STATE OF WONDER
(by Ann Patchett Bloomsbury, £14.99)
I read this when I was a judge for what was then the Orange Prize. It’s the story of a scientist who travels into the Amazon, where the tribeswomen are able to have children into their 70s. It’s about science, medical ethics and motherhood. It was totally original and I was gutted it didn’t win.
BELOVED
(by Toni Morrison Vintage, £9.99)
This is about what happens when a slave mother and her children experience freedom, and the lengths a mother will go to protect her children. I couldn’t kill my eldest child to do that but it’s an insight into somebody who does. It’s powerful and disturbing.
THE MAYOR OF CASTERBRIDGE
(by Thomas Hardy Vintage, £7.99)
I first read this at university. It’s about human imperfections and fate. The twists, turns, and unfortunate coincidences are gripping. And there’s a love story as well.
A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS
(by khaled Hosseini Bloomsbury, £8.99)
There’s gritty, harrowing stuff in this and I’m drawn to that. It’s about the two wives of a violent bully. Not only do they have him to cope with, but they’re also living under the Taliban. It’s also an insight into normal life in beautiful country.
WONDER
(by RJ Palacio Out of print)
A children’s book I recently read with my younger son, about a 10-year-old with a rare facial deformity, and the bullying he endures and copes with. It’s moving, uplifting and teaches children not to judge people by the way they look and to be kind.
PERSUASION
(by Jane Austen Penguin, £5.99)
This is about thwarted love and I love the spotlight on high society and manners. I first read her as an undergraduate and fell in love with the world she wrote about – bizarre because I was 18 and going to clubs.