My favourite books
Illustration by Tim Martin
If you read books about writing, they say that to write well, you need to read a lot. They also say you need to study the writing you are reading. Studying the writing is easier said than done. Some people find reading easy, and can not only immerse themselves in the story, they can also see all the techniques and styles that are being used. Others, like me, find reading difficult. I get on fine with the story, but the style and technique stuff is harder to follow. This is not because I have a low mental age. I find concentrating on the dense text quite difficult as my attention drifts to other things.
I tend to read about two books per month. I have been quite lucky in that I have very few books that fall into the did not finish pile. When they do fall into this pile, they are not bad; they are just not for me. So it is a great joy when I find a book that holds my attention. That is what this post is about.
These are the books that held my attention. They brought me joy, and most made me laugh. A couple of them I reread on an annual or bi-annual basis, and a couple more I intend to add to that rota. If I were stranded on a desert island, these are the books I would take with me. These are the books I would gift to others if I could.
Eight of these books are funny. The last is just beautiful and heart-wrenching. All of them have quotable lines, which is always a bonus down the pub. I would have loved to include the book covers, but I would rather not run the risk of copyright infringement. You will have to make do with the Amazon UK links.
The Books
They are written by three authors:
Matt Beaumont
You may have guessed from the number of titles listed that Matt Beaumont is my absolute favourite author. I have lost count of the number of times I have read e. This three-book series tells the story of the Miller Shanks advertising agency. It switches to the Meerkat 360 agency in e-squared. Written entirely in emails, they are laugh-out-loud funny. There are characters we can all recognise in any office environment.
James Crookes
A friend at work introduced me to these books and I will be forever grateful.
The 1980s were where I spent my late teens and early twenties. Anything that brings back memories of those times is a winner for me. In this series of books, James Crookes milks the 1980s for all their worth and does it brilliantly. A Sinclair C5 Time Machine. A desperate race to find Bob Geldof to ensure Band-Aid happens. Three books of madcap mayhem. Genius.
Sam Meekings
This book is different to all the rest. You won’t find any laughter in here. This is about a marriage between a rich girl and a poor boy who lived through Mao’s Cultural Revolution. It is beautifully written and has so many thought-provoking, quotable lines.
So what?
There you go. Nine books I would take with me to a desert island. If I were forced to take only one, it would be e. It is like a drug to me and I have a bad habit.
So, what have I concluded? I love to read. I love to read a certain type of book. No matter how much I read, I struggle to understand the technical tools being used by the authors, but I hope if I read enough, those techniques will find their way into my writing.
That’s it. Nothing more than a list of books that I adore. Why not check them out?
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