If you read the others, you'll want to read this for sure.

In short: why we won and they lost. A fresh look at the blunders and triumphs, suggesting it could have gone either way.

Nick Cave turns to fiction with this in-yer-face but stylish take on seaside boading house life.

More angry than 'The Kite Runner', and less subtle. But still pretty gripping.

Domestic servants' perspective on the civil rights struggle of the early 1906s. Good.

Period ghost story from the author of the current No. 1bestseller, giving rise to mixed reactions stateside.

Zafon returns with another gothic fairytale; desperate crushes, magical libraries, dark, silly plots. It's all there. The Civil War background serves only to provide a villain or two, which is a pity.

Good social history built around a seminal Victorian murder investigation. But not a whodunnit, please note!

Excoriating but tedious novel about nasty New York liberals. Lacks the originality or inspiration of Notes on a Scandal, unfortunately.

Patchy, sometimes brilliant, sometimes indulgent, sometimes long-winded debut that was unveiled with an almighty fanfare stateside, with mixed results. See for yourself.

Remarkable non-fiction tale of a climber's cross-cultural journey in what is now one of the world's hottest conflict zones.

Invasion of the bodysnatchers given the Meyer treatment. Don't expect a plagiarism suit this time, though.

The most striking thing about this book will turn out to be the print run. Beyond that... well, we shall see...