In this collection, there are many familiar authors telling us about some well known books, but there are also some surprises. In all cases it's a delight to be invited into the author's life to find out more about their choices, interests and challenges, and how books have helped.

Marian Keyes, for example, talks about 'Cold Comfort Farm' by Stella Gibbons being a consolation and a joy when she was going through a dark time. And the American novelist and bookshop owner Ann Patchett believed 'Sorrow and Bliss' by Meg Mason to be the perfect book for her customers to read during lockdown. (So I'm hoping we'll enjoy reading it together for our discussion in the new year - scroll down for details.)

Other authors who have contributed include William Boyd, Benjamin Zephaniah, JoJo Moyes, Nina Stibbe, Elizabeth Strout, Tessa Hadley, Kit de Waal, Sebastian Faulks and 25 more!

There are lots of novels to discover and rediscover and it's a prompt too to investigate or revisit some of the work by the authors in the interviews and essays. It's a beautifully presented book, published in aid of the aid of the National Literacy Trust. It would make a rather good gift, I think!