Listmania!
the past is a foreign country - book list by mark
The Catcher in the RyeThe Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
Buy new: £4.89 / Used from: £0.88
Must always start with no.1 no matter how unoriginal the choice. The masterpiece, turbulant, worrying, strikingly and honesty beautiful. The soundtrack of your life
All Quiet on the Orient ExpressAll Quiet on the Orient Express by Magnus Mills
Buy used from: £0.01
I will miss this book for eternity. Very observant, very worrying. People can compain it goes no where, it's just a tease, one huge build up. But what a ride.
Moon PalaceMoon Palace by Paul Auster
Buy new: £4.78 / Used from: £1.40
Holden Caulfield has a scrap with Billy the kid. The first pages are perhaps the best ever written. The book slopes in the middle but stick with it.
The Rachel PapersThe Rachel Papers by Martin Amis
Buy new: £5.23 / Used from: £1.04
Naughty, has less effect as you get older, still wickidly funny.
Thirty-nothingThirty-nothing by Lisa Jewell
Buy new: £5.99 / Used from: £0.01
Not just another book about tiresome thirty somethings. So twisty it's an intestine. Immense nostalgic dialogue.
South of the Border, West of the Sun (Panther)South of the Border, West of the Sun (Panther) by Haruki Murakami
Buy used from: £1.95
A japanese david lynch in text. Spooky, enchanting, almost childlike. Dark and beautiful. Translated from Japanese with brilliance.
The Go-Between (Essential Penguin)The Go-Between (Essential Penguin) by L.P. Hartley
Buy used from: £1.93
The greatest ever first line in a book. It's a grown up bagpuss, sort of.
The Ballad of the Sad Cafe (Essential.penguin): WITH WunderkindThe Ballad of the Sad Cafe (Essential.penguin): WITH Wunderkind by Carson McCullers
Buy used from: £2.75
Hardwork and a little backwards but extremely rewarding. It's a bit like a magnus mills wild west sort of thing. Mad dwarfs, beautiful women with worrying secrets, cowboys, neighbourhood watch.
Animal Farm: A Fairy StoryAnimal Farm: A Fairy Story by George Orwell
Buy used from: £0.01
The only book they made me read at school I cared for. A little more thoughtful than the obvious choice of 1984. Dictator pigs and everything!
Lost in MusicLost in Music by Giles Smith
Buy new: £4.99 / Used from: £0.01
Great book about us obsessive, irraltional and plainly silly musicians. Desperately true, funny and sad.
High FidelityHigh Fidelity by Nick Hornby
Buy new: £4.97 / Used from: £0.01
Just brilliant. Brilliantly written, brilliantly quoted. So true it's painfull. For anyone invovled in music and crap with girls.
The International GooseberryThe International Gooseberry by Ben Hatch
Buy used from: £0.01
Adrian Mole grows up and gets sensitive. Touching, weepy. You'll never forget the fate of Brown bear
The Virgin SuicidesThe Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
Buy new: £5.40 / Used from: £0.47
And the film was actually super too. Story of longing, loss of innocence and mystery. Truly beautiful. Great dialogue.
My Legendary Girlfriend: A hilarious novel for anyone who has ever dumped, been dumped or lived in a dumpMy Legendary Girlfriend: A hilarious novel for anyone who has ever dumped, been dumped or lived in a dump by Mike Gayle
Buy new: £5.49 / Used from: £0.01
People have found it hard to show true compassion for this book. Lost in an array of "lad lit" this shines above. More longing, more depressive yet beautiful retro narratives. Spot the theme here?
The Boy Next DoorThe Boy Next Door by Meggin Cabot
Buy new: £7.56 / Used from: £0.01
It's probably really cool to hate this book. Simple boy still loves girl from childhood story. I just loved it. Sunny and happy. Plus the cover resembles the beach boys "smile" album