanding more about dementia, cancer, strokes and mental disorders like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Depression and Anxiety. Dr Bessel Van Der Volk's book entitled The Body Knows The Score (2014) and Dr Bruce Perry & Oprah Winfrey's What Happened To You? (2021) demonstrate how our bodies, including our brain, can become damaged by traumatic life experiences from parental separation/alienation, death, suicide to experiencing a car accident. These traumas are particularly problematic if they occur within our young childhood. These books have assisted in my understanding of ACEs and trauma and have enabled a better appreciation of patient/client suffering and scientific literature.

It's Life Jim But Not As We Know It....

Some of the best fictional books ever written have employed human psychology in luring us into the story plot and its various characters. How many times have you found that by the end of a book you have made attachments to these fictional people, gone through a group of emotions and want to find out what happens to the main characters after the book has finished. The ability to employ these strategies by authors is no easy task. An author who I personally have found is very adept at this is TV presenter, journalist and author Richard Osman. His series of brilliant books entitled The Thursday Murder Club (2020) and apply just enough meat to the characters bones to help us to believe in their reality. Also George Orwell in his book 1984 (1949) could not apply more than to today's world that we live in - big brother ever watching, politicians seeking personal gain at the expense of its citizens welfare and violent and unsafe communities but love still exerting the stronger power.

ID: A picture of Sir David Suchet playing Dame Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot. Copyright owned by Agatha Christie & ITV

Agatha Christie is another prime example of an accomplished author who applied her psyche in the form of none other than Hercule Poirot. The "little grey cells" would piece together the evidence in such a way it would baffle others yet catch the culprit. Her last book and subsequent TV series episode of Curtain - Poirot's Last Case (1975) made the actor who played Poirot - Sir David Suchet, cry and feel depressed and bereaved as he explained as a skilled method actor that he had grown to love this odd little man, it had been him for over 25 years.

We don't have to be a proficient reader or university educated to read- we just need a love of learning about the unknown, seeing life from a different perspective, excitement and pleasure, improving our mental wellbeing - whatever the reason we love reading or listening to a book is escapism or to education - books can be for everyone (SiOWfa15: Science in Our World: Certainty and Controversy & World Economic Forum, 2019/2023). As a neurodivergent person, I have always found reading a massive challenge and as a child I actively refused to read or look at a book. As I have grown and learned personal strategies and been helped by my partner to understand and construct the narrative in my mind to assist my reading ability, my love for reading grew. Now I don't hate books - I love them. Each night to relax I spend an hour or so reading - this helps me switch my mind off to life and decompress.

Do you like reading or do you find it difficult? Do you have a favourite book? What format do you prefer? Why not say or post a picture and let me know. Thanks for reading 😉