Strangely unengaging, with unsympathetic characters. Makes us women seem like a bunch of whiners.

At last, a book I can get on board with. Funny and completely engrossing.

Fantastic. My third favourite Austen. It's got a proper, grown-up heroine who's behaviour is utterly believable even if it isn't what you want it to be.

My second favourite Austen. Lighter in tone than 'Mansfield Park'. If you're one of those people who thinks Fanny Price is too passive, you'll be relieved to find that Emma Woodhouse is anything but.

A re-read. Used to be my second favourite Jane Austen but I'm now demoting it to least favourite. It's still a fantastic read though.

The first flashman novel. I really wanted to like it. But I didn't find it funny and found myself frequently bored.

I've read this out loud to my son about two hundred times over the last two years, so it deserves to be included.

The relationship between Stevens and Miss Kenton is beautifully imagined but the quality of your reading experience is assured as much by the ethical questions the book poses.

At last, some non-fiction. Unless you're a committed Christian, this might not be your bag. I found it very useful though.

I love this so much that I offered to re-read it out-loud to my husband. It should be enough to send you out scouring your local library for more magical realist novels.

After 'The Lovely Bones' left me unsatisfied, I went back to Austen. She never lets me down.

I know it's a classic and very highly regarded but I was so bored. I plodded through till the bitter end and wished I hadn't bothered. Again, I'm in the minority on this one.

I don't read much crime, but this is excellent. A fast-paced, exciting narrative that throws up lots of those ethical questions that I love so much.