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By William Boyd, paperback £9.99, grown-up fiction (reviewed by Octavia) I adored the extraordinary journey of Cashel Greville Ross. All in the name of love. Following one’s heart, rather than one’s head, is a risky business. From Cork to London, to the romance and culture of Italy’s Pisa and later Venice. From life on a farm in America and even further yet, to discover the source of the Nile. Putting his life in great danger in exotic, uncharted territory. An unforgettable and stunning story. Completely immersive, charismatic, and charming. A must read.

By Stéphane Carlier, translated by Polly Mackintosh, paperback £9.99, grown-up fiction (reviewed by Clare) A pick-me-up of a book about a young woman working in a Parisian hair salon whose life is changed when she picks up a copy of In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust, left behind by an enigmatic gentleman who drops by for a haircut. Clara becomes completely absorbed by the writing ‘which she feels for a reason she still cannot understand, will make her stronger’. A hymn to the transformative power of books and their ability to open previously undreamed-of new horizons to the reader. A cup-of-tea-on-the-sofa or glass-of-wine-in-the-garden kind of book about unleashing your creativity and embracing what you love in life even if ‘there is no visible, Instagrammable outcome’. This elegant, slender volume written in short chapters would be a perfect book club choice. Serve with tea and madeleines for the full Proustian experience. (If reading this tempts you to read or re-read Proust for yourself, we also stock In Search of Lost Time, Book 1.)

By Greg Jenner, illustrated by Jenny Taylor, paperback £10.99, children’s non-fiction/reference (reviewed by Clare) A history book with a difference: Rather than Kings and Queens or wars and battles it takes the evolution of everyday objects as our guide to the past. Author Greg Jenner (the host of comedy history podcast You’re Dead to Me) worked on Horrible Histories and that signature blend of the silly with the educational is captured in this book. It’s packed with fun illustrations and fantastic facts to impress your friends with. For example, when it comes to the humble pillow, did you know that in medieval China and Korea pillows were made from porcelain and were hollow in the middle so they could be filled with warm water in the winter and cold water in the summer? Or that way before Minecraft or even Pac Man, American nuclear physicist Edward Condon built the first games machine in 1940? Or that Tutankhamun was buried with 145 spare pairs of pants.