Bookshelf: Your new favourite photographer Jane Stockdale shows us her bookshelf!

Date
8 December 2012

Wow! We didn’t know what to expect from Jane Stockdale’s seemingly bountiful bookshelf, but we had a feeling it would mirror her energised, powerful photographic skills that we have been gaping at in awe for years now. If you haven’t yet witnessed how Jane uses her camera to capture some of the world’s most electric moments from festivals to riots, it may be good to check out her website before you read on. You may have a new favourite photographer.

SAS Survival Guide

A classic. We used to have a family copy of this at home that lived on the stairs next to What to do in an emergency . In it you can learn practical tips on how to build a teepee, make an igloo, perform a tracheotomy, start a fire and survive an avalanche – all things you really don’t need to know growing up in a small quiet town in the north of Scotland. Even though I’ve never had to do any of these things I still have a soft spot for this book. The copy I have is no longer in print anymore but heres a more recent updated version.
SAS Survival Handbook: The ultimate guide to surviving anywhere

Amin Maalouf: In the name of Identity: Violence and the need to belong

This is one of those books you don’t want to put down – I think I read it in a day. In this book Lebanese author Amin Maalouf explores identity politics as being at the heart of and a root cause of seemingly intractable conflicts. I love his simple style of writing. It’s a clearly written, thought provoking book examining the impact of identity and I highly recommend to everyone.
In the Name of Identity: Violence and the Need to Belong

Susan Sontag: On Photography

A classic mix of essays, ideas and thoughts written by Susan Sontag in 1977 that looks at how photography’s changed the way we see the world. This was followed up by Regarding the pain of others in 2003 which looks at our response to images of conflict and horror and argues it anaesthetises us to tragedy. Photography’s evolved so much and if Sontag were still alive I’d love to see what she thinks today.
On Photography

Portuguese / Arabic / Chinese for Dummies

I love trying to learn languages and whenever travelling always make an effort to learn the basics (even if people don’t have a clue what I’m on about). I have a fairly big stash of phrasebooks and found these are actually useful if you need to learn fast. I’m learning Portuguese now and even though I’m still not very good this teaches you what you need to know to get by. Just watch out for the CD’s as they are really cheesy.
Portuguese for Dummies (For Dummies) (Brazilian Portuguese)

Global Trends 2030

In classic 1989 movie ‘Back to the future II’ they imagined what the world might look like in 2015. While hoverboards are still not a reality its incredible to think how technological advances have transformed the world over the past 25 years. While the future’s impossible to predict there is much speculation. Every 4 years the National Intelligence Council advises the incoming US President on possible projections and scenarios by identifying key drivers likely to shape global events a couple decades into the future - from technology to energy to environmental issues. The last report ‘Global Trends 2025’ was published 4 years ago and you can download here
The most recent report ’Global Trends 2030’ should be out any day.

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About the Author

Liv Siddall

Liv joined It’s Nice That as an intern in 2011 and worked across online, print and events, and was latterly Features Editor before leaving in May 2015.

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