WHAT I TALK ABOUT WHEN I TALK ABOUT RUNNING

A love story and a tale of life-enhancing friendship: Pulitzer Prize winner Andrew Sean Greer showcases his wit, sophistication and deep knowledge of focaccia in this magical tale set amidst the Tuscan hills.


Broke and directionless, our young man takes a job in the Italian countryside as the all-purpose assistant to Lisabetta, known to her friends as Coco - a strong-willed, wealthy widow of great local renown.


Trained as an archivist, he thinks he's been hired to catalogue the contents of the beautiful, crumbling mansion nestled in the green Tuscan hills... but what are his actual duties?
Days are spent ridding the house of a marten - whatever that is - locating the antediluvian septic system, entertaining an endless carousel of guests (from bohemian painters to elderly princesses to unnervingly handsome nephews), attending a funeral in order to make off with the urn, and not inadvertently sabotaging Coco's great and final plan-to locate the lost love of her life and be reunited before it's too late.


As summer turns into autumn and the Italian countryside begins to work its magic on our protagonist, the secrets of Villa Coco and its inhabitants are slowly brought to light - and with them, an unforgettable story of the enduring power of friendship.

The princess isn’t supposed to dethrone the king.

Elsa
He told me he’d destroy me - and he did.
I might have lost the battle, but the war is far from over.
They say it takes just one move to dethrone a king.
No one warned me he’d drag me down with him on the way.

Aiden
If Steel’s little princess wants a war, then she’ll get one.
There’s only one rule: follow mine - or none at all.
So go ahead, sweetheart.
Show me what you’ve got.

The London winter of 1947 is as cold as St Petersburg during the Revolution. Albertine, the wife of a British army officer often abroad on covert government business, finds herself increasingly lonely.

Eager to distract herself with work, she takes a job as companion to the mysterious 'Monsieur Ka', a Russian emigre. As she is drawn into Ka's dramatic past, her own life is shaken to its foundations.

As a girl, Clara del Valle can read fortunes, make objects move as if they had lives of their own, and predict the future. Following the mysterious death of her sister, Rosa the Beautiful, Clara is mute for nine years. When she breaks her silence, it is to announce that she will be married soon to the stern and volatile landowner Esteban Trueba.

East of Eden by John Steinbeck is a sweeping novel that intertwines the lives of two families, the Trasks and the Hamiltons, over multiple generations in California's Salinas Valley. The story explores complex themes of good and evil, free will, and the struggle for identity and redemption.

The narrative primarily follows the Trask family, beginning with Adam Trask, who moves to California after a tumultuous relationship with his half-brother, Charles. Adam marries the enigmatic and morally corrupt Cathy Ames, who later abandons him and their twin sons, Caleb ("Cal") and Aron. Cathy becomes a brothel owner, embodying the novel's exploration of inherent evil.

The Hamilton family, particularly Samuel Hamilton and his daughter, Liza, provide a counterpoint with their integrity and moral strength. Samuel becomes a close friend to Adam Trask, helping him through his struggles.

As the story progresses, the focus shifts to the next generation, particularly the contrasting paths of Cal and Aron. Cal, feeling overshadowed by his idealized brother Aron, grapples with feelings of guilt and a desire for his father's approval. The novel culminates in Cal's ultimate struggle with his own nature and the choices he makes, echoing the biblical story of Cain and Abel.

What’s worse than a big little lie? An even bigger little truth...

It has been a decade since the ill-fated quiz night at Pirriwee High. A man died. Accusations of murder were rife. For mothers and best friends Madeline, Celeste and Jane, the fall out still feels like it happened yesterday. Never mind that their kids have grown into grouchy teenagers with too many hormones. Or that, as their frazzled mothers, they don’t have enough.

Because life always has its challenges, big and small.

Narrated by Kathy, now 31, Never Let Me Go hauntingly dramatises her attempts to come to terms with her childhood at the seemingly idyllic Hailsham School, and with the fate that has always awaited her and her closest friends in the wider world.

A story of love, friendship and memory, Never Let Me Go is charged throughout with a sense of the fragility of life.

As a third-year Ph.D. candidate, Olive Smith doesn't believe in lasting romantic relationships - but her best friend does, and that's what got her into this situation. Convincing Anh that Olive is dating and well on her way to a happily ever after was always going to take more than hand-wavy Jedi mind tricks: Scientists require proof. So, like any self-respecting biologist, Olive panics and kisses the first man she sees.

That man is none other than Adam Carlsen, a young hotshot professor - and well-known ass. Which is why Olive is positively floored when Stanford's reigning lab tyrant agrees to keep her charade a secret and be her fake boyfriend. But when a big science conference goes haywire, putting Olive's career on the Bunsen burner, Adam surprises her again with his unyielding support and even more unyielding...six-pack abs.

It is 18th century Saint Domingue, and Tété never knew her parents. All she knows is that her mother was a slave, and that her white father’s identity will forever remain a mystery.

As a child she is sold to the plantation-owner Toulouse Valmorain, and finds herself subjected to his unwanted attentions. Still, in spite of everything, she finds community and comfort among the other slaves. And as a revolution gains momentum and opportunities surface, she can’t help but wonder: will freedom, one day, be in reach?

In colonial Chile, 1832, the infant Eliza is found on the doorstep of the British Import and Export Company. Adopted by the maternal Miss Rose, she is raised dutifully, with Victorian piety and propriety. But as a young woman, Eliza falls in love with the wildly inappropriate Joaquín Andieta – and when he leaves for the gold-laden hills of California, she can’t help but follow.

Yeongdo, Korea 1911. In a small fishing village on the banks of the East Sea, a club-footed, cleft-lipped man marries a fifteen-year-old girl. The couple have one child, their beloved daughter Sunja. When Sunja falls pregnant by a married yakuza, the family face ruin. But then Isak, a Christian minister, offers her a chance of salvation: a new life in Japan as his wife.

Following a man she barely knows to a hostile country in which she has no friends, no home, and whose language she cannot speak, Sunja's salvation is just the beginning of her story.

LONGLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2026 AND AN INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

A BARACK OBAMA 2026 SUMMER READING LIST PICK

Artie Dam is a man with a secret. He spends his days teaching history to high schoolers, expanding their young minds, correcting their casual cruelties, and lending a kind word to those who need it most. He goes to holiday parties with his wife of three decades, makes small talk with neighbours, and, on weekends, takes his sailboat out on the beautiful Massachusetts Bay. He is, by all appearances, present and alive. But inside, Artie is plagued by feelings of isolation. He looks out at a world gone mad―at himself and the people around him―and turns a question over and over in his mind: how is it that we know so little about one another, even those closest to us?

And then, one day, Artie learns that life has been keeping a secret from him, one that threatens to upend his entire world. Once he learns it, he is forced to chart a new course, to reconsider the relationships he holds most dear―and to make peace with the mysteries at the heart of our existence.