Read the opening extract of the brand new Salley Vickers book before its publication on 23/05/2013
You loved your last book...
but what are you going to read next?
21 May
Plato, the Greek philosopher, mathematician and writer born in 427 BC. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the foundations of natural philosophy, science, and Western philosophy. Read more about Plato's life
Using our unique guidance tools, Lovereading will help you find new books to keep you inspired and entertained. And it's all free!
Email Newsletters about newly published books in your favourite categories
The Knife of Never Letting Go - Patrick Ness http://t.co/oOmP5lweB3 - An electrifying novel about the choices of growing up.
59 minutes ago
The Dinner - Herman Koch http://t.co/7XPD8LrpRR - A tour de force of middle class morality in the face of family disaster.
1 hour ago
Sign up to receive free personalised email newsletters. If you love reading, this is a great way of keeping up with new books and major goings on in the literary world. Lovereading's emails include a small selection of books from your favourite categories. You can download an Opening Extract of any or all of them to help find which you might like to read. All you need do is give us your email address,tell us what kind of books you'd like to hear about and how frequently.
May 08 News - Lovereading is the 15th best bookshop in the country -
according to the Independent
This year's most useful new book site is Lovereading - which specialises in offering free downloads of the first chapters of all their featured books across a load of categories.
Miles Mendoza, Website of the Day
The Steve Wright Show - BBC Radio 2 (Dec 2005)
Find it on Lovereading.co.uk
If you already have a book in mind, just enter the title, author or ISBN in the search box above. We use the same book wholesalers as the biggest of the online and high street book stores. So, if it's in print, Lovereading should have it! You can even search for audio books on CD.
Opening Extracts
You wouldn't buy a car without a test-drive; you wouldn't buy shoes without trying them for size; so before you buy a book, make sure it's for you!
Uniquely on Lovereading, you can read the Opening Extract of every Featured Book. This could be the first chapter; less if the chapters are long, more if they're short. We aim to give you enough of a book to really get a taste for the author.
Click the 'download extract' button next to a title and choose 'open' when prompted to open or save the file. You can read it on your screen or print out to enjoy on the train or in your garden.
Author Like-for-Like
Expert Guidance
For days you're wrapped up in an amazing story; then suddenly it's over. When you've finished a great book, Lovereading's Like-for-Like tool helps you find another to fill the empty feeling. Sarah Broadhurst has reviewed 500+ top authors and used her encyclopaedic knowledge to recommend other authors similar in style. Just type in a name and explore some new literary avenues.
Wishlist
Keep track of books that interest you
Even if you read non-stop it's tough keeping up with the dozens of great books published every month. Our Wishlist feature lets you keep an electronic note-to-self of books that catch your eye. So if you don't want to buy it now, at least you won't let some life-changing literature slip by. You can also email your list to friends and family, so they'll know exactly what you want for Christmas!
Email Newsletters
Stay clued up about books
Lovereading's email newsletters give you the low-down on the best new books in the categories of your choice. There are sneak previews of Exclusive Pre-Publication titles, information on special offers and innovations on the website, and exciting news from the book world.
When you register, choose how often you'd like to receive information. Then choose which categories you'd like to hear about, and we'll send you information on the books we think you'll enjoy most.
You can change these settings at any time by clicking 'My Account' right at the top of the screen.
Exclusive Pre-Publication
Stay pages ahead with our Exclusive Pre-Publication genre. Each month we sneak-preview a small selection of huge new titles before they hit the shops.
"Uncorrected proofs" are editions of books printed in small numbers and sent to reviewers and book buyers. Lovereading lets you download and print off Opening Extracts of these 'not-even-on-the-presses' books, and pre-order copies for quick despatch when they are properly published.
There are also chances to win uncorrected proofs signed by their authors - something for any reader to really treasure.
25% Discount
Spend less, read more
To top it all off, Lovereading is incredibly good value. There are over 500,000 books available to buy, almost all of them 25% cheaper than the RRP.
This month's 'featured books'
Books of the Month
Flight Behaviour Barbara Kingsolver
May 2013 Book of the Month.
Winner of the Orange Prize for Fiction in 2010 and on the shortlist for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2013.
A topical, engrossing and thought-provoking read exploring how... Format: Paperback - Released: 18/04/2013
The Shining Girls Lauren Beukes
May 2013 Book of the Month.
The girl who wouldn't die, hunting a killer who shouldn't exist... The Time Traveler's Wife meets The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo in this terrifying... Format: Hardback - Released: 25/04/2013
Walking Home Simon Armitage
May 2013 Travel Book of the Month.
A uniquely charming, droll, moving, British narrative from writer and poet Simon Armitage as he recounts his 256 mile (North to South) walk along the Pennine... Format: Paperback - Released: 04/04/2013
The Twelve Justin Cronin
May 2013 Book of the Month and eBook of the Month.
The Passage was a huge and sweeping thriller telling the story of the end of civilisation and what happened to the... Format: Paperback - Released: 25/04/2013
This month's 'featured books'
F Scott Fitzgerald
Tender is the Night F. Scott Fitzgerald
Peopled by an unforgettable cast of aristocrats and high-fliers, Tender is the Night is at once a scathing critique of the materialism and hypocrisy of the Roaring Twenties and a poignant and sensitive account of personal tragedy and disillusionment.
Baz Luhrmann's... Format: Paperback - Released: 17/08/2012
The Last Tycoon F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Last Tycoon is a sophisticated, gripping tale of love and intrigue in the Golden Age of Hollywood, containing what many critics have claimed are Fitzgerald's most modern and engaging characters.
Baz Luhrmann's film adaptation of The Great Gatsby, starring Leonardo... Format: Paperback - Released: 28/05/2013
This Side of Paradise F. Scott Fitzgerald
A critical account of its own era, introducing many themes which would be developed in later works, Fitzgerald's first novel was an instant critical and commercial success, propelling him into the limelight as a literary celebrity.
Baz Luhrmann's film adaptation of... Format: Paperback - Released: 27/09/2012
The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald
Jay Gatsby's parties are legendary. Night and day, the rich and beautiful descend upon his mansion to drink and to dance. For Nick Carraway, newly arrived on Long Island, the handsome, wealthy Gatsby seems to lead the perfect life. But... Format: Paperback - Released: 11/04/2013
This month's 'featured books'
Author of the Month
The Poisonwood Bible Barbara Kingsolver
One of Susan Fletcher's favourite books.
A fascinating story told from the perspective of a mother and her four daughters who have been taken to the Congo, by the father of the family, on a mission to bring God to... Format: Paperback - Released: 11/04/2013
The Bean Trees Barbara Kingsolver
One of Kerry Reich's favourite books.
A book about love and friendship. Kingsolver always creates believable and interesting characters who enthral the reader and this story is no different. Taylor does not want to get pregnant young and live in... Format: Paperback - Released: 01/03/2001
Flight Behaviour Barbara Kingsolver
May 2013 Book of the Month.
Winner of the Orange Prize for Fiction in 2010 and on the shortlist for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2013.
A topical, engrossing and thought-provoking read exploring how... Format: Paperback - Released: 18/04/2013
Pigs in Heaven Barbara Kingsolver
Pigs in Heaven travels the roads from rural Kentucky and the urban Southwest to Heaven, Oklahoma, and the Cherokee Nation, testing the boundaries of family and the many separate truths about the ties that bind. It is a spellbinding novel... Format: Paperback - Released: 11/04/2013
This month's 'featured books'
Debuts of the Month
This is How it Ends Kathleen MacMahon
This is when it begins Autumn, 2008. This is where it begins The coast of Dublin. This is why it begins Bruno, an American, has come to Ireland to search for his roots. Addie, an out-of-work architect, is recovering from... Format: Paperback - Released: 09/05/2013
The Prophet of Bones Ted Kosmatka
If Carlsson discovers the truth too many powerful interests have far too much to lose. But not every prophet is without honour. And Carlsson, alone and on the run, is determined to reveal the discovery to a world in which... Format: Paperback - Released: 25/04/2013
The Burial Courtney Collins
May 2013 Debut of the Month.
A breathtakingly brilliant debut novel in the tradition of Cormac McCarthy, inspired by the life of legendary female... Format: Paperback - Released: 02/05/2013
Golden Boy Abigail Tarttelin
May 2013 Debut of the Month.
This controversial book dealing with issues of identity, gender and sexuality and freedom of the press is set to... Format: Hardback - Released: 09/05/2013
This month's 'featured books'
Reading Groups
The Memory of Lost Senses Judith Kinghorn
A lyrically written and wonderfully evocative, romantic historical novel that draws you into the intriguing and secret lives of the characters in the hot lazy summer of 1911. A Countess, her grandson, a famous author writing her memoir and a... Format: Paperback - Released: 23/05/2013
The Conception of Zachary Muse Jason Hinojosa
This compelling, allegorical tale of the transformative power of nature, the devastatingly positive and negative effects of love and the power of feminine beauty is frankly hard to categorise. The writing is evocative and lyrical and the story has more... Format: Book - Released: 26/02/2013
The Cleaner of Chartres Salley Vickers
A captivating, magical and slightly sinister story of secrets, forgiveness, loss and love. It’s the perfect book for readers who loved Joanne Harris' Chocolat. No one knows where the mysterious cleaner came from, and she is happy to hide... Format: Paperback - Released: 23/05/2013
Elijah's Mermaid Essie Fox
May 2013 Book of the Month.
A panoply of characters bring Victorian London’s polarised society vividly to life. The lives of two orphans brought up by their grandfather and a baby found in... Format: Paperback - Released: 09/05/2013
Bring Up the Bodies Hilary Mantel
Shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2013.
With her dazzling, utterly absorbing style of writing Bring Up the Bodies focuses on the downfall and destruction of the charismatic Anne Boleyn. This is the sequel to the 2009 Man Booker-winning Format: Paperback - Released: 07/05/2013
Dead Ever After A True Blood Novel Charlaine Harris
Sookie Stackhouse has one last adventure in store. Life has taken her from a waitress in Merlotte's Bar, Bon Temps, to part owner; from social outcast to the heart of her community; from a vampire's girlfriend to the wife of... Format: Hardback - Released: 07/05/2013
The Summer House Santa Montefiore
Antoinette's world has fallen apart: her husband, the man she has loved for as long as she can remember, has died tragically in an accident. He was her rock, the man she turned to for love and support, the man... Format: Paperback - Released: 25/04/2013
This month's 'featured books'
eBooks
Sweet Tooth Ian McEwan
The year is 1972. The Cold War is far from over. Britain is being torn apart by industrial unrest and terrorism. Serena Frome is being groomed for MI5. Serena is sent on a secret mission which brings her into the... Format: Paperback - Released: 09/05/2013
Deadlands Lily Herne
Yes there are zombies in this book, but don’t be put off as you will miss a gritty, sharply written, even at times funny, dystopian novel. An unspecified apocalypse leaves Capetown a wasteland of zombies and cowering humans protected by... Format: Paperback - Released: 18/04/2013
Telegraph Avenue Michael Chabon
From the bestselling author of 'The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay'; his first novel in 5 years is a lovingly painted pop-culture epic. As summer in Oakland, California, draws to a close, Archy Stallings and Nat Jaffe are hanging... Format: Paperback - Released: 15/04/2013
Zoo Time Howard Jacobson
Winner of the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize 2013.
The new novel from the author of The Finkler Question, winner of the Man Booker Prize 2010. Zoo Time is a novel about love - love of women, love of literature and love... Format: Paperback - Released: 23/05/2013