Have you read a good book on your journey recently? If so, send us a 60-word review, including author, title and publisher details, and we’ll print the best ones.
The latest recommendation, from Issue 28 is from Mrs Jo Baker, Basingstoke...
A Girl’s Guide To Kissing Frogs
Victoria Clayton(Harper Fiction, £6.99)
When ballet dancer Marigold breaks her foot, life pirouettes between a manipulative boss, childhood crush and mysterious stranger. The starring role in a new ballet tests her recovery and the motives of those she loves. This story of love and determination is often roar-with-laughter funny. Beware curious glances on the train.
This recommendation, from Issue 27, is from Mrs Tricia Fairclough, Bournemouth...
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
John Boyne (Transworld paperback, £6.99)
The title drew me with a sense of foreboding. Set within the worst conflict of our modern world, the story is told by a nine-year-old boy as he befriends another child on the “other side of the fence”. This haunting book can be read on different levels, drawing you to its chilling consequence.
This recommendation, from Issue 26, is from Jenny Pearce of Bournemouth...
One red paperclip
Kyle MacDonald (Ebury Press, £10.99)
This book tells the autobiographical quest to swap items, starting with one red paperclip, for bigger and better ones, with the aim of finally trading up to a house. Entertaining and compelling, it illustrates the internet’s power and a man’s determination to improve his life.
This recommendation, from Issue 25, is by Katherine Rigby of London SW5...
Never Admit to Beige
Jonathan Drapes (Pan Macmillan, £7.99)
This is undoubtably one of the funniest books I have ever read. A gormless Englishman leaves his nine-to-five life and travels to the Gold Coast, Australia, to track down the person who has stolen his luck (seriously!). In the process, he becomes caught up with elderly gangsters, Japanese mafia and what must be one of the funniest golf games of all time.
This recommendation, from Issue 24, is by Vikki Grist of Southsea...
A Spot of Bother
Mark Haddon (Jonathon Cape, £7.99)
George, a middle-aged man, finds that retirement does not go as he imagined when he discovers his wife having an affair, his son’s gay relationship breaking down and his daughter’s wedding plans going haywire. This book deals with serious issues in a tender and laugh-out-loud funny way and is an easy, heartwarming read.
This recommendation, from Issue 23, is by Susan Bunce of Eastleigh…
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
John Boyne (Black Swan, £6.99)
1942 Berlin. A German child called Bruno returns home and discovers that his family is moving. The family’s new home is isolated and a tall fence runs alongside it for as far as the eye can see. Bruno befriends a thin boy on the other side of the fence and so begins a moving tale that can only end in tragedy.
This recommendation, from Issue 22, is by Francesca Sale of London…
The Russian Lieutenant’s Woman—A Tale of Love, Betrayal and Vodka
Barbara Davies (Hodder & Stoughton, £12.99)
A train journey to the edge of the Ural mountains in the depths of a Russian winter, an interview with a cannibal serial killer, a chance meeting with a handsome lieutenant: this fast-paced memoir tells of the most unlikely romance between a British writer and a Russian army officer. Her story swept me away. It is stunning, romantic, moving and unputdownable.
This recommendation, from Issue 21, is by Peter Long of Newquay…
Small Island
Andrea Levy (Headline Review, £7.99)
Set in post-World War II Britain, the story portrays the arrival of Commonwealth citizens from Jamaica—the descendants of African slaves. With this year being the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade, the themes explored, including our society’s views of immigrants from 1945 to the present, are pertinent.
This recommendation, from Issue 20, is by Grant Heinrich of London…
Opening Skinner’s Box
Lauren Slater (Bloomsbury, £7.99)
A “history of the 20th century through the prism of scientific experimentation”, this cross between non-fiction and a novel begins with the “people will obey anyone in a white coat” electric-shock experiments at Yale, and then gets darker and darker. If you are a fan of science-fiction books that are also emotionally raw and suspenseful, you really can’t skip this. It made my hair stand on end.