“That’s the thing about books. They let you travel without moving your feet.”
— Jhumpa Lahiri
The Reading List 2025
The Fall of the House of Usher
I had been passing alone, on horseback, through a singularly dreary tract of country, and at length found myself, as the shades of evening drew on, within view of the melancholy House of Usher
Edgar Allan Poe
Call for the Dead
He knew how intelligent men could be broken by the stupidity of their superiors, how weeks of patient work night and day could be cast aside by such a man
John le Carré
The Great Divorce
There have been some who were so preoccupied with spreading Christianity that they never gave a thought to Christ
C.S Lewis
Twisted
I want to reach into your chest and hold your heart in my hands, making sure it only beats for me,” I rasp. “But I don’t want your firsts, Yasmin. I want your forever
Emily McIntire
The Glass Menagerie
She lives in a world of her own – a world of – little glass ornaments…
Tennessee Williams
The Man in the Brown Suit
I had the firm conviction that, if I went about looking for adventure, adventure would meet me halfway. It is a theory of mine that one always gets what one wants
Agatha Christie
Conversations with Friends
Everyone’s always going through something, aren’t they? That’s life, basically. It’s just more and more things to go through
Sally Rooney
The Ruin of all Witches
In this climate, the idea festered that adversaries, naturally powerless and forbidden to use violence, might resort to magic to get their own way
Malcolm Gaskil
King of Sloth
Love isn’t about perfection, Luna; it’s about imperfect people creating their own version of happily ever after
Ana Huang
Coriolanus
Anger's my meat; I sup upon myself,
And so shall starve with feeding
William Shakespeare
The Jungle Books
What is the Law of the Jungle? Strike first and then give tongue
Rudyard Kipling
Puccini - His Life and Works
Julian Budden
Forged By Malice
The mountains told me your name. The forest sang your song. My heart has been searching for you since the first dawn
Elizabeth Helen
Look Back In Anger
You see I learnt at an early age what it was to be angry - angry and helpless. And I can never forget it
John Osborne
Yellowface
The cultural constructions are clear: so many Chinese ghosts are hungry, angry, voiceless women. In taking Athena's legacy, I've added one to their ranks
Rebecca F. Kuang
Everything I Know About Love
Love is a quiet, reassuring, relaxing, pottering, pedantic, harmonious hum of a thing; something you can easily forget is there, even though its palms are outstretched beneath you in case you fall
Dolly Alderton
You and Me on Vacation
All you have to do is think back and ask yourself, when was the last time you were truly happy?
Emily Henry
A Doll’s House
You see, there are some people that one loves, and others that perhaps one would rather be with
Henrik Ibsen
The Trial
It's only because of their stupidity that they're able to be so sure of themselves
Franz Kafka
Once Upon a Broken Heart
I believe there are far more possibilities than happily ever after or tragedy. Every story has the potential for infinite endings
Stephanie Garber
A Vindication of the Rights of Women
I do not wish them [women] to have power over men; but over themselves
Mary Wollstonecraft
The Ballad of Never After
I wish our story could have had another ending
Stephanie Garber
A Curse For True Love
Once upon a time, a girl who believed in fairytales stole the heart of a prince who had sworn to never love
Stephanie Garber
The Wake-Up Call
There’s a reason it’s harder for women to approach men than the other way around – when the world tells you your worth is about men desiring you, it’s hard to take it when they don’t, and we’re scared to be rejected
Beth O’Leary
Welcome to Thebes
I envy you, you know Envy the adventure, the extremity Our lives in Athens seems mundane We have no tragedy. And tragedy reminds us how to live
Moira Buffini
The Aeneid
The gates of Hell are open night and day; smooth the descent and easy is the way
Virgil