Joanna Trollope

Joanna Trollope may be the literary patron saint of Middle England, but she appreciates diversity on her books, as her choices - from historical fiction to a memoir of an African childhood go to show…

"I really like to read on a plane - it's the best place because no-one can get at you, but if not, it's bed, with piles of pillows. My first book is The Night Watch by Sarah Waters. I think it should have won the Booker Prize. It's about emotional suffering and she does it with extraordinary delicacy. It's really credible as a portrait of London and people in emotional and physical turmoil. It's absolutely spot-on.

My second book is the thing to read if you want to be unbelievably cheered up. Nora Ephron's I Feel Bad About My Neck is a series of lighthearted essays about women getting older, and it's truly funny, witty and intelligently written.

Don't Let's Go To The Dogs Tonight is my third current bedtime read. It's a memoir of a childhood in Kenya, and it's a marvellously contrasting childhood - an affirmative, tremendous childhood. Alexandra Fuller has a really, really original voice. "

The Night Watch by Sarah Waters: RRP: £7.99
I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron: RRP: £12.99
Don't Let's Go To The Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller: RRP: £7.99