Show 15: the hip young novelist on her top reads for 2008
“I would read every minute of every day if I could, however, that’s just not practical! I try to squeeze my reading in, in bed late at night. I have three books by the side of my bed at the moment…”
The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
“The story’s about Eddie, a guy who runs an amusement arcade. We meet him when he’s 83; he’s very lonely and he’s questioning whether his life has had any meaning. It’s his 83rd birthday, and he dies in a terrible accident rescuing a little girl from one of the rides. He goes to heaven, and it’s not the sort of lush paradise that you might expect. He meets five people there who have profoundly affected his life and who explain it to him. It’s a very positive book.”
A Handful of Dust by Evelyn Waugh
“I do keep this by my bedside, and in fact, I’ve kept this particular copy there for twenty years. It’s a very bleak book and one that you might not expect for bedtime reading. Waugh wrote it in 1934, shortly after his wife had left him, and the theme of infidelity comes through throughout the book.”
Gentleman and Players by Joanne Harris
“I have a huge amount of admiration for Joanne Harris because she refuses to be pegged to any genre: she can write about the South of France and chocolate and magic just as well as she writes about the North of England and a boys’ grammar school, which is where this book is set. The hero is an unlikely, fusty old academic and I have absolutely fallen in love with this 65 year-old gent who stands staunchly for traditional values in the face of change. It’s a gripping thriller and as a writer, I often guess the endings of books, but this one had me held right to the last page: a true thriller. ”