 | Affinity by Sarah Waters
Buy used from: £7.49 Actually more absorbing than Fingersmith, and a good introduction to Sarah Waters.
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 | The Gormenghast Trilogy by Mervyn Peake
Buy new: £9.98 / Used from: £4.03 Beautifully written, imaginative and dark. Couldn't put it down!
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 | The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
My mum read this to my brother and I when we were kids - it's even more beautiful now I'm grown up!
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 | Lords and Ladies: A Discworld Novel by Terry Pratchett
Buy new: £5.46 / Used from: £0.01 One of Pratchett's best, in my opinion! I must have read it a dozen times!
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 | The Lord of the Rings (3 Book Box set) by J.R.R. Tolkien
Buy new: £14.00 / Used from: £11.99 Probably the best book I've ever read (again and again!). The films really didn't do the books justice, I don't think anyone actually could!
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 | The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
Buy new: £4.35 / Used from: £0.01 A good introduction to Tolkein - should be read before reading Lord of the Rings, if only to get to know some of the characters!
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 | Boudica: Dreaming the Eagle (Boudica 1) by M.C. Scott
Buy new: £5.96 / Used from: £0.01 I love the legend of Boudica, and this is a nice fictional take on her life. There are four books in the series.
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 | A Dog Called Demolition by Robert Rankin
Buy new: £5.28 / Used from: £0.01 One of Rankin's darker books (if that's possible). Great use of language, and a warped imagination!
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 | The House of Sleep by Jonathan Coe
Buy used from: £0.01 This book surprised me - not being a major Coe fan. Excellently written, and with a twisted plot.
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 | The Tales of the Otori Trilogy: "Across the Nightingale Floor" , "Grass for His Pillow" , "Brilliance of the Moon"
Buy used from: £11.10 Even though this is aimed at young adults, it is a fascinating story, and so very beautifully written. Everyone I've recommended this to has loved it!
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 | The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy: A Trilogy in Five Parts by Douglas Adams
Buy new: £12.27 / Used from: £10.50 I absolutely love this series - some of the funniest books I've ever read! Adams is sorely missed.
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 | The Dark Lord of Derkholm (Gollancz S.F.) by Diana Wynne Jones
Buy used from: £10.99 Wynne Jones is a magnificent story teller - so much better than Rowling! Completely original, spellbinding and freakish. I love this book, and can't wait to read the sequal!
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 | Royal Flash (The Flashman papers) by George MacDonald Fraser
Buy new: £4.92 / Used from: £0.99 Not one for the politically correct brigade - but highly recommended if you like hugely funny books! In this one, the hateful Flashman gets a taste of his own medicine!
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 | Hotel World by Ali Smith
Buy new: £5.30 / Used from: £0.01 This book blew me away, I love her use of language and her unorthodox storytelling. Should have won the 2001 Orange Prize for Fiction in my personal opinion!
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 | Sharpe's Fortress by Bernard Cornwell
Buy used from: £0.01 This is the book where I actually fell in love with Richard Sharpe! Dirty fighting, un-pc language, and behaviour, and the total rogue Sharpe! Just read them all, they're worth it!
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 | Out by Natsuo Kirino
Buy new: £5.96 / Used from: £0.01 This book is one of the most absorbing I've read in a long time. Stark, beautiful and so quietly disturbing it took my breath away.
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 | Lighthousekeeping by Jeanette Winterson
Buy used from: £0.01 Now, I'm not soppy at all, but I had to mention this book. It reaffirmed my faith in love, which worries me for some reason...
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 | Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian
Buy new: £5.97 / Used from: £0.01 I watched the film first, which I really enjoyed, so thought I'd get the book. What a revelation! I'm not sure if it was meant to, but it had me cracking up all over the place!
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 | American Gods by Neil Gaiman
Buy new: £4.79 / Used from: £2.73 This is such an easy read, for a big book. Gaiman takes a slanted look at the way Gods would behave, if they were real. Weird, wonderful and utterly entertaining! Typical Gaiman.
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 | Nights at the Circus by Angela Carter
Buy new: £4.99 / Used from: £2.90 I never thought I'd find a rival for Tolkein in my affection, but along came Angela Carter... A summery will not even begin to do this book justice - read her, you'll be left in awe of her talent...
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 | The Carhullan Army by Sarah Hall
Buy new: £8.99 / Used from: £0.01 Here is a rather scary tale, set in England after some unnamed natural disaster. The worst thing is, it feels too real, too likly to happen. Needless to say, the story has stayed with me...
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 | Forever Amber by Kathleen Winsor
Buy new: £6.59 / Used from: £3.98 I read this book when I was just 18, and fell in love with Amber. Her innocence throughout is obvious, as is her ambition! The ending really made me angry though, but it has stuck with me for years!
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 | The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins
Buy new: £4.49 / Used from: £3.00 I prefer novels, but this book is one of the best non-fiction, rational, eye-opening, clear thinking books I've ever read. I am now a huge fan of Prof. Dawkins!
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 | Too Fast to Live (Duck Editions) by Bidisha
Buy used from: £0.01 I have to admit to being a bit jealous of Bidisha after reading this book. So young, and such a writer! This book is by turns beautiful and disturbing. She makes you love her broken characters...
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