The Children's Book - A.S Byatt

I loved this book. I wasn't sure at first, I didn't enjoy Possession at all, and it took a while to warm to this one. But once I did, oh boy! I'm not sure about the title, it doesn't give anything away, which is good, but at the same time, it's not something that adds enticement.
The story is rather epic, covering the late Victorian period upto and including WW1. It centres on several families, the Wellwoods, the Cains, the Fludds, the Warrens and their friends. Following the growing up of the children in these families, Olive and Humprey Wellwood's seven, their cousins, and friends as they try to work out what they want to be and who they are in the early years of the 20th Century. It's beautifully well written, delicious old-fashioned storytelling, with some poignant and tragic moments. Not to be read in one go, but slowly and savoured. It was nominated for last year's Booker prize, and it's a shame it lost. On my 'to read' list is the eventual winner Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall, but I wonder if I'll enjoy that as much as I did this.

10 Books Everyone Should Read*

The Book Thief - Markus Zusak

Nation - Terry Pratchett

If This Is A Man/The Truce - Primo Levi

Of Love And Shadows - Isabel Allende

The Bloody Chamber & Other Stories - Angela Carter

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas - John Boyne

The Painted Drum - Louise Erdrich

The World's Wife - Carol Ann Duffy

The Raw Shark Texts - Steven Hall

Wild Swans - Jung Chang

This is by no means a complete and definitive list. That'd take forever.
*According to me!

Read This!!

Whatever books you read, whatever genre you prefer, read Terry Pratchett's Nation and prepare to do some serious thinking. It's a wonderful book, and there are some big ideas being discussed. It's meant to be a children's book, everyone should read it.