Lovereading.co.uk

The Book Awards category on Lovereading  will help you discover authors who are winners of, or have been in contention for, some of the most prestigious awards. By their very presence on this page, you can be sure that each of the books featured here is the 'crème-de-la-crème' of today's literature.

Special Offer to Lovereading readers - save 40% on Whole Story Audio books until 17 Oct. Click on a title to find out more...

Enjoy More Booktime with Audiobooks

At Lovereading we love books - the language, the stories, and the detail - that’s why we read. Audiobooks give you the opportunity to enjoy literature when reading a book isn’t an option – enabling you to enjoy MORE books wherever you are. Being read to is one of the joys of life, and being read to by the very best storytellers is what audiobooks are all about. So next time you’re driving, walking or working in the house, just pop on an audiobook and enjoy another book!

Do you want to know what other people are reading?

Conn Iggulden

Author of the Month for September

Born in London, Conn Iggulden read English at London University and worked as a teacher for seven years before becoming a full-time writer.

Belle de Jour
our Guest Editor for September

Belle de Jour rose to prominence with her award winning blog about her life as a London call girl. Her diaries, The Intimate Adventures of a London Call Girl and The Further Adventures of a London Call Girl, have both been bestsellers and adapted for a hit TV series starring Billie Piper. After six years of anonymity, Belle de Jour revealed her true identity in November 2009 as that of research scientist Dr Brooke Magnanti.
 
Author photo © Richard Saker - Guardian News Media

At Lovereading we’re passionate about all the books we feature.

Can you spot the prize-winners or the best-sellers in waiting? Do you want to start at the beginning with a writer whose every subsequent book you’re going to anticipate impatiently? Do you enjoy being the first to read the next must-read novel? If so, you can rely on Lovereading to keep you up-to-date.

It’s always great finding a new book to read but new doesn’t always have to mean newly published and with so many books being published every year it’s pretty darn impossible to see all the new ones let alone have time to read them.

Action is the keyword here! Just the fillip you need when you spend your working day behind a desk. With our online book review and free opening extract you’ll have all the information you need to choose the next action adventure you want to escape into.

If You Like...You'll Love...

We’ve all got friends who read more than we do and sometimes these friends are useful in helping us work out what to read next.  But do bear us in mind as well! At Lovereading, we hope you’ll consider our guidance as a ‘friend’ too! Let us help you discover new authors and titles through our hand-picked perfect matches that are not selected by a computer as they are on other online bookshops but in the traditional way by human hand and thought!

Books are great to read - but there are times, driving, commuting on a very very crowded train etc. when reading isn't always as easy as it should be. So, more and more publishers are now producing audio CD versions of their books.

Our revamped Biography section now has our 'expert voice' Sue Baker recommending some fabulous books. In Sue's first selection she has chosen books she feels represent the best of the art of biography and including perhaps something a little more unusual and overlooked.

John Buchan 70th Anniversary - author, politician and a man of great influence.

John Buchan led a truly extraordinary life: he was a diplomat, soldier, barrister, journalist, historian, politician, publisher, poet and novelist. He was born in Perth in 1875, the eldest son of a Free Church of Scotland minister, and educated at Hutcheson’s Grammar School in Glasgow. He graduated from Glasgow University then took a scholarship to Brasenose College, Oxford. During his time there – ‘spent peacefully in an enclave like a monastery’ – he wrote two historical novels.

The Man Booker Prize for Fiction (www.themanbookerprize.com) represents some of the very best in contemporary fiction and the shortlist has just been announced.

Exclusive to Lovereading you can download and print off an 'opening extract' from the shortlisted titles and decide for yourself which one you think deserves to win this year's prize.

Alternatively, if you have an iPhone, why not download a special app.
Click here to find out more.

Here you will find book reviews and 1st chapter extracts from the well-established crime writers like P D James and Ruth Rendell, creators of Dalgliesh and Wexford, Peter Robinson with Banks, the gritty like Ian Rankin's Rebus or the good double-acts like Reginald Hill's Dalziel and Pascoe, but try someone new like Christopher Fowler's wonderfully cantankerous Bryant and May or move into the country, the Peak District, with Stephen Booth or the West Country with Hilary Bonner.

eBooks have at last come of age and although you have been able to see if an eBook is available on a title by title basis on Lovereading for a while now, we also wanted to create a special section, which features all of our eBook recommended reads.

One of the real treats of working in the book world is being one of the few who get to read books before they are officially published.

Uncorrected proofs, as they are termed, are the editions of the books produced in small numbers and sent to book reviewers and the book buyers of large book chains.

There’s nothing like a really involving family drama and romance to take you away from your own life. And Lovereading covers the whole range, as you would expect.

Men take note – reading is now officially ‘sexy’. But taking a leaf from Dr Grey Martians don’t read the same as Venusians so sign up here to keep abreast of what you need to read. From anarchic humour (Terry Pratchett and Dave Gorman) to novels that explore what it means to be a man (Tony Parsons and Mark Barrowcliffe). With our regular emails you won’t miss new works from favourite authors or new authors who’ll become favourites.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

All the books listed here have extra goodies that can be won in a free to enter prize draws.

To find out more and to enter just click a book cover

Good Luck

Good Housekeeping is one of Britain’s oldest and most successful women’s magazines. Its readers have always enjoyed the books coverage, and its monthly reviews, author interviews and book-related features have been hugely popular.

Now you can look up past reviews from the magazine in this online archive. Here, you can read a review, download an extract and, if you like it, buy the book immediately.

The staff here at Lovereading aren’t just passionate about good books; they are also passionate about doing their bit to help ‘save the planet’ in any way they can. So we thought you might appreciate a bit of guidance on what books are out there that might enthuse you into thinking, and being a bit greener.

History is a fascinating topic whether it be the history of a country, the history of warfare or the history of an individual. Although we have promoted historical books over the years in our real world and biography genres we felt it was time these titles got their own special spot on the site and so we bring you a dedicated History genre.

Historical fiction is such a great way to experience the past. It’s fascinating, thrilling and you learn from it. Wonderful! The best way to make sure you’re ahead of history is through our emails, which will guide you to the latest and best so you can...

If you like to spend your reading time in other realms, you’ll need our regular emails. With direct access to free book extracts and online book reviews they’ll transport you to the furthest, most exciting frontiers of horror and fantasy and science fiction, where you can experience terror or visit the future of this world and others.

Do you struggle to read small print books? Do you have a friend or relative who loves to read but has given up? Many people would struggle to read these sentences or that of their favourite books simply because ‘standard’ type size is too small.  We hope to help change that by featuring on an ongoing basis titles that are being published in large print - 16 point rather than the standard 10 point. 

FOCUS is a new campaign which was launched earlier in the year by the RNIB and its publishing partners to make popular and bestselling books in Large Print easily available on the high street.

For further information about the Focus Large Print project, please visit www.focusonbooks.co.uk

_______________________________________

This is where you’ll find the cream of modern writing, from the prize-laden greats to the new kids on the literary block. Our regular emails will give you direct access to free opening extracts and the ability to read online book reviews for all the newest and best Literary and Contemporary novels. We can keep you up to speed with home-grown favourites from Martin Amis, Salman Rushdie and Beryl Bainbridge to Monica Ali, Zadie Smith and Mark Haddon.

Crime Duos

selected by crime aficionado

Maxim Jakubowski

MORE, PLEASE!

It’s happened to all of us: you read a book or discover a new author and having so thoroughly enjoyed it, your first instinct is to want more. But either you have read all the novels the author has written or there are no others you are aware of. Where to look next for a similarly pleasant experience?

Summer SF Reading

selected by Maxim Jakubowski

Summer is traditionally the favoured time for reading, whether it be on beaches, in the countryside, the garden or wherever the tides of leisure transport you and science fiction, fantasy and horror as ever proves a perfect recipe for escape and entertainment.

Who wants to be confronted with or reminded of everyday reality when you are attempting to relax? Abandon yourself to the siren call of the wilder shores of the imagination to other planets or fascinating alien environments, to the thrills and dread of terror or the wide screened sense of wonder that imaginary worlds can conjure up.

Imaginative writing is thriving and our summer selection will leave you gasping with awe, amused and scared on the same page as we select some of the more outstanding new books of the year.

And, as a bonus, anyone of these fascinating novels can also be read at home, as their tentacular delights will whisk you away from the armchair into brand new worlds. Who needs holidays when your mind is transported light years away?

Below is Maxim Jakubowski's list of Summer SF authors. Click the author name to read his comment.

Justin Cronin

Joe Hill

Paul Hoffman

Stephen Hunt

China Mieville

Adam Nevill

Sarah Pinborough

_______________________________________

Maxim Jakubowski on Modern Classics of Science Fiction...

So you’ve read H.G. Wells, Isaac Asimov, John Wyndham, Arthur C. Clarke, Frank Herbert’s DUNE, Philip K. Dick, THE LORD OF THE RINGS and other established classics of science fiction & fantasy, enjoyed the verve of STAR WARS and AVATAR on the big screen and follow LOST, HEROES and BEING HUMAN on television and you still want more. But where to begin? More elves and vampires won’t satisfy your thirst for challenging ideas, action, believable characters, good writing and a sense of wonder.

Here is a selection of modern classics that you might not have come across yet, and which are guaranteed to keep you under their spell until the very last page. All masterpieces of the imagination in their own right and proof that entertainment and intelligent speculation can make good bedfellows. Science fiction & fantasy is not only about dragons, spaceships and things that bite in the night. Read most of these astounding books and you will be hooked. Worse things could happen!

Below is Maxim Jakubowski's list of Modern Classic science fiction writers. Click the author name to read his comment.

Neil Stephenson

Gene Wolfe

Brian W. Aldiss

Richard Morgan

Jack Vance

M. John Harrison

Orson Scott Card

William Gibson

Iain M. Banks

China Mieville

_______________________________________

Maxim Jakubowski on the Best of British Science Fiction...

There was a time when American science fiction and fantasy dazzled us: the golden years of Ray Bradbury, Robert Heinlein, Frank Herbert, Isaac Asimov and so many writers whose pens effortlessly painted awesome galactic vistas with technicolor abandon. But the times they are a changin’ and for the past decade or so British authors have taken over the universe and are now the main providers of thrills, alien exotica and hypnotic if impossible parallel worlds.

Science fiction has never been about predicting the future but more about titillating the intelligence, questioning the whys and wherefores of the known (and unknown) universe, opening up new horizons, confronting how society changes both on a micro-scale or on a global palette. But most importantly it is about conveying a sense of wonder, whether depicting future worlds or taking us on on a trip beyond the frontiers of rationality or investigating human nature.

Let us not forget that, alongside Jules Verne, H.G. Wells was one of the pioneers of the genre in opening up the limits of the imagination. His contemporary children are rewriting the genre with vigorous abandon and we urge you to investigate all these new British writers, all of whom trip the light fantastic like no others before and explore what lies on the other side of reality. Tighten your seat belts for the rides of a thousand centuries.

What is life without a bit of mystery and a few thrills? A crime, pure and simple! But we’re big on crime prevention, so let us do the detective work and keep you up to date with our regular emails. They give you direct access to free opening extracts and the ability to read online book reviews for all the newest and best Crime and Mystery books.

Transworld 60th Anniversary

This year marks the 60th Anniversary of Transworld Publishers. Founded in 1950 and starting with just three books on their list, Transworld has grown to become one of the most successful publishing houses in the UK.

They are the publishing force behind many bestselling authors including Dan Brown, Jilly Cooper, Frederick Forsyth, Sophie Kinsella, Terry Pratchett and Joanna Trollope, as well as many outstanding non-fiction authors such as Richard Dawkins, Bill Bryson and Stephen Hawking and celebrities and sports stars including Paul O’Grady, Steven Gerrard and Derren Brown.

_______________________________________

Transworld Publishers are giving three lucky winners the chance to receive a selection of TWENTY bestselling books from Transworld’s rich history. Click here to find out more.

_______________________________________

Also don't forget to see our special newgen Summer Reading selections - click here to see more.

'new gen' is a treasure trove of books and authors that aims to bridge the reading gap for the teen / young adult audience.

_______________________

Here you'll find authors who specifically write for the teen market along with authors whose books are incredibly relevant to teenagers, The Catcher in the Rye would be the classic example.

Every title we choose aims to be not only a great read but offer insights and help as the challenges of adulthood begin

'Paranormal Romance' is big in the States and, undoubtedly, will be here too if the success of the film Twilight is anything to go by. The genre is growing and growing and although we have been promoting many of these titles they have perhaps been lost in our Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror genre so we decided it was time they got a genre all of their own.

As Carol Ann Duffy says in her introduction to The Barefoot Book of Classic Poems : ‘The best of poetry is memorable, as prayers are, and in this wonderful selection of classic poems both young and older readers will find something that will stay with them, or has stayed with them, all of their lives’.

Selected by Lovereading's Popular Science guru, Sue Baker

Do you feel like asking your brain cells to work a little harder whilst at the same time learn something new and all from the comfort of the armchair?  All the books in this Popular Science category are titles designed to be read by the lay reader rather than the scientist.  The list is wide-ranging and the titles all highly accessible in their writing style.  Quite simply, they are an ideal starting point into the realms of science for an enquiring mind.  Enjoy.

Books that are great in bed.

French swingers, Italian teenagers, American pensioners and upper-class Brits. Seems like everyone is at it. And now they're writing about it too...

Did you know that the first recorded reading groups were among women working in factories in the nineteenth century?

This Summer Vintage is publishing a one-off series of books to highlight ten Vintage bestsellers whose films became box-office successes.

We’re all totally fascinated by relationships, aren’t we? Our own and other people’s

Canongate and Walker, two of the very best independent publishing houses in the UK – one on the adult side and the other a children’s book publisher, have joined forces to introduce 're-jackected' modern literary classics (such as The Life of Pi by Yann Martel, winner of the Booker Prize) to a new younger audience.

“Bestselling and award winning titles that will grab the attention of the next generation of readers lie at the heart of this exciting joint venture of Walker and Canongate, both highly respected independent publishers. Strikingly packaged and covering a range of popular genres, the four titles, some written for them and some written for adults, speak directly to teen readers while also propelling them towards other adult fiction.” Julia Eccleshare

Handsome aristocrats in becoming breeches, rags to riches heroines, close-knit communities and dark family secrets. There's nothing like a really compelling romance or saga, is there? If you want to read one, sign up now so you can read online reviews and download free book extracts and know about the very best of favourite authors and rising stars.

Whichever sport you follow, it is only through books about the games, the players, the events and the participants that you will gain a real insight into the motivating factors behind people with unimaginable (and sometimes inexplicable) talent. Fixtures and results bombard you from every conceivable media channel – TV, radio, the internet, mobile phones. But the real insights into the characters of the people, and the inside stories of the dressing rooms - from the muddy fields of winter to the steely mechanics and oily rags in the pit-lane - only really come from reading about them in books (sometimes long after the event is over or the personality has died).

Byron said ‘Truth is stranger than fiction’ a quote which is, perhaps, even more relevant in the 21st Century than the 19th.

There’s a bit of the traveller in all of us, isn’t there? Even if our biggest adventure is the annual 2 week holiday to Europe! Well, we’ll make sure that all your reading journeys have happy endings with our regular emails. With on-line reviews and free book extracts our regular emails will keep you up to date with the latest and best travel writing.