I’m always a little unsure of what to pick out from the library or bookshop because I have a very in-between taste in books. Don’t like Da Vinci Code but cannot get through James Joyce. Don’t like to stick to any one writer or genre but then again, not quite bookish enough to keep abreast of the literary scene. But I’m really devoid of stuff to read at night at the moment and re-reads just don’t quite cut it.
Had a chat with Kenny and Karen, owners of Books Actually and Polymath & Crust (ostensibly for a possible article but mostly because I love hanging out in their bookshops) last week and they suggested 10 must-reads which I thought I’d share because it seems like a pretty interesting selection. I’ve only read five four from their list (and thoroughly approve of the “must-read” status) which makes me a little excited that there are at least five six more fascinating reads to explore soon!
Top 5 Fiction Books
No One Belongs Here More Than You: Stories by Miranda July by Miranda July
What We Talk About When We Talk About Love: Stories by Raymond Carver
Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell
Lolita by Vladimir Nabakov
Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader by Anne Fadiman
Top 5 Non-Fiction Books
A Little History of The World by E.H. Gombrich
On Photography by Susan Sontag
Wildwood: A Journey Through Trees by Roger Deakin
How to Cook a Wolf by M.F.K. Fisher
QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter by Richard Feynman
