 | Cordelia's Honor (Hugo Winners) (Miles Vorkosigan Adventures (Paperback)) by Lois McMaster Bujold
Buy new: £1.86 / Used from: £1.86 The first book of the Vorkosigan saga, probably the most re-readable series of books ever. They're all well written, with 3-D characters for whom you develop a real affection, and some great humour.
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 | Borders of Infinity by Lois Bujold
Buy used from: £6.18 The focus passes from Cordelia to her son Miles, via The Warrior's Apprentice and the Vor Game. Borders is a series of beautifully crafted novellas which slot in among chronologically.
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 | Mirror Dance: A Vorkosigan Adventure (Miles Vorkosigan Adventures (Paperback)) by Lois McMaster Bujold
Buy used from: £2.56 Next come Cetaganda, Brothers in Arms and Mirror Dance. Lois gets better and better, and with Mirror Dance creates a gripping plot and complex interweaving of a cast of great characters.
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 | Memory by Lois McMaster Bujold
Buy used from: £0.55 Plot creation on the principle: what's the worst thing I could do to him...? ... but don't worry, it all comes out OK in the end. Next is Komarr (they really are worth reading in sequence).
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 | A Civil Campaign (A Miles Vorkosigan Adventure) by Lois McMaster Bujold
Buy used from: £19.95 Sheer brilliance - a marvellously funny, clever and satisfying book. Guaranteed to brighten the worst week of your life.
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 | Diplomatic Immunity by Lois McMaster Bujold
Buy used from: £7.25 Diplomatic Immunity is (so far) the last of the Vorkosigan saga (sob). Don't miss the wonderful short story Winterfair Gifts in Irresistible Forces (though the rest of the collection IS resistible).
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 | The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold
Buy new: £5.49 / Used from: £0.66 And now a shift towards fantasy, with the Curse of Chalion and Paladin of Souls. Truly excellent ... and they seem to get better and better with each re-reading. Storming stuff!
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 | Strong Poison (A Lord Peter Wimsey Mystery) by Dorothy L Sayers
Buy new: £2.30 / Used from: £0.01 Any novel about Lord Peter Wimsey is worth reading. But with the introduction of Harriet Vane in Strong Poison, the characters really start to develop a life of their own.
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 | Have His Carcase (A Lord Peter Wimsey Mystery) by Dorothy L Sayers
Buy new: £5.49 / Used from: £0.01 Harriet and Peter Wimsey - the Mulder and Scully of 1920s detective fiction - good story and lots of unresolved sexual tension.
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 | Gaudy Night (A Lord Peter Wimsey Mystery) by Dorothy L Sayers
Buy new: £3.11 / Used from: £0.33 A book that goes beyond the usual limits of detective fiction ... and somehow achieves greatness along the way.
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 | Busman's Honeymoon: A Love Story with Detective Interruptions (A Lord Peter Wimsey Mystery) by Dorothy L Sayers
Buy new: £5.49 / Used from: £0.01 This one's for the fans ... but if you've read the last three you'll love every word.
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 | The Crystal Cave (Coronet Books) by Mary Stewart
Buy new: £3.50 / Used from: £0.01 A spell-binding read from start to finish. So real that it's hard to remember it's a work of fantasy.
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 | The Hollow Hills (Coronet Books) by Mary Stewart
Buy new: £5.49 / Used from: £0.01 Sequel to The Crystal Cave - a superb retelling of the Arthur story. Followed by The Last Enchantment which is good, but not superb.
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 | Summon the Keeper by Tanya Huff
Buy new: £1.37 / Used from: £0.06 Worth reading for the cat alone, plus lots of other reasons. Tanya Huff reaches a new level with her latest series (though don't miss the Blood ... series and Of Darkness Light and Fire)
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 | The Second Summoning, the Keepers (Keeper's Chronicles) (Keeper's Chronicles) by Tanya Huff
Buy new: £1.81 / Used from: £1.29 The second Keeper novel, now followed by A Long Hot Summoning - may there be many more!
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 | Dragonsong by Anne McCaffrey
Buy new: £2.39 / Used from: £0.01 The 3rd or 4th of the great dragon novels, in the wonderful days before Anne McCaffrey went off the boil. The sequel to this, Dragonsinger is good too.
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 | The Crystal Singer Omnibus by Anne McCaffrey
Buy new: £6.99 / Used from: £1.75 An omnibus: the first two are brilliant - skip the third!
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 | Restoree by Anne McCaffrey
Buy new: £1.74 / Used from: £0.01 Not sure what it is about this one - good but not great, but scores very highly on re-readability
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 | All Passion Spent (Tr) by Vita Sackville West
Buy new: £110.88 / Used from: £32.48 Now we come to real litritcha. A novel for anyone who's got bogged down in the humdrum stuff of life.
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 | Middlemarch (Penguin Popular Classics) by George Eliot
Buy used from: £0.01 One of the greatest novels of all time. Slightly heavy going at first, but develops into a 7-course banquet of a read - very satisfying.
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 | Pride and Prejudice (Penguin Popular Classics) by Jane Austen
Buy new: £1.80 / Used from: £0.01 Anything by Jane Austen is worth much rereading, and this is the jewel in her crown. The first time it's a great story. Then each time you get more and more of the subtle nuances and biting wit.
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 | Barchester Towers (English Library) by Anthony Trollope
Buy new: £2.69 / Used from: £0.01 None of Trollope's other novels quite come up to this one. And it's laugh-out-loud funny at times.
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 | North and South (Penguin Classics) by Elizabeth Gaskell
Buy new: £2.73 / Used from: £2.20 Mrs Gaskell is a very versatile author. This is my favourite - drama with interesting social comment, and two storming lead characters.
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 | The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing by Melissa Bank
Buy new: £2.94 / Used from: £0.01 Seriously good, and nothing like the pastel-covered archly-humorous chick-fiction which gets churned out so often. Don't read anywhere you'd be embarrassed to laugh aloud or cry.
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