Recommended by authors

The author of 'The Authenticity Project', Clare Pooley gives her recommended reading:

Saving Missy by Beth Morrey really is the perfect antidote to these strange times we're living in. A beautiful story about the transformative power of friendship and community, with a heroine you'll not easily forget.

Beth Morrey is enjoying 'Rainbow Milk' by Paul Mendoz. She says:

I'm lapping up Rainbow Milk, a raw and tender exploration of race, sexuality and religion by Paul Mendez. It's graphic, funny and intensely readable - a really powerful debut.

Beth wrote 'Saving Missy', the Sunday Times bestseller released earlier this year.

Joanne Harris is the hugely popular novelist, who joined us in Woodbridge last year to tell us how she came to revisit the world of her bestselling novel 'Chocolat' for 'The Strawberry Thief'. You can read more about the event here.

She recommends 'Come as You Are' by Emily Nagoski and says:

One of the revelations of lockdown has been Emily Nagoski's Come as You Are: a genuinely surprising and enlightening exploration of women's sexuality. Whatever your reasons for reading it, whether it's curiosity or self-help, I guarantee you'll find some lightbulb moments in this book.

Joanne's latest book is 'Orfeia', published by Gollancz.

Renee Knight, author of 'Disclaimer' and 'The Secretary', and a Suffolk resident chooses her favourite book. Renee says...

The Overstory by Richard Powers was recommended to me by a dear friend and reading it amidst the uncertainty and chaos of the C word felt like being thrown a life jacket. It is a stunning love letter to trees and has changed the way I see things: what more can you ask of a book?

Sally urges us to read 'Such a Fun Age' by Kiley Reid, a title which was on this year's Booker Longlist.

Sally says...

I am reading Kiley Reid's 'Such a Fun Age' - fabulous title.
Beautifully drawn characters, great dialogue.
The novel is centred around an incident that is very much of this moment, and brings into question a lot of given stereotypes.

(I also loved Maggie O'Farrell's 'Hamnet', which I am so pleased won the Women's Prize)

Sally Gardner writes for adults and children, has won numerous awards and has sold two million copies of her books in the UK. Take a look at her historical fiction for younger readers, such as 'I, Coriander' or 'The Red Necklace'. Visit her imagined future with 'Maggot Moon' or 'My Side of the Diamond', or marvel at the inventiveness of her Fairy Detective Agency series.

Novelist Amanda Craig is keen to tell us all about 'The House of Correction', the new thriller by the formidable, bestselling, Suffolk-based husband and wife writing team that is Nicci French.

Amanda says...

This is a stunningly suspenseful and brilliantly imagined locked-room mystery. Imprisoned and awaiting trial for the murder of her former teacher - and abuser - Tabitha is believed guilty by everyone in the close-minded Devon coastal village to which she returned, and her court-appointed barrister. How she solves the crime from within prison, and conducts her own eccentric but effective defence, becomes compelling.

Amanda Craig is the author of nine novels, which include 'The Lie of the Land'. Her latest novel 'The Golden Rule' has been chosen as a Book of the Year by every national newspaper!

This week we hear from Francesca Simon, the author and creator of the hugely successful Horrid Henry series of children's books.

Francesca recommends 'House of Glass' by Hadley Freeman and this is what she says about the book:

I loved this brilliant, shocking, and devastating family history about what happened to Freeman's extraordinary relatives during the Holocaust - those who survived and those who died. My book of the year.

Anthony Horowitz has set his latest mystery 'Moonflower Murders' among many familiar places, with much of the action taking place in Woodbridge! It brings added excitement for Suffolk readers as you wonder which business or location will get a name check next!

While Anthony has spent lockdown far from Suffolk, he's been using the time to catch up on some reading and would like us to take a look at  'American Spy' by Lauren Wilkinson.

This is what Anthony says about the book:

A remarkable debut blending fact and fiction, this story of a black woman working with the FBI in the eighties, and her involvement with Thomas Sankara, is assured and intriguing. I was surprised how gripped I was.

Anthony has two books recently published - a new adventure for teenage spy, Alex Rider, called 'Nightshade' and his latest adult mystery 'Moonflower Murders' which is set in Suffolk - take a look at Catherine's review of it here and her interview with Anthony in 'Suffolk' magazine here.

Meg is enthralled by 'Time Song' written by Julia Blackburn, and which was launched in Browsers a couple of years ago. Take a look at that event here and an interview with Julia in 'Suffolk' magazine here.

This is what Meg says about the book:

 Julia Blackburn’s Time Song has been one of the highlights of my lockdown (along with The Mirror and the Light — which, if you haven’t read, you must!)

Anyone who’s ever stared out over the North Sea has inadvertently discovered Doggerland — the remnants of our own lost Atlantis exist everywhere today, if you know where to look.

Now when I stare at the sea, I see the people and their footprints, the animals they lived with, the coprolites they left behind. A wonderful book.

Meg's latest novel is 'The Great Godden', a fabulously evocative summer's coming-of-age read. You can see what Meg had to say about it when she spoke to Catherine recently, just click here.