We said: Toni Morrison's novel tells the story of a former Kentucky slave haunted by the trauma of her past life, and won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1988.

You said: This book is amazing. Beautifully written, haunting and the level of detail of the lengths people went to protect their families from slavery is fantastic. 

 

We said: This is the third full-length novel featuring P. G. Wodehouse’s best-known creations, the bumbling fool Bertie Wooster and his quick-thinking valet Jeeves. In this outing, the duo hatches a daring and hilarious scheme to steal an 18th-century cow-creamer. What could go wrong?

You said: The best of the Bertie and Jeeves novels by Wodehouse, the 20th century master of the light comic novel. Intricate plotting and brilliant command of English prose. 

 

We said: Bram Stoker's novel is told by multiple narrators in a series of diary entries, letters, newspaper articles and ships’ logs; an old folklore tale becomes a frightening reality for solicitor Jonathan Harker and his friends after he visits Count Dracula. And the Count is not a hero like our modern vampires aka Edward Cullen.

You said: A Gothic tale of fear and love. Would one desire immortality at the cost of one’s morality and soul? Loneliness beckons down such a dangerous and fearful path. 

 

We said: A coming-of-age tale of teenage rebellion, set in a winner-takes-all world of drive-ins, drag races and switchblades. It created an anti-hero from the wrong side of the class divide – all written when S. E. Hinton was just 17. ‘Stay gold Ponyboy… stay gold’.

You said: The original YA novel, which sparked many crushes and made me fall in love with reading. 

 

We said: An allegoric dystopia written in the wake of the Second World War, The Chrysalids cleverly strives to denounce acts of the past while including a profound plea for tolerance.

You said: A post-apocalyptic novel, about intolerance, loneliness, friendship, and what it means to be human. A fantastic sci-fi novel, as relevant today as it was in the 50s 

 

We said: Leo Tolstoy’s sweeping epic of human life in all its imperfection and grandeur is universally accepted as one of the greatest novels of all time. 

You said: This novel is just gripping and beautifully written. Kept me enthralled for weeks... 

 

We said: From the escaped convict lurking in the wild Kent marshes to the eccentric Miss Havisham who has remained in her wedding dress since the day she was jilted, orphan Pip’s coming-of-age story is one of Charles Dickens' most memorable and iconic novels.

You said: This book is not only important as a literary masterpiece and an evocative story - it also has universal appeal as, unfortunately, many children in today's world undergo the same suffering as Pip. 

 

We said: Primarily set in New York’s Greenwich Village, James Baldwin's Another Country tackled many themes that were taboo at the time of its publication including bisexuality, interracial couples and extramarital affairs - all in the sensational world of Harlem jazz and the Bohemian underworld.

You said: This is a book that shows how everyone can live and love together, passionately, dangerously, with exquisite music.  I’ll never forget the thrill of first reading it. 

 

We said: The perfect read for a cacophonous political moment. Joseph Heller’s dizzying masterpiece brilliantly illustrates the way that power is hoarded and wielded like magic, with sleights of hand and rhetorical trickery deployed like weapons to leave normal people baffled and exhausted.

You said: In my opinion, there is no book that better captures human nature and the futility of conflict. You’ll come out the other side angry, uplifted, and crazy. 

 

We said: A newlywed couple is shaken up by the arrival of the bride’s free-spirited and charismatic cousin Ellen, who piques the husband’s interests. He must decide to save a crumbling marriage or pursue his passions. Edith Wharton became the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize in 1921 for this novel which explores love, lust and social class, set in the Gilded Age of New York.

You said: The most heart-wrenching depiction of impossible love, set in the lavish society of 18th century New York. Beautifully detailed but never alienating, with rich characters and a masterful construction. 

 

We said: It has come to be seen as the archetypal modern African novel in English and is read widely across Africa and Nigeria in which it is set. It follows the Okonowo a great and famous warrior and the most powerful men of his clan. But when outsiders threaten his clan’s way of life - will his temper and pride be his downfall? Read it to find out.

You said: A compelling and important exploration of cultural identity in relation to both the rising tide of British colonialism and the pressures of gender expectations. A poignant tragedy written with pathos. Necessary reading! 

 

We said: Dorothea Brooke and the other inhabitants of Middlemarch grapple with art, religion, science, politics, self and society in the lead-up to the First Reform Bill of 1832 in a literary exploration of human follies. This book is considered by many to be the greatest Victorian novel.

You said: This book is superb in form and content. There is no better dissection of and insight into human society. She was the Shakespeare of her day and Middlemarch is her finest novel.