The book I always recommend. . .

‘I always recommend Douglas Adams, The Hitchhikers Guide, because it's nothing like anything that person will have read before and also by the time they find out there are five books in the 'trilogy' they'll be too hooked to stop.’

Will, Digital Marketing Manager

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy has been a radio show, TV show, stage play, comic book and film, and is a work of utter comic genius. A comedy sci-fi classic, this laugh-out-loud romp through space sees protagonist Arthur Dent narrowly escape the destruction of Earth by hitching a ride on a spaceship with his alien best friend Ford Prefect. If nothing else, this book will at least remind you to never forget a towel. 

Already a fan? Find more of what you love: take a look at our favourite science fiction books and funny reads.

‘At 624 pages, I initially worried it might be a little pretentious to recommend Wellness, but pretentious is exactly what this book isn’t. I think it gets to the heart of what makes us human and dissects the strange world we live in, in a truly affecting and relatable way. I’m not sure it’s fair to say I’ve always recommended this book as it only came out five months ago, but ask most of my friends, family and colleagues and I think they would agree that I’ve more than made up for the first twenty-six Wellness-recommendation-less years of my life in that time. ’

Stella, SEO Content Executive

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How does a relationship formed in the '90s survive in the increasingly futuristic-feeling 2010s? Coming up against polyamorous would-be suitors, Facebook wars and cults disguised as mindfulness support groups, Jack and Elizabeth must face their separate demons in order to stay together. Moving from the gritty '90s Chicago art scene to a suburbia of detox diets and home renovation hysteria, Wellness mines the absurdities of modern technology and modern love to reveal profound, startling truths about intimacy and connection.

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If this sounds like your thing, you'll probably want to look at our other brilliant literary fiction too.

‘Whether you’re a romance fan or not, the Lovelight Farms books are the perfect series to get into. This first book has everything anyone would want: the friends to lovers trope, an idyllic Christmas tree farm, the found family friend group, the light mystery storyline, and, of course, the romantic comedy. I’ve read Lovelight Farms about three times, fallen in love with the world of Inglewild every time and I want to share that with as many people as possible.’

Carol-Anne, Content Marketing Executive (star of Pan Macmillan's TikTok channel)

Lovelight Farms is a wholesome rom-com featuring a handsome, freckled data analyst, a messy, optimistic Christmas tree farm owner, and a small town with the best hazelnut lattes on the east coast. In an effort to save the Christmas tree farm she’s loved since she was a child, Stella enters a contest with insta-famous influencer Evelyn St. James. There’s just one problem: she lied on the application and said that she owns Lovelight Farms with her boyfriend. Only . . . there is no boyfriend. Enter best friend Luka Peters. Will their fake love affair save Lovelight Farms in time for Christmas?

Further reading: take a look at our list of some of the best romance novels and discover Lovelight Farms author B. K. Borison's favourite romance tropes.

‘I recommend Everything's Fine all the time as the writing is great, it's often hilarious, and it's also doing a lot of things simultaneously (in a good way), which means it has appeal for lots of different types of readers. As author Cecilia Rabess says herself, this is a love story that asks not will they, but should they? It's not a romance novel, but she brilliantly uses the template of a romance to provoke questions, with no offer of neat resolutions. Also the dialogue is incredible, and the ending is really well done.’

Ellen, Website Editor

'A subtle, ironic, wise state-of-the-nation novel, sharp enough to draw blood, hidden inside a moving, intimate, sincere and very real love story – or vice versa.' Nick Hornby

In Cecilia Rabess's 'stunning debut' (Meg Mason), a progressive Black woman and a conservative white man fall in love, and everything is most definitely not fine. It is, however, moving, hilarious, morally complex and compulsively readable. 

‘I always recommend Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi (and the rest of the series) as it's so heartwarming and quirky that nobody can resist it! I'm a big time travel fan, so I was drawn to it because of the unusual time travel angle in it, but I actually recommend it to such a huge range of readers, even if that's not their usual genre. It's all about emotional connections to the people we meet, about grief, about love, about acceptance, about memory . . . things that everyone can relate to.’

Emma, Video and Influencer Marketing Manager (our resident YouTuber: find her on Book Break)

In a small back alley in Tokyo, there is a café which has been serving carefully brewed coffee for more than one hundred years. But this coffee shop offers its customers a unique experience: the chance to travel back in time. This opportunity is not without risks: customers must sit in a particular seat, they cannot leave the café, and finally, they must return to the present before the coffee gets cold . . . Toshikazu Kawaguchi’s beautiful novel has stolen the hearts of readers the world over. Through it, we meet four visitors to the café and ask: what would you change if you could travel back in time?

Read our guide to the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series or take a look at some more books about time travel.