My Favourite reads

Among the first literary works to feature a war between humans and extra terrestrial beings, The War of the Worlds is one of the most talked-about works of science fiction in history.

After a strange shooting star illuminates England’s night sky, a mysterious cylinder is discovered in Surrey. Despite the local people’s attempt at a calm approach, when extra terrestrial beings emerge from the curious object, it’s soon evident that peace is far from their minds.

First published in 1897, The War of the Worlds is H. G. Wells’ famous science fiction masterpiece. The novel has obvious connections with the popular invasion fiction of the time, and has been interpreted as an exploration of British imperialism, evolution theory, and Victorian superstitions.

December 1943. A group of US fighter pilots is camped at a windswept air base in Norfolk. Their job is to escort bombers over Germany, and each mission could be their last. Among them are cocky Lieutenant Mickey Morse (nicknamed ‘Mickey Mouse’), who is almost on his way to becoming a Flying Ace, and reserved Captain Jamie Farebrother, who is starting to fall in love with an English woman. All they have in common is their courage – until the day their lives converge in ways they could never have imagined.

‘Truly astonishing in its recreation of a time and place … it is a novel of memory, satisfying on every imaginable level’  – Washington Post

Marie Laure lives with her father in Paris within walking distance of the Museum of Natural History where he works as the master of the locks (there are thousands of locks in the museum). When she is six, she goes blind, and her father builds her a model of their neighbourhood, every house, every manhole, so she can memorize it with her fingers and navigate the real streets with her feet and cane. When the Germans occupy Paris, father and daughter flee to Saint-Malo on the Brittany coast, where Marie-Laure’s agoraphobic great uncle lives in a tall, narrow house by the sea wall.

In another world in Germany, an orphan boy, Werner, grows up with his younger sister, Jutta, both enchanted by a crude radio Werner finds. He becomes a master at building and fixing radios, a talent that wins him a place at an elite and brutal military academy and, ultimately, makes him a highly specialized tracker of the Resistance. Werner travels through the heart of Hitler Youth to the far-flung outskirts of Russia, and finally into Saint-Malo, where his path converges with Marie-Laure.

Doer’s gorgeous combination of soaring imagination with observation is electric. Deftly interweaving the lives of Marie-Laure and Werner, Doerr illuminates the ways, against all odds, people try to be good to one another. Ten years in the writing, All the Light We Cannot See is his most ambitious and dazzling work.

Hero or traitor? King or outlaw? Discover the life of Scottish hero Robert the Bruce in this thrilling trilogy.

Master storyteller Nigel Tranter tells the tale of the legendary warrior, and future King of Scots. Tutored and encouraged by William Wallace, Robert the Bruce determined to continue the fight for an independent Scotland, sustained by a passionate love for his land.

This edition collects together Steps to the Empty Throne, Price of the King’s Peaceand Path of the Hero King, from the master of Scottish historical fiction.

Praise for Nigel Tranter:

‘One of Scotland’s most prolific and respected writers’ Times

‘Through his imaginative dialogue, he provides a voice for Scotland’s heroes’ Scotland on Sunday

Wolf Hall Trilogy 3 Books Collection Set By Hilary Mantel: The Mirror and the Light: England, May 1536. Anne Boleyn is dead, decapitated in the space of a heartbeat by a hired French executioner. As her remains are bundled into oblivion, Thomas Cromwell breakfasts with the victors. The blacksmith’s son from Putney emerges from the spring’s bloodbath to continue his climb to power and wealth, while his formidable master, Henry VIII, settles to short-lived happiness with his third queen, Jane Seymour. Wolf Hall: In Wolf Hall, one of our very best writers brings the opulent, brutal world of the Tudors to bloody, glittering life. It is the backdrop to the rise and rise of Thomas Cromwell: lowborn boy, charmer, bully, master of deadly intrigue, and , finally, most powerful of Henry VIII’s coutiers. Bring Up the Bodies: Bring Up the Bodies unlocks the darkly glittering court of Henry VIII, where Thomas Cromwell is now chief minister. With Henry captivated by plain Jane Seymour and rumours of Anne Boleyn’s faithlessness whispered by all, Cromwell knows what he must do to secure his position. But the bloody theatre of the queen’s final days will leave no one unscathed.

When Adam Kussgarten’s twin brother is found gunned down just yards from his flat, Adam is drawn out of his solitary, dream-like life into a neon-lit world of forgery, deceit, and violence.

The Ruins is the story of twin brothers – Adam and Brandon – who haven’t spoken for decades, When Brandon is found gunned down just streets from Adam’s flat, Brandon’s girlfriend enlists Adam to find out what he was doing there and who killed him. Shy, stuttering Adam finds himself caught up in his brother’s world of deception, violence, and forgery. As things turn increasingly dark and his entanglements with his brother’s family grow, he’s faced with a choice of whether to dive deeper into Brandon’s world and risk losing himself, or turn his back on his future