Good Reading Guide: What to Read and What to Read Next

Any avid reader will understand the joy of finding an 'unputdownable' book, and will have asked themselves the question, what next? With 100,000 new books published each year - in addition to the enormous wealth of literature already in print - this can be difficult. "The Bloomsbury Good Reading Guide" features more than 350 major authors, from Margaret Atwood to Emile Zola, through Bruce Chatwin, to Aldous Huxley, and Neville Shute. At the end of each entry, a 'Read On' section directs readers to similar works by other authors. For instance, Iain Banks' science fiction works are cross-referred to The Unlimited Dream Company by J G Ballard and "The Alchemical Marriage of Alistair Crompton" by Robert Sheckley, while from his literary novels, readers are signposted to Martin Amis' "The Information" (dark, obsessive behaviour) and to Alasdair Gray's "Lanark" (Scottish contemporary fiction). For twelve influential works of literature, 'Pathways' lead readers to more books with similar themes. For those new to English literature, the Guide also provides 'Startpoints' for reading around each of nine main genres, including Biography, Crime, Letters and Diaries, Science Fiction and Fantasy, and Travel.