I am a compulsive, addicted reader. My osteopath bemoans my habit of never leaving the house without a book (or three), although the advent of Kindle has helped this a bit, and I am never relaxed if I don’t have a good book on the go. I think my tastes are fairly eclectic; I probably read commercial women’s fiction and crime fiction most frequently, but I also love the Victorian classics,  Renaissance and Restoration drama, the poetry of Carol Ann Duffy, John Betjeman, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Robert Browning, Sylvia Plath, accessible history by authors like Alison Weir and Antonia Fraser, anything by Alan Bennett, anything by George Orwell…and so on.

I had a hugely enjoyable day yesterday compiling my top thirty books for my website. It was agonising to decide, and there are many authors – Maeve Binchey, Adele Parks, Thomas Hardy, Sebastian Faulks, Wilkie Collins – to name but a few, who didn’t quite make it, despite being some of my absolute favourites. I can definitely feel more lists coming on in the near future.

For now though, check out my Desert Island Books selection, and let me know what you think. Agree? Disagree? Inspired to try a new author? I’d love to hear your views.