99. The Mermaids Singing - Val McDermid
'You always remember the first time. Isn’t that what they say about sex? How much more true it is of murder ( Read more... )

88. Angelmaker - Nick Harkaway
Joe Spork, son of the infamous criminal Mathew 'Tommy Gun' Spork just wants a quiet life, repairing clockwork in a wet, unknown bit of London ( Read more... )

76. Close Quarters - William Golding
"In a wilderness of heat, stillness and sea mists, a ball is held on a ship becalmed halfway to Australia. In this surreal, fête-like atmosphere the passengers dance and flirt, while beneath them thickets of weed like green hair spread over the hull ( Read more... )

57. The Songs of Achilles - Madeline Miller
"Greece in the age of heroes. Patroclus, an awkward young prince, has been exiled to the court of King Peleus and his perfect son Achilles. Despite their differences, Achilles befriends the shamed prince, and as they grow into young men skilled in the arts of war and medicine, their bond blossoms into ( Read more... )

47. The Blitz: The British at War -- Juliet Gardiner
"From the author of ‘Wartime’ comes an outstanding history of the most sustained onslaught ever endured by Britain's civilian population - the Blitz ( Read more... )

31. In the Company of Crows and Ravens - John M. Marzluff and Tony Angell

From the cave walls at Lascaux to the last painting by Van Gogh, from the works of Shakespeare to those of Mark Twain, there is clear evidence that crows and ravens influence human culture. Yet this influence is not unidirectional, say the authors of this fascinating book: ( Read more... )

18. The Sky is Everywhere - Jandy Nelson

Seventeen-year-old Lennie Walker spends her time tucked safely and happily in the shadow of her fiery older sister, Bailey. But when Bailey dies abruptly, Lennie is catapulted to centre stage of her own life - and, despite her nonexistent history with boys, suddenly finds herself struggling to balance two. ( Read more... )

8. Angel of Death: The Story of Smallpox - Gareth Williams

Angel of Death tells a lively and powerful tale: the story of our battle against smallpox, once humankind's greatest killer, but ultimately the only disease that we have successfully eradicated from the planet. By skilfully weaving together previously neglected voices with the personal ( Read more... )

1. Mind of the Raven: Investigations and Adventures with Wolf-Birds - Bernd Heinrich ( Read more... )