SEASONS READINGS

In the second part of our annual pre-Christmas round-up, leading authors from Ian Rankin to Louise Candlish and Mark Billingham share their favourite books of the year with MATT NIXSON

- 

Sir Ian Rankin, whose new standalone novel The Heights (Orion) is due in October, says: “Wild Thing by Sue Prideaux (Faber) is a brilliant biography of Paul Gauguin, packed with fascinating information and a helpful restoration of his personal reputation. He fought for the rights of Tahitians (at that time ruled by France) and limped for much of his adult life after taking a kicking by a gang who wore clogs. He once visited Aberdeen (as a seaman) and went on to help build the Panama Canal. Beat that, Cezanne! Kate Atkinson’s Death At The Sign of The Rook (Transworld) is a sly, ingenious, often hilarious and elegantly-written whodunnit that manages to poke fun at the genre while also celebrating it. Readers never know what they'll get from a new Kate Atkinson, except that it will be world-class, cerebral entertainment. A perfect winter fireside indulgence.”

Broadcaster Clare Balding, whose debut novel is Pastures New (HarperCollins), says: “I loved The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo (Simon & Schuster) by Taylor Jenkins Reid. She has created such a smart, complicated, strong heroine and a brilliantly clever way of constructing her story. I am currently reading Yellowface by Rebecca F. Kuang (Borough Press) and enjoying it hugely, particularly the familiarity of the book publishing world. Having had my first novel published (though I didn’t steal the plot from a friend) it feels strangely real.”