05 Feb
Thomas Carlyle died 1881. Carlyle's authoratiative work on The French Revolution was nearly a non starter when the first volume was accidentally burned by the philosopher John Stuart Mill's maid.
Your chance to see and find out more about the Books of the Decade as voted for by you
Featured Books
The Time Traveler's Wife Audrey Niffenegger
A 2012 World Book Night selection.
Voted the Book of the Decade by Lovereading readers.
Shortlisted for the RNA Romantic Film of the Year Award 2010.
A huge book in every way. The protagonists meet each other at different times throughout... Format: Paperback - Released: 06/01/2005
The Kite Runner Khaled Hosseini
Voted 2nd in the Books of the Decade by Lovereading readers.
Voted as the Penguin/Orange Reading Group Book of the Year 2006 and 2007.
This book seemed to come out of nowhere. It was the first Afghan novel to be written in... Format: Paperback - Released: 07/06/2004
The Book Thief Markus Zusak
A 2012 World Book Night selection.
Voted 3rd in the Books of the Decade by Lovereading readers.
Shortlisted for the Newcomer of the Year Award at the Galaxy British Book Awards 2008.
This is the story of a street of ordinary German people... Format: Paperback - Released: 01/01/2008
Girl with a Pearl Earring Tracy Chevalier
Centring on Vermeer’s household in the 1660s in Delft, this speculative historical novel tells of his relationship with a servant girl, Griet, who became his assistant and the model for the painting of the title. Written in a simple style,... Format: Paperback - Released: 03/07/2006
Chocolat Joanne Harris
Into a small rural French village comes a mysterious woman, Vianne, her young daughter and the child’s invisible rabbit. They open a chocolate shop opposite the church. It is Lent and a strange war breaks out between the church and... Format: Paperback - Released: 02/03/2000
The Lovely Bones Alice Sebold
Related from heaven after a brutal rape, Susie watches her family grieve and disintegrate, watches her friends and indeed watches her killer and the sad detective working on her case. Over the years we live and cry with them for... Format: Paperback - Released: 06/06/2003
We Need to Talk About Kevin Lionel Shriver
Winner of the Orange Prize for Fiction 2005.
Narrated by a mother, Eve, in letters to her estranged husband, this is a truly horrific story of a 15-year old boy’s killing spree but it is more the tale of how he... Format: Paperback (b Format) - Released: 09/05/2006
The Shadow of the Wind Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Exlusive Limited Edition. Barcelona, a city of secret police and secret love. In it a
bookseller’s son finds a forgotten novel and stumbles upon a mystery as
all copies of the author’s books are sought and destroyed by a sinister
character... Format: Paperback - Released: 02/04/2009
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas John Boyne
Voted 2009 Penguin Orange Readers' Group Book of the Year.
Now a major film.
Initially it is difficult to believe that the young son of the commandant of Auschwitz is as innocent as he is, then... Format: Paperback - Released: 11/09/2008
Small Island Andrea Levy
Shortlisted for the Best of the Orange Best 2010 by the Orange Prize Youth Panel.
A novel about racism, prejudice and injustice in the post war years in London as Jamaicans, escaping economic hardship, move to the Mother Country. Told from... Format: Paperback - Released: 03/09/2009
In February we launched our search for the Readers Book of the Decade. To begin with Sarah Broadhurst, our Editorial guru choose her 50 favourites from the last 10 years and then it was over to you. Well 10,000 votes later we had our Top 10 and now we have the winners.
Sarah Broadhurst, our Editorial guru says of the list:
"Ten terrific books, something for everyone from love story (The Time Traveler's Wife) to thriller (The Shadow of the Wind), strong drama (The Kite Runner) to a book narrated by Death himself (The Book Thief); a difficult choice to choose just one. I have, now you must. It is interesting to note that of the ten, seven have been filmed. Good films though they may be, none of them can portray the full depth and strength of the novels so if you have seen the film, now read the book and glean so much more from it."
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Sarah Broadhurst, our Editorial guru says of the list:
John Boyne 
