A Million Years in a Day: A Curious History of Daily Life

A fun dash through the whole of human history, via the habits and routines that fill all of our days: from waking up to having dinner to going to bed again, and everything in between (I do not recommend reading the chapter on going to the toilet while you're trying to eat!) Funny and blunt, but with enough well-researched history to be taken perfectly seriously. If only history books had been like this when I was at school, I might have actually taken an interest!

I really enjoyed reading this history of everyday life. While it is fascinating to read about big battles and historical figures, I've always tended to think that people who lived in the past were very different from us. This book shows that people have always had the same (or similar) everyday problems to ourselves: getting up on time, keeping our teeth clean, finding suitable clothes and so on. It follows a journey through a Saturday, and looks to the past to compare how each event in the day has changed over time. For example, there is a chapter on breakfast which looks at how the meal, as well as the food eaten, has developed over time. I think now when I read about history, I'll think more about how it affected everyday people, as they often get overlooked for the more 'exciting' events.

I love history and trivia and this is packed with both.