Sitting on a train or bus for hours can feel like wasted time in your day, unless of course you allow yourself to be lost in the pages of a good book.
Here are three books that will have you so enthralled, you might miss your stop.
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
Oh Shirley Jackson, where have you been all my life? Jackson wrote around the 1950s and is the queen of ‘high-toned’ horror stories – her form of horror is subtle, feminine, and all the more treacherous for it.
This novel is super short, easy to whack in your bag, and will make the trip to work absolutely fly past. Merricat Blackwood, who tells her family history of ’the castle’, is one of best narrators of all time.
Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple
The film is due for release is 2017, starring Cate Blanchett as Bernadette.
This is quirky, captivating fiction, about an eccentric mother who disappears before a family trip to the Antarctic. Her 15-year-old daughter, Bee Branch, is just the person to crack the case.
Very west coast/silicon valley/suburban noir, easy to read, and totally engrossing.
LISTEN: Best-selling author Marian Keyes speaks about her relationship, writing fiction, and a battle with depression that rocked her to her core.
True Grit by Charles Portis
Though this novel comes in at just 240 pages, Mattie, the heroine of the novel, packs a real punch. Described as an “instant classic” and set in the Wild West, the book has a cult following.
The story follows Mattie’s quest to avenge her father’s death, no matter that she is a girl, no matter that she is a child. Her tenacity and acumen are enough to sustain any journey to work. True Grit indeed.
Philippa Donovan is a book scout for several film/tv producers in LA, and is the founder of the Smart Quill consultancy for writers: www.smartquilleditorial.com .
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