The discerning reader’s essential read
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FiveBooks Interviews
The Member of Parliament for Corby and East Northamptonshire and internationally bestselling author plunges us deep into a world of jailbreaks, secret documents, beautiful heroines, deadly villains, honour, revenge, death and glory. She chooses five classic chase stories.
The author of The Zodiac of Paris says French Egyptomania stemmed partly from Napoleon’s obsession with Egypt. He saw himself as a new Alexander, and wanted to secure his status in history by conquering Egypt. She chooses books on France and Egypt’s strange relationship, including the gift of a giraffe and a vaudeville play that caused riots.
Expert in Indian film Brian Shoesmith chooses five books that celebrate the lavish history of the Indian film industry and says Bollywood has become a global brand. If you say ‘Bollywood’, people identify it immediately with song and dance and an excess of colour and sound. In Perth it’s possible to take classes in Bollywood dance. Ten or 15 years ago that would have been considered bizarre. Now there are Bollywood seasons at international cinema halls and exhibitions are held at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
The Agence France Press Dhaka bureau chief recommends that people visit the prisons in Cambodia as a means of understanding the Khmer Rouge regime, a period only just introduced into the local school curriculum.
The actor and comic, whose solo tour Maz Jobrani: Brown and Friendly is touring the US, Canada, Europe, the Middle East and Australia, chooses five books on comedy, including the stand-up bible, which explains that every comedian is either saying, ‘It is hard to…’ or, ‘I love being…’ and you need to fill in the blanks.
The author of the internationally bestselling Amo, Amas, Amat... And All That and A Lust for Window Sills says a lot of the 17th-century London that survived the Great Fire of 1666 was, in fact, destroyed by post-World War II developers. He chooses the best five books on the beauty of British architecture.
Classical Music Editor of theartsdesk.com chooses five books indispensable to an understanding of classical music and says conductors are a 20th-century invention – often perceived as monsters by musicians and, by many ordinary punters, as figures of complete bafflement.
The historian says that, although much is already known about Elizabeth I, she can still surprise us. Did you know she had a locket ring which has a picture of her alongside her much maligned mother, Anne Boleyn? Also, if you look closely you can see that the great literary figures who seemed to be praising her, were actually critiquing her rule.
The bestselling author of the Shopaholic series chooses her favourite books from the Chick Lit genre. Have a romp with the angst-ridden women searching for the perfect man and the perfect pair of high-heels.
The author and former New York Times reporter finds real life more exciting than fiction. Who would ever go to a bookstore and say to the clerk: ‘Gee, today I’d really like to sink into a 500-page book on cancer clusters, dead children and irresponsible industry executives’? In the hands of a writer like Jonathan Harr, she says, the education is a treat.