Vivienne Monk (BSc(Hons), MBA, MOHS(Research), PhD, MBPsS, CPsychol) has a professional background in psychology (having worked in clinical, occupational and organisational areas), and has twenty years experience as a senior manager in healthcare, higher biomedical education and clinical research. She has recently completed the Nye Bevan Leadership Programme (at the NHS Leadership Academy) and holds Chartered status with the British Psychological Society and is a member of the newly formed Division of Coaching Psychology. Vivienne has only recently joined the SBH Quality & Efficiency Team moving across from a management role in the Clinical Research Centre within the William Harvey Research Institute (Queen Mary University of London) during which time she held an Honorary appointment as Director of Cardiovascular Clinical Research Operations at SBH.
Vivienne is the Co-Chair of the SBH #BartsAbility Network and is leading on the implementation of ‘Project Search’ (a one year transition to work programme for young people with learning disabilities and autism which has been running successfully at Whipps Cross for nearly 10 years). If you feel you could provide a placement for the interns, please find out more details here.
My all time favourite: Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
Austen’s most famous novel, the delightfully witty courtship of Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy is brimming with character, playfulness and irony. Impeccably crafted in flawless prose, Pride and Prejudice remains one of the jewels in the crown of English literature.
Vivienne says: "According to top 100 lists of books I am not alone in placing this at the very top of my list. From the very first (famous) sentence the book is a delight. I particularly love the long suffering Mr Bennett. I have read this book many times!"
Historical fiction: Moment in Peking - Lin Yutang
It is merely a story of how men and women in the contemporary era grow up and learn to live with one another, how they love and hate and quarrel and forgive and suffer and enjoy, how certain habits of living and ways of thinking are formed.
Vivienne says: "This book (written in English) was published in 1939. It covers the last days of the Qing dynasty and the first half of the 20th century which was such a momentous time in China’s history. I lived and worked for a few years in Hong Kong/China and fell in love with the people, the language, the culture and the food. Lin’s book is full of detail of the lives of his characters and is so beautifully written. It has been turned into a TV miniseries (but only has Chinese subtitles)!"
Magical realism: 1Q84 - Haruki Murakami
A young woman named Aomame follows a taxi driver’s enigmatic suggestion and begins to notice puzzling discrepancies in the world around her. She has entered, she realizes, a parallel existence, which she calls 1Q84 —“Q is for ‘question mark.’ A world that bears a question.” Meanwhile, an aspiring writer named Tengo takes on a suspect ghostwriting project. He becomes so wrapped up with the work and its unusual author that, soon, his previously placid life begins to come unravelled.
Vivienne says: "I love magical realism and my very favourite writer in this genre is Haruki Murakami who I think is a genius. The books are translated from Japanese but Murakami always has lots of western references particularly related to music. This isn’t my favourite Murakami but if I’m banished to a desert island – this is the longest (in 3 parts – I hope that’s not cheating)"!
Non-fiction: A History of Opera – the last 400 years - Carolyn Abbate and Roger Parker
This definitive work tells the entire story of the world's most extraordinary artistic medium of the last four hundred years. Opera paints the human passions with astonishing power and drama. This book, the first new, full-length, single-volume history of opera for more than a generation provokes in-depth discussions of many works by the greatest opera composers, from Monteverdi, Handel and Mozart, to Verdi and Wagner, to Strauss, Puccini, Berg, and Britten.
Vivienne says: "My life outside of work pretty much revolves around music. I love baroque music and opera – and both together is even better! This book covers the whole 400 years of opera and is a great reference book but a really good read too. Opera has evolved a lot in 400 years and continues to do so".
A book about Australia and a dog: Red dog - Louis de Bernieres
Red Dog is a short novel by Louis de Bernières charting the life of a popular dog, a "Red Cloud Kelpie" nicknamed Red Dog, in Karratha, Western Australia.
Vivienne says: "I’m Australian and wanted to have at least one book set in Australia in my list. This book wasn’t written by an Australian but concerns a dog – and I love dogs! The dog is question is a Kelpie who travels around a lot and everyone in the town gets to know and love him. He brings people together. It’s set in a rural mining town and is based on a true story. There is a statue of the Red Dog in Pilbara (in Dampier, Western Australia). There is a movie version of this book which I would also recommend!"
Still to read...
Middlemarch by George Eliot
Taking place in the years leading up to the First Reform Bill of 1832, Middlemarch explores nearly every subject of concern to modern life: art, religion, science, politics, self, society, human relationships.
Vivienne says: "This 19th century classic is definitely on my to-read list. It’s widely acclaimed as one of the great English novels. I can’t believe I haven’t read it yet"!
Record:
The well-tempered clavier – books 1 & 2 by JS Bach: These 48 preludes and fugues are in my humble opinion the best thing ever written for the keyboard. I could never tire of hearing them.
Luxury Item:
"If I could take my clavichord to the desert island I might even have the time to learn to play them"!