As the nights draw in, the literary world turns to its shelves for comfort and discovery. This November, a host of acclaimed writers and dedicated Guardian readers have shared the titles that have captivated them over the past month, offering a rich and diverse selection for every taste.
Authors' Insights: From Thoreau to Hastings
Esteemed author Geoff Dyer finally delved into Thoreau's Journal, describing it as a work that is both "determinedly down-to-earth and soaring". He reflects on Walt Whitman's famous critique of Thoreau's "superciliousness", yet agrees with Whitman's assessment that the journal "contains multitudes". Dyer has also been immersed in Xiaolu Guo's My Battle of Hastings, a witty yet serious account of the Chinese writer's move to Britain and her impulsive purchase of a flat in Hastings, which offers a sharp perspective on Brexit and British history.
Dyer also praises Meghan Daum's essay collection The Catastrophe Hour, published by the UK's Notting Hill Editions, highlighting Daum's status as one of America's finest and most scathing essayists.
Readers' Favourites: Love, Campus Life, and Family
Guardian reader Sarah was utterly engrossed by Lily King's new novel Heart the Lover, calling it a smart, romantic, and literary triumph that ranks among her top reads of the year. This sent her on a quest for more literary, campus-set coming-of-age stories, leading her to Daisy Alpert Florin's My Last Innocent Year and a revisit of Jeffrey Eugenides' classic The Marriage Plot, which she describes as excellent with clever characters and witty dialogue.
Author Marcia Hutchinson recommends Act Normal by Peter Kalu, a memoir she describes as "butterfly musings" with a Dickensian cast. She also eagerly awaited Kit de Waal's third novel, The Best of Everything, a story of found family, and was moved by Lisa Smith's debut Jamaica Road, which explores racism in 1980s south London against the poignant backdrop of the Deptford fire. For a gothic thrill, she devoured Kate Griffin's Fyneshade in one sitting.
Historical Echoes and Winter Chills
Reader Jim has been captivated by Alice Zeniter's The Art of Losing, a powerful and humane story of an Algerian family's history through war and displacement, which offers an unsparing critique of colonialism. He connects with books about survival and finding one's place, reflecting on his own background growing up gay in Northern Ireland during the Troubles.
Author Andrew Michael Hurley suggests After Midnight, a new Virago anthology of Daphne du Maurier's short fiction, as ideal for winter evenings. He also enjoyed the surreal horrors of Bora Chung's Midnight Timetable and revisited the exquisite prose of John McGahern's The Leavetaking. He reserves special praise for Sarah Hall's Helm, a profound and playful novel narrated by the Pennine wind.
Finally, reader Tim found a fascinating dialogue between three disparate books: the timeless utopian quest in James Hilton's Lost Horizon, the paranoid modern classic Thomas Pynchon's The Crying of Lot 49, and the grounded analysis of digital labour in Feeding the Machine. Together, they explored the spectrum from dreamlike escape to the machinery of modern life.
