Listmania!
Books for my desert island library
The Lord of the Rings trilogy - one volume paperback (movie cover)The Lord of the Rings trilogy - one volume paperback (movie cover) by J.R.R. Tolkien
Buy used from: £0.01
The first intelligent fantasy fiction book and still the best. Couldn't live without it.
His Dark Materials Gift Set: "Northern Lights", "The Subtle Knife", "The Amber Spyglass": His Dark MaterialsHis Dark Materials Gift Set: "Northern Lights", "The Subtle Knife", "The Amber Spyglass": His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman
Buy used from: £9.99
Stunning books, work of genius, books to lose yourself in and never want to come out again.
The Dark Is Rising Sequence: "Over Sea, Under Stone"; The "Dark Is Rising"; "Greenwitch"; The "Grey King"; "Silver O" (Puffin Books)The Dark Is Rising Sequence: "Over Sea, Under Stone"; The "Dark Is Rising"; "Greenwitch"; The "Grey King"; "Silver O" (Puffin Books) by Susan Cooper
Buy new: £9.69 / Used from: £3.96
An excellent read, set in the mythology of England and Wales, compelling and satisfying reading.
Pride and Prejudice (Collector's Library)Pride and Prejudice (Collector's Library) by Jane Austen
Buy new: £4.89 / Used from: £0.01
Not just this one, but all Jane Austen's books - beautiful, subtle and very rewarding to revisit regularly.
The Earthsea Quartet: "A Wizard Of Earthsea"; "The Tombs of Atuan"; "The Farthest Shore"; "Tehanu" (Puffin Books)The Earthsea Quartet: "A Wizard Of Earthsea"; "The Tombs of Atuan"; "The Farthest Shore"; "Tehanu" (Puffin Books) by Ursula K. Le Guin
Buy new: £7.14 / Used from: £0.01
A whole world for you to explore - again and again - and want to live there too. And it contains dragons!
The Game of Kings: The Lymond ChroniclesThe Game of Kings: The Lymond Chronicles by Dorothy Dunnett
Buy new: £6.59 / Used from: £0.33
Intelligent historical fiction - read this series and you'll be convinced the author lived at that time. Stunningly written.
Lord Peter - a Collection of All the Lord Peter Wimsey StoriesLord Peter - a Collection of All the Lord Peter Wimsey Stories by Dorothy L. Sayers
Buy new: £5.13 / Used from: £1.87
Intelligent detective fiction - unguessable plots, suitably eccentric detective, written for readers with brains.
Rebecca (Virago modern classics)Rebecca (Virago modern classics) by Daphne Du Maurier
Buy new: £5.99 / Used from: £0.01
From the opening sentence to the surprise ending you won't be able to put it down. What a story!
My Cousin Rachel (Virago Modern Classics)My Cousin Rachel (Virago Modern Classics) by Daphne Du Maurier
Buy new: £2.84 / Used from: £1.30
One of the best opening sentences in English Literature and one hell of a story - it'll keep you guessing well after the end.
Jeeves and Wooster Omnibus: The Mating Season; the Code of the Woosters; Right Ho, JeevesJeeves and Wooster Omnibus: The Mating Season; the Code of the Woosters; Right Ho, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse
Buy used from: £19.99
Comic genius! Every page a sheer joy to read. It makes me laugh in every possible way.
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Special Editions)The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Special Editions) by William Shakespeare
Buy new: £4.79 / Used from: £0.01
All human life is here.
Hidden Words: Collected PoemsHidden Words: Collected Poems by Spike Milligan
Buy used from: £0.04
Beautiful, funny, moving, well written - everyone should read these poems.
The Weirdstone of Brisingamen (Collins Voyager)The Weirdstone of Brisingamen (Collins Voyager) by Alan Garner
Buy new: £4.49 / Used from: £0.50
With its sister book 'The Moon of Gomrath' - breathtakingly good stories.
Cold Comfort Farm (Essential Penguin)Cold Comfort Farm (Essential Penguin) by Stella Gibbons
Buy new: £3.58 / Used from: £2.48
A sublime and satisfying book to read over and over again.
The War at TroyThe War at Troy by Lindsay Clarke
Buy new: £5.99 / Used from: £1.35
Quite simply the best re-telling of Homer's Iliad - sublime
The Franchise AffairThe Franchise Affair by Josephine Tey
Buy new: £2.44 / Used from: £2.50
Brilliantly written detective fiction with no detective!
North and SouthNorth and South by Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell
Buy new: £1.80 / Used from: £0.01
This book contains Mr John Thornton - it is therefore perfect.....
The Chronicles of NarniaThe Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis
Buy new: £8.49 / Used from: £6.25
Ignore attempts to tell you this is a Christian allegory - these stories are simply superb on any level
Wives and Daughters (Wordsworth Classics)Wives and Daughters (Wordsworth Classics) by Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell
Buy new: £1.99 / Used from: £0.01
A masterpiece, fascinating, gripping, what a pity she never finished it.
Lords and Ladies (Discworld Novel)Lords and Ladies (Discworld Novel) by Terry Pratchett
Buy new: £5.54 / Used from: £0.97
All the Disk World Series - deceptively simple, very funny, very clever
Neverwhere: The Author's Preferred TextNeverwhere: The Author's Preferred Text by Neil Gaiman
Buy new: £5.99 / Used from: £3.42
A stunningly creative mind behind this story - you'll never view London's Underground in the same light again
Good OmensGood Omens by Neil Gaiman
Buy new: £5.59 / Used from: £0.72
Pratchett and Gaiman mesh perfectly and this story is funny, scary and a re-readable page turner
The ChrysalidsThe Chrysalids by John Wyndham
Buy used from: £0.01
Fascinating glimpse into a possible post apocalyptic world where anyone different is rejected by society