Reader recommendations
Looking for a good read? Below you'll find some of the books our readers have been recommending recently.
Top pick! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Hattie Brings the House Down
A reader says:
Wonderful. Absolutely wonderful. Engaging, poignant, hilarious, full of twists and turns, just the perfect mystery novel.
Criminal
Buy this bookHollie says:
This totally unputtable down read. journey inside prison like no other.
Features a raw honest account from a social worker who for over a decade she was in some of Britain’s most notorious prisons.
Now she wants to tell the stories of the men she met, because she believes that prison is failing everyone, damaging the most vulnerable people in our societies, creating habitual criminals, leaving us all less safe and contributing to a society that is immeasurably less humane. Every year, we spend billions of pounds on a system that fundamentally doesn’t work. Prison is where the most damaged and vulnerable people in our society end up and we all need to urgently care about that, so we can change it. Because the state of our prisons is criminal.
Eeny Meeny
Buy this bookJane says:
Such a great plot. Couldn't put it down
Alias Grace
Buy this bookMacauley says:
Period Style, Unique Perspective - Plot Twist
Great Expectations
Buy this bookShujat says:
I can relate to how Pip and Estelle develop over time and are humbled/moulded by their life experiences.
Mort
Buy this bookBookish Amy says:
Pratchett is the absolute pinnacle of fantasy writing for me as he combines it with a razor sharp wit and societal satire. Mort is a particularly good entry book for anyone interested in the Discworld series of books.
The Three Musketeers
Buy this bookAna says:
The ultimate story of friendship - all for one and one for all! Milady is the archetypal villain (and what can we say about Cardinal Richelieu?!) and this thrilling adventure carries human foibles and chance, as well as slow pace and action, everything you need for an entertaining and meaningful read. I have read it in French, English and Bulgarian!!!
TStep97 says:
Thought this book was great, loved the adventures of the three musketeers and finished within a week.
A Fine Balance
Buy this bookAngela says:
Such a wonderful story, meeting all sorts of people from different castes in India. I missed them all so much when I finished it.
The Perfect Marriage
Buy this bookHannahM says:
Everything 🤣 the plot twist!
Arrested Song
Buy this bookCelia says:
The depth of the characters, the powerful writing and the detailed historical context informed by careful research that follows the protagonist, Calliope, through the turbulence of Greece’s years during the Second World War and beyond. I loved Calliope’s sharp intelligence, dry wit and the depth of her inner life that we’re privy to. She feels injustice keenly and we warm to her because she is human; she errs because she has such a big heart, which guides her actions, not always for the best. This is the sort of book she don’t want to end.
Verity
Buy this bookDashaPopova says:
Amazing book with a lot of mystery and a massive plot twist. I think about this book on the daily haha.
Heart of Darkness
Buy this bookTom Dashfield says:
This book is as dense and wild as the deep Central African jungle it was born from. Sanity has been left behind and replaced by pure poetry.
Anna Karenina
Buy this bookTom Dashfield says:
The author wrote his autobiography and thought it too dull, so he threw in a completely unrelated, but suspenseful tale of infidelity to keep the readers interested.
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Buy this bookTom Dashfield says:
The author was exiled because the book was apparently too gay
The Call of the Wild
Buy this bookTom Dashfield says:
It was written by a dog
Norwegian Wood
Buy this bookEdoardo says:
Melancholic, nostalgic but calming, very well written book that investigates loss and relationships. Makes you travel in space and time.
Tom Dashfield says:
The book has a great soundtrack
Invisible Women
Buy this bookTracy says:
This is non-fiction, but an absolutely jaw-dropping read, I recommend it to everyone. It looks at the ways that the existence and needs of women has been ignored when designing almost anything and everything you can think of, from products to policies. Really important book.
Troubled Blood
Buy this bookTracy says:
I just love this whole series, partly for the murder-mystery aspect (I never see the ending coming), but mostly for the characters, in particular the two main detectives and how they work together and are building a business and a friendship together around this work which so much to the both of them. You see that neither of them are perfect, they both make mistakes, but even through their miscommunications they work so well together and they do amazing things. It's really quite inspiring. So I love the series in general, but Troubled Blood in particular is a really nice example of all of that.
Underworld
Buy this bookDaniel Fella says:
It's a panoramic, unraveling masterpiece that deals with the best and worst of humanity, is a harrowing insight into the paranoia of global relations, as well as benefiting from the usual DeLillo humour, endless, poetic description of minor details and the human pysche. Brilliant book by a brilliant author.
Library of the Dead
Buy this bookAndrea says:
Not your average premise for a plot, a real page turner.
Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries
Buy this bookSasha says:
I find the story fascinating and unlike anything else I've ever read. The Faeries are more folky than dark and brooding and definitely dangerous and it's hard to describe, but this book just has great vibes.
The Silk Roads
Buy this bookPete says:
Birds Eye of history and politics
The Long Call
Buy this bookKP says:
superb plot, well written
A Prayer For Owen Meany
Buy this bookAlexandr4 says:
Amazing storytelling that made me cry and laugh so much at the same time that a lady next to me on the train asked what I was reading!
Renegades
Buy this bookAster says:
The characters were so loveable and i read it in almost one sitting. Currently on the last book of the trilogy! The plot is interesting but i think it’s pretty character based. Good for people who enjoy reading books about superheroes but also want a little angst with romance.