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Desert Island Picks
SpiesSpies by Michael Frayn
Buy new: £4.99 / Used from: £0.01
Beautifully accomplished, richly nostalgic novel about supposed Second World War espionage seen through the eyes of a young boy.
The Calendar: The 5000-year Struggle to Align the Clock and the Heavens - and What Happened to the Missing Ten DaysThe Calendar: The 5000-year Struggle to Align the Clock and the Heavens - and What Happened to the Missing Ten Days by David Ewing Duncan
Buy new: £5.49 / Used from: £0.01
Intriguing review of the inventive approaches that have lead to the various calendars over the last 5 millenia.
MiddlesexMiddlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
Buy new: £5.39 / Used from: £0.01
A colossal act of curiosity, of imagination and of love.
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress (Vintage East)Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress (Vintage East) by Dai Sijie
Buy used from: £0.45
An enchanting book about books and reading during the Chinese Cultural Revolution.
Godforsaken Sea: Racing the World's Dangerous WatersGodforsaken Sea: Racing the World's Dangerous Waters by Derek Lundy
Buy used from: £3.10
Godforsaken Sea: Racing the World's Dangerous Waters
The Perfect Storm: The True Story of Men Against the SeaThe Perfect Storm: The True Story of Men Against the Sea by S Junger
Buy new: £15.14 / Used from: £0.13
The Perfect Storm: The True Story of Men Against the Sea
Life Of PiLife Of Pi by Yann Martel
Buy new: £5.19 / Used from: £0.01
Fresh, original, smart, devious, and crammed with absorbing lore.
LongitudeLongitude by Dava Sobel
Buy new: £1.31 / Used from: £0.01
Longitude
An Instance of the FingerpostAn Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears
Buy new: £5.99 / Used from: £0.01
An Instance of the Fingerpost
The Dream of ScipioThe Dream of Scipio by Iain Pears
Buy new: £5.99 / Used from: £0.01
The Dream of Scipio
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (Oxford World's Classics)A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (Oxford World's Classics) by Mark Twain
Buy new: £2.44 / Used from: £0.01
A favorite from my childhood
English PassengersEnglish Passengers by Matthew Kneale
Buy new: £5.99 / Used from: £0.01
A moving story about eccentric Eglishmen who set sail in search of the Garden of Eden, and of a young Tasmanian aborigine and his tribe, struggling against the invading British. Compelling, worthy.
The History of LoveThe History of Love by Nicole Krauss
Buy new: £4.99 / Used from: £0.01
Moving, tragic, beautiful. A book begging to be re-read.
The ChosenThe Chosen by Chaim Potok
Buy new: £3.75 / Used from: £0.50
A beautiful book about relationships between two boys and their fathers
The Time Traveler's WifeThe Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
Buy new: £4.83 / Used from: £0.01
Clare and Henry have known each other since Clare was six and Henry was thirty-six, and were married when Clare was twenty-two and Henry thirty... A must-read.
A Short History of Tractors in UkrainianA Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka
Buy new: £4.95 / Used from: £0.01
Animal DreamsAnimal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver
Buy new: £5.99 / Used from: £0.28
The Shipping NewsThe Shipping News by Annie Proulx
Buy new: £5.99 / Used from: £0.01
The Island of Lost Maps: A Story of Cartographic CrimeThe Island of Lost Maps: A Story of Cartographic Crime by Miles Harvey
Buy new: £1.69 / Used from: £0.01
Intresting read for anyone interested in map collecting, and for anyone interested in a good mystery...
Happy All the TimeHappy All the Time by Laurie Colwin
Buy new: £3.15 / Used from: £0.90
Engaging, witty, sharp. One of my favorite novels.
A Voyage for MadmenA Voyage for Madmen by Peter Nichols
Buy new: £5.99 / Used from: £1.85
Rich with excitement, accomplished, gripping and authoritative, A Voyage for Madmen is the story of the yachting tournament from hell.