The Stars My Destination - Alfred Bester

"This was a golden age, a time of high adventure, rich living, and hard dying ... but nobody thought so. This was a future of fortune and theft, pillage and rapine, culture and vice ... but nobody admitted it. This was an age of extremes, a fascinating century of freaks  ... but nobody loved it."

So begins this classic novel, a glorious epic of revenge, following the anti-hero Gully Foyle. Hugely recommended, even if you don't usually read science fiction. http://bit.ly/qZqt8H

The Marriage Plot - Jeffrey Eugenides

"There is no happiness in love, except at the end of an English novel." A great novel, following the lives of American college students in the 1980's - Madeleine, Leonard and Mitchell - as they fall in and out of love, and cope with growing up and settling down. Excellent characters, and a gripping story, this is engrossing, emotional and wise. http://bit.ly/z4FTTV

The Pirates! in an Adenture with Scientists - Gideon Defoe

 Its back! Unavailable for far too long, this hilarious story - the first in the series of four - is re-released ahead of a (brilliant-looking) film from Aardman due very soon. Genuinely laugh-out-loud funny, absolutely wonderful! http://bit.ly/yiGYX0

At Home - Bill Bryson

Endlessly fascinating, a huge history of how life is lived in the West - the objects, the rooms, how it has changed. Packed with interesting detail, not a page goes by without learning something fascinating. http://bit.ly/z4P7u4

I, Partridge: We Need to Talk About Alan - Alan Partridge

The best celebrity autobiography of all time. Fact. The cover is oddly similar to the poster for The Iron Lady, but don't let that stop you; every bit as wonderful as the man himself.  http://bit.ly/qxl0am

Flatland - Edwin Abbott

Satirical novel about a two-dimensional world occupied by geometric shapes who can't imagine a third dimension. Fascinating take on how we perieve space and senses. http://bit.ly/pvmPzK

Two Serious Ladies - Jane Bowles

A darkly comic tale of two society ladies' descent into debauchery. Unpredictable, quirky, unique. http://bit.ly/pvjIfV

 Tony & Susan - Austin Wright

Extraordinary novel , a page-turning thriller and at the same time, an insightful exploration of what it means to be a writer and to be a reader. At times, genuinely terrifying and in equal part fascinating. http://bit.ly/pTammA

A Void - Georges Perec

The mind-blowing novel that at no point uses the letter 'e'. No mis-spelling, no cheating - and it works! And is a genuinely good read too. Truly stunning. http://bit.ly/ohwpfc