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 [Culture](/culture)

 /  26 July 2018  

#  My Life In Books By Daisy Buchanan  


If you didn’t catch Daisy Buchanan on the SheerLuxe Show, it’s possible her bestselling book and smart, witty writing isn’t on your radar. A freelance journalist, she’s a well-known name on the Brit publishing scene, contributing regularly to the Guardian and the Telegraph, giving Ted Talks and generally inspiring team SL with her authentic, funny and soul-baring take on life as a 30-something today. And now, with her memoir How To Be A Grown-Up available in paperback, she’s well qualified to give us her literary recommendations…  


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### **What are you reading right now?**

I just woke up with a craving for Somerset Maugham, so I have picked up *Catalina.* He writes about Spain with such beauty and an oddly mischievous gravity, and I think this choice is a symptom of me needing a holiday! I recently finished Jean Hannah Edelstein’s memoir *This Really Isn’t About You* which is out at the end of August. I’ve been a huge fan of her newsletter for a while, she writes about the biggest and most recognisably tiny aspects of humanity with such detail – and she’s darkly hilarious.

### W**hat book from your childhood will always stay with you?**

So many, because I was a fat friendless nerd and spent absolutely all of my free time bingeing on books with the intensity of a chain smoker. *Ballet Shoes,* always, because I longed to be a performer and I adored the Fossil girls and their found family. (It’s about three little girls who become sisters because they’re adopted by the scatty, largely absent GUM – Great Uncle Matthew. They’re raised by his niece Sylvia, who takes in boarders out of financial necessity. It’s a real ‘it takes a village’ book, and I love that the girls all work to make money, they are not pretentious about their art. It’s also a great handbook for going freelance!)

 

 

 

 

All Jane Austen but especially *Sense and Sensibility –* my Mum adores her, and she made me read the novels before I saw the films, but Mum always presented Jane Austen to me as a wicked satirist, not the tits-n-bonnets merchant that she is sometimes made out to be. *Tales of the* City, which I found as a teenager and made me feel so much more embracing of the world, and less alone. *Emile And The Detectives* which I remember as being quite thrillingly and chillingly elegant. The *Jennings* books which I still find deathlessly and hysterically funny. And I was a *Babysitters Club* junkie – seriously, I could take on Kid Kits as my *Mastermind* subject.

### **Any children's books you sometimes revisit?** 

Virago have just reissued some beautiful Noel Streatfeild books, so I just reread *Apple Bough* and *Caldicott Place*. When I worked at the teen mag *Bliss*, I was their books editor and I read a *lot* of YA – I still revisit Judy Blume and Louise Rennison fairly regularly.

### **What books made you want to write?**

*Bridget Jones’ Diary* and the *Adrian Mole* books made me realise that you were allowed to write books that were funny, and that had a big impact. And while I will never, ever succeed, I long to write something as beautiful as *Tender Is The Night* by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

### **When and where do you read?**

I try to read first thing in the morning, in bed, with a black coffee before I touch my phone. I live in Margate, so I read on trains to and from London, and sometimes on the beach when it’s not too windy.

### **Where do you buy books?**

My husband and I can’t walk past a second-hand bookshop or charity shop without going in. We always come out with armfuls of books. Actually, we can’t walk past *any* bookshop... And often Amazon, which is as indefensible as my Domino’s pizza habit, but there we are.

### **Print or kindle?**

Either, I’m a glutton. Print for preference but if I’m out I’ll read on the Kindle or iBook app on my phone.

### **Do you belong to a book club?**

Yes! I am a proud, proud member of the Jilly Cooper book club, and its members bring me joy every single day. I’ve made so many incredible friends, and we even met Jilly last November. She invited us all over to Gloucestershire for lunch – we drank champagne in her sitting room, and it felt like Christmas Day. We have a WhatsApp group where we constantly talk about what we’re reading, how we’re living, and how much we love each other. Most of us haven’t Googled anything since we signed up – it’s like a live literary Which? Magazine.

### **How do you choose what to read?**

I get sent vast stacks of proofs, which makes me the luckiest girl alive, so often it’s the postman who chooses for me. Everyone I know and love is a reader, so I’m always looking for recommendations – my husband and I swap books fairly regularly. There’s a podcast I adore called *Backlisted* where they explore lesser known books, and classics that have fallen out of favour, and that informs a lot of my reading.

### **Do you have a favourite author?**

Arghhhhh! That is like asking me to pick a favourite sister (I have five). I’m going to say Nancy Mitford. And Nora Ephron. And Eve Babitz. And Marian Keyes. And Nina Stibbe…

### **What's been your favourite read of 2018 so far?**

My friend Caroline O’Donoghue’s novel *Promising Young Women,* which starts as a perfect soufflé of a rom com and warps into a magnificent gothic horror. She is a genius and I’m not sure I’ll ever forgive her for it. I’ve also adored Dolly Alderton’s memoir *Everything I Know About Love,* Christina Patterson’s memoir *The Art Of Not Falling Apart, the* reissue of Eve Babitz’ magnificent *Sex and Rage* and Sarra Manning’s truly exhilarating reworking of *Vanity Fair, The Rise And Fall of Becky Sharp* which is out in September.

### **What one novel will always stay with you**?

It is a tie between Nancy Mitford’s *The Pursuit of Love* and *Tender Is the Night.* And *Rachel’s Holiday,* my very favourite Marian Keyes novel.

### **Favourite biography?**

*Ma’am Darling,* Craig Brown’s book about Princess Margaret – wickedly scathing, unbelievably funny, thrillingly gossipy and truly tender.

### **Favourite non-fiction?**

It changes regularly, but maybe *Starlust* by Fred Vermorel, a book that compiles the fantasies of obsessive fans – filthy stuff about Bowie, even filthier stuff about Barry Manilow. I also adore the poet Patricia Lockwood’s memoir *Priestdaddy.*

### **Do you have a go-to comfort read?**

It would have to be Jilly Cooper. I know *Rivals* off by heart, but that’s the universe I want to live in when everything feels a little too much – naked tennis, wafts of Fracas, demon lovers, ravishing dresses, ‘blueing’ your entire salary on the perfect seduction outfit and Viognier for lunch…

### **Any guilty pleasures?**

I was raised Catholic – all of my pleasures are guilty! If it counts, I’m trying to write a novel with a *lot* of very explicit sex in it and I am not entirely convinced that it has any literary merit. It might just be a pile pf porn…

### **What book have you read more than any other?**

*The Pursuit of Love* by Nancy Mitford and *Rivals*.

### **What book would you give as a gift?**

Eve Babitz’ essay collection, *Eve’s Hollywood,* is probably my most given book. Or James and Kay Salter’s *Life Is Meals,* a book where the writers have a dish or a food memory for every single day of the year. It makes a wonderful wedding present. My husband buys copies of JB Priestly’s *Delight* whenever he sees them, in order to give them away again!

### **What was the last book that made you cry?**

I sobbed over Hannah Beckerman’s wonderful novel *If Only I Could Tell You,* which is out in February.

### **Any recommendations for laugh-out-loud books?**

I think there’s a lot of repetition in my recommendations! For my money *Bridget Jones’ Diary* is the funniest book that has ever been published, and I really enjoyed *Francis Plug: How to Be A Public Author* by Paul Ewen. Every single thing Nina Stibbe writes makes me laugh a lot – I constantly think about a passage in *An Almost Perfect Christmas* where she describes taking turns with her siblings to defrost a turkey with a hairdryer.

### **Are there any books that have helped you through difficult times?**

*Rachel’s Holiday* is the book that made me realise I needed to be much kinder and more forgiving of myself and that I had to learn to feel my feelings instead of numbing and distracting myself with litres of white wine and bad sex with men I didn’t know very well.

### **Favourite literary character?**

So, so many, but I’ve always had an extremely soft spot for Pooter from *Diary of a Nobody.* We are twins in pettiness, struggling with vast and fragile egos and a baselessly inflated sense of our own self-importance.

### **What one book should everybody read in their lifetime?**

Honestly, I don’t think you can be that prescriptive – you must read what you love and what you’re drawn to. Books nourish different parts of us and we instinctively know what we need. But if you asked my Dad he would say “*BLEAK HOUSE*!” and that would be the end of it.

### **Do you have a favourite book of all time?** 

If I was writing this as I felt the first tremors of a Richter Nine earthquake I would grab *The Pursuit Of Love*, *Rachel’s Holiday*, *Rivals*, *Man At The Helm* by Nina Stibbe and the Nora Ephron omnibus with *Crazy Salad* and *Scribble Scribble*. These books are soul balm. These are the books that I couldn’t bear to read and know it was for the very last time.

### **Do you read poetry?** 

I would like to read more poetry. I love Dorothy Parker, Thom Gunn and Frank O’Hara.

### **Has anything you've read consciously inspired your new book?**

My *new new* book, *The Sisterhood* which is out in Spring 2019, is inspired by everything I’ve ever read, because it’s a memoir about my sisters and sisters are everywhere in books, real and pretend – Fossils, Bennets, Brontes, Mitfords, Radletts, Marches… sisters a-go-go.

### **How did you find the process of writing a book yourself?**

Before I write a book, I have an image of myself sitting calmly, in grey cashmere yoga clothes I don’t actually own, sipping perfectly clear, cool water from a heavy crystal tumbler, writing immaculate sentences of great profundity. Then I write and spend months screaming “FUCK!” and crying, while wearing dirty pyjamas. I find that good follows bad follows good – or rather, there will be one day a week when I feel as though the work is good, or at least, the jokes are good. Then it feels like what I think Hannah Beckerman once compared to a cystitis wee, but with words. What’s horrible and amazing is that there is no trick, no secret. You just have to spend the time and get over your own vanity and self-loathing and fear of your head and *write,* and do that the next day, and the next day, and the next day, and that’s how you make a book. I feel almost sanguine about it now, but I’m just about to start doing my edits, so another round of swearing and stained nightwear awaits me…

 

 

 

 ![Tales Of The City from Armistead Maupin](https://media.sheerluxe.com/lFw-HExvy61rGKUJkYq0PkRmsWQ=/600x0/smart/https%3A%2F%2Fsheerluxe.com%2Fsites%2Fsheerluxe%2Ffiles%2Farticles%2F2018%2F07%2F2.jpg?itok=mzCahr7j)

 

 

 

[#### Tales Of The City](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tales-City-1/dp/0552998761/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1532509275&sr=1-1&keywords=tales%20of%20the%20city)

##### Armistead Maupin



 

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 ![The Secret Diary Of Adrain Mole from Sue Townsend](https://media.sheerluxe.com/JfHYPtlZapu6rRw5Z_dGfmwSxYA=/600x0/smart/https%3A%2F%2Fsheerluxe.com%2Fsites%2Fsheerluxe%2Ffiles%2Farticles%2F2018%2F07%2F3.jpg?itok=OnQMAJnG)

 

 

 

[#### The Secret Diary Of Adrain Mole](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Secret-Diary-Adrian-Mole-Originals/dp/0141315989/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1532450336&sr=8-1&keywords=adrian%20mole)

##### Sue Townsend



 

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 ![Crazy Salad and Scribble Scribble from Nora Ephron](https://media.sheerluxe.com/bCMfS3luSpG4wByrmnMNSeyJ7gk=/600x0/smart/https%3A%2F%2Fsheerluxe.com%2Fsites%2Fsheerluxe%2Ffiles%2Farticles%2F2018%2F07%2F4_0.jpg?itok=pWB35Ot4)

 

 

 

[#### Crazy Salad and Scribble Scribble](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Crazy-Salad-Scribble-Things-about/dp/0345804740/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1532450670&sr=1-1&keywords=crazy%20salad%20and%20scribble)

##### Nora Ephron



 

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 ![This Really Isn’t About You from Jean Hannah Edelstein](https://media.sheerluxe.com/tJ-7OrJYOr2SUWNh3hCDtuRJWhg=/600x0/smart/https%3A%2F%2Fsheerluxe.com%2Fsites%2Fsheerluxe%2Ffiles%2Farticles%2F2018%2F07%2F5.jpg?itok=ySuQekBE)

 

 

 

[#### This Really Isn’t About You](https://www.amazon.co.uk/This-Really-Isnt-About-You/dp/1509863788/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1532509531&sr=1-1&keywords=this%20really%20isnt%20about%20you)

##### Jean Hannah Edelstein



 

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 ![The Baby-Sitters Club from Ann M Martin](https://media.sheerluxe.com/ttDilKqYHUpzuTaHQw4o2wgW_mE=/600x0/smart/https%3A%2F%2Fsheerluxe.com%2Fsites%2Fsheerluxe%2Ffiles%2Farticles%2F2018%2F07%2F6.jpg?itok=2s3PygA2)

 

 

 

[#### The Baby-Sitters Club](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kristys-Great-Idea-Full-Color-Baby-Sitters/dp/0545813875/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1532450437&sr=1-1&keywords=babysitters%20club)

##### Ann M Martin



 

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 ![The Rise and Fall Of Becky Sharp from Sarra Manning](https://media.sheerluxe.com/DHJ0q2zbHYxqvqRCyREBFwUxXGs=/600x0/smart/https%3A%2F%2Fsheerluxe.com%2Fsites%2Fsheerluxe%2Ffiles%2Farticles%2F2018%2F07%2F7.jpg?itok=351JsJwv)

 

 

 

[#### The Rise and Fall Of Becky Sharp](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rise-Fall-Becky-Sharp/dp/0008291780/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1532509490&sr=1-1&keywords=the%20rise%20and%20fall%20of%20becky%20sharp)

##### Sarra Manning



 

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 ![The Art Of Not Falling Apart from Christina Patterson](https://media.sheerluxe.com/FifSDXv3QBFJo3IpzWPvqHdUq7E=/600x0/smart/https%3A%2F%2Fsheerluxe.com%2Fsites%2Fsheerluxe%2Ffiles%2Farticles%2F2018%2F07%2F8.jpg?itok=tP9c_l5k)

 

 

 

[#### The Art Of Not Falling Apart](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Art-Not-Falling-Apart/dp/1786492741/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1532509414&sr=1-1&keywords=the%20art%20of%20not%20falling%20apart)

##### Christina Patterson



 

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 ![Emil And The Detectives from Erich Kästner](https://media.sheerluxe.com/PS6X5UrhiNohrzooijUi2ruFYwo=/600x0/smart/https%3A%2F%2Fsheerluxe.com%2Fsites%2Fsheerluxe%2Ffiles%2Farticles%2F2018%2F07%2F9.jpg?itok=bwfByGWJ)

 

 

 

[#### Emil And The Detectives](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Emil-Detectives-Red-Fox-Classics/dp/0099413124/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1532450800&sr=1-1&keywords=emile%20and%20the%20detectives)

##### Erich Kästner



 

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 ![Ma’am Darling from Craig Brown](https://media.sheerluxe.com/tH-s1bTAq3lVetuIgQ2fAM9R0Jg=/600x0/smart/https%3A%2F%2Fsheerluxe.com%2Fsites%2Fsheerluxe%2Ffiles%2Farticles%2F2018%2F07%2F10.jpg?itok=84azcgpW)

 

 

 

[#### Ma’am Darling](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Maam-Darling-Glimpses-Princess-Margaret/dp/0008203636/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1532451407&sr=1-1&keywords=MA%27AM%20dARLING)

##### Craig Brown



 

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 ![Everything I know About Love from Dolly Alderton](https://media.sheerluxe.com/TwRFX88n6UZJ96GiRSYf6ncZIZU=/600x0/smart/https%3A%2F%2Fsheerluxe.com%2Fsites%2Fsheerluxe%2Ffiles%2Farticles%2F2018%2F07%2F11.jpg?itok=DV61bp_C)

 

 

 

[#### Everything I know About Love](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Everything-Know-About-Love-Bestseller/dp/0241322715/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1532450973&sr=1-1&keywords=everything%20i%20know%20about%20love)

##### Dolly Alderton



 

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 ![Apple Bough from Noel Streatfeild](https://media.sheerluxe.com/WtotIZdd0exGcxYQ3vv7n3WJ2w4=/600x0/smart/https%3A%2F%2Fsheerluxe.com%2Fsites%2Fsheerluxe%2Ffiles%2Farticles%2F2018%2F07%2F12.jpg?itok=4r2U0Q5a)

 

 

 

[#### Apple Bough](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Apple-Bough-Virago-Modern-Classics/dp/0349010919/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1532450392&sr=1-2&keywords=apple%20bough)

##### Noel Streatfeild



 

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 ![Ballet Shoes from Noel Streatfeild](https://media.sheerluxe.com/ArseNcmmkATsLCma_9qNUkuZNY0=/600x0/smart/https%3A%2F%2Fsheerluxe.com%2Fsites%2Fsheerluxe%2Ffiles%2Farticles%2F2018%2F07%2F15be45c68edfeb9269e01093ee65c797a1.jpg?itok=2Skm87Jo)

 

 

 

[#### Ballet Shoes](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ballet-Shoes-Puffin-Book-Streatfeild/dp/0141359803/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1532450483&sr=1-1&keywords=ballet%20shoes)

##### Noel Streatfeild



 

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 ![Life Is Meals from James Salter](https://media.sheerluxe.com/eAyIht6DnN4lx_dTpTadcM-aqK4=/600x0/smart/https%3A%2F%2Fsheerluxe.com%2Fsites%2Fsheerluxe%2Ffiles%2Farticles%2F2018%2F07%2F16life-meals-food-lovers-book-days1.jpg?itok=Gs1PbZv1)

 

 

 

[#### Life Is Meals](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Life-Meals-Food-Lovers-Book/dp/1447254929/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1532451297&sr=1-1&keywords=Life%20is%20meals)

##### James Salter



 

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 ![Catalina from W. Somerset Maugham](https://media.sheerluxe.com/2mKvH43sgY9ekLp7AiKj3vvqja4=/600x0/smart/https%3A%2F%2Fsheerluxe.com%2Fsites%2Fsheerluxe%2Ffiles%2Farticles%2F2018%2F07%2F17catalina1.jpg?itok=O2NKU8cr)

 

 

 

[#### Catalina](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Catalina-Vintage-Classics-Somerset-Maugham/dp/009928684X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1532450623&sr=1-1&keywords=catalina%20somerset%20maugham)

##### W. Somerset Maugham



 

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 ![Man At The Helm from Nina Stibbe](https://media.sheerluxe.com/dFOQ7mi2S2D2CkYX163KX1Avy5Y=/600x0/smart/https%3A%2F%2Fsheerluxe.com%2Fsites%2Fsheerluxe%2Ffiles%2Farticles%2F2018%2F07%2F18man-helm1.jpg?itok=FFnPZ63j)

 

 

 

[#### Man At The Helm](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Man-at-Helm-Nina-Stibbe/dp/0241967805/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1532683851&sr=1-1&keywords=man%20at%20the%20helm)

##### Nina Stibbe



 

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 ![Sex and Rage from Eve Babitz](https://media.sheerluxe.com/mKcLslXv_QCs3rM8Y05FXlhf3L4=/600x0/smart/https%3A%2F%2Fsheerluxe.com%2Fsites%2Fsheerluxe%2Ffiles%2Farticles%2F2018%2F07%2F19.jpg?itok=cEw-D4d-)

 

 

 

[#### Sex and Rage](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sex-Rage-Advice-Ladies-Canons/dp/178689274X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1532509199&sr=1-1&keywords=sex%20and%20rage)

##### Eve Babitz



 

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 ![If Only I could Tell You from Hannah Beckerman](https://media.sheerluxe.com/B40GfGxoKu-9DyGSb3y6oDN8Qg8=/600x0/smart/https%3A%2F%2Fsheerluxe.com%2Fsites%2Fsheerluxe%2Ffiles%2Farticles%2F2018%2F07%2F20.jpg?itok=FGbGgzAy)

 

 

 

[#### If Only I could Tell You](https://www.amazon.co.uk/If-Only-Could-Tell-You/dp/1409177300/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1532451066&sr=1-1&keywords=if%20only%20i%20could%20tell%20you)

##### Hannah Beckerman



 

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 ![The Diary Of A Nobody from George Grossmith](https://media.sheerluxe.com/-FQ9MRKe_P6nsLplpp5w_uEBXNw=/600x0/smart/https%3A%2F%2Fsheerluxe.com%2Fsites%2Fsheerluxe%2Ffiles%2Farticles%2F2018%2F07%2F21.jpg?itok=nAC0MUOg)

 

 

 

[#### The Diary Of A Nobody](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Diary-Nobody-Wordsworth-Classics/dp/1853262013/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1532450758&sr=1-1&keywords=diary%20of%20a%20nobody)

##### George Grossmith



 

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 ![Priestdaddy from Patricia Lockwood](https://media.sheerluxe.com/rsJXHsnJHS2fhRKWgSWrtH67iJs=/600x0/smart/https%3A%2F%2Fsheerluxe.com%2Fsites%2Fsheerluxe%2Ffiles%2Farticles%2F2018%2F07%2F22.jpg?itok=IPNPxhgB)

 

 

 

[#### Priestdaddy](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Priestdaddy-Memoir-Patricia-Lockwood/dp/0141984597/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1532451481&sr=1-1&keywords=priestdaddy)

##### Patricia Lockwood



 

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 ![Eve’s Hollywood from Eve Babitz](https://media.sheerluxe.com/8kYuGdM9hKnC7KfSTVogG4EzJZs=/600x0/smart/https%3A%2F%2Fsheerluxe.com%2Fsites%2Fsheerluxe%2Ffiles%2Farticles%2F2018%2F07%2F23book.jpg?itok=QgARgntW)

 

 

 

[#### Eve’s Hollywood](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Eves-Hollywood-Review-Books-Classics/dp/1590178904/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1532450880&sr=1-1&keywords=eve%27s%20hollywood)

##### Eve Babitz



 

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 ![Tender Is The Night from F.Scott Fitzgerald](https://media.sheerluxe.com/70S2759zGOUiukl-Kd8cmLznJMg=/600x0/smart/https%3A%2F%2Fsheerluxe.com%2Fsites%2Fsheerluxe%2Ffiles%2Farticles%2F2018%2F07%2Ftender-night.jpg?itok=KNXDl2Kl)

 

 

 

[#### Tender Is The Night](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tender-Night-Romance-Penguin-Classics/dp/0141183594/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1532683932&sr=8-2&keywords=tender%20is%20the%20night%20f%20scott%20fitzgerald)

##### F.Scott Fitzgerald



 

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 ![Delight from JB Priestley](https://media.sheerluxe.com/O3GesjfsN5W05ls8vX63AvSBrf4=/600x0/smart/https%3A%2F%2Fsheerluxe.com%2Fsites%2Fsheerluxe%2Ffiles%2Farticles%2F2018%2F07%2F25.jpg?itok=1ZMpqQ5X)

 

 

 

[#### Delight](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Delight-70th-Anniversary-JB-Priestley/dp/1912101874/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1532450704&sr=1-1&keywords=delight)

##### JB Priestley



 

[ Flag this item ](/user/login?destination=/markdownify/node/16824 "Add product to my favourites")

 

 

 

 ![Rachel’s Holiday from Marian Keyes](https://media.sheerluxe.com/rLh6x0VlCyaL7H7KYuXTRU1Zj94=/600x0/smart/https%3A%2F%2Fsheerluxe.com%2Fsites%2Fsheerluxe%2Ffiles%2Farticles%2F2018%2F07%2F26.jpg?itok=muHBgylb)

 

 

 

[#### Rachel’s Holiday](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rachels-Holiday-Festival-Poole-Selection/dp/0241958431/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1532509060&sr=1-1&keywords=rachel%27s%20holiday)

##### Marian Keyes



 

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 ![The Pursuit Of Love from Nancy Mitford](https://media.sheerluxe.com/jJ1oHp12TGr4Uek3YF69P_IwnQc=/600x0/smart/https%3A%2F%2Fsheerluxe.com%2Fsites%2Fsheerluxe%2Ffiles%2Farticles%2F2018%2F07%2F27.jpg?itok=f80YV_eF)

 

 

 

[#### The Pursuit Of Love](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pursuit-Love-Penguin-Essentials/dp/0241984076/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1532509447&sr=1-1&keywords=the%20pursuit%20of%20love)

##### Nancy Mitford



 

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 ![Rivals from Jilly Cooper](https://media.sheerluxe.com/ke6efumHwp82PYcwA-8P3ch8duA=/600x0/smart/https%3A%2F%2Fsheerluxe.com%2Fsites%2Fsheerluxe%2Ffiles%2Farticles%2F2018%2F07%2F28.jpg?itok=MBUdDp49)

 

 

 

[#### Rivals](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rivals-Jilly-Cooper-OBE/dp/055215637X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1532509103&sr=1-1&keywords=rivals)

##### Jilly Cooper



 

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 ![Sense and Sensibility from Jane Austen](https://media.sheerluxe.com/YEy-negAd4B-lzMsATGUvVYanOc=/600x0/smart/https%3A%2F%2Fsheerluxe.com%2Fsites%2Fsheerluxe%2Ffiles%2Farticles%2F2018%2F07%2Fsense-and-sensilbility.jpg?itok=Fv2RS3WV)

 

 

 

[#### Sense and Sensibility](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sense-Sensibility-Wordsworth-Classics-Austen/dp/1853260169/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1532509159&sr=1-1&keywords=sense%20and%20sensibility)

##### Jane Austen



 

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 ![Promising Young Women from Caroline O’Donoghue](https://media.sheerluxe.com/pu3kVGSQIF_N-DhJS25i8_M2lbg=/600x0/smart/https%3A%2F%2Fsheerluxe.com%2Fsites%2Fsheerluxe%2Ffiles%2Farticles%2F2018%2F07%2F30.jpg?itok=py-pusFL)

 

 

 

[#### Promising Young Women](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Promising-Young-Women-Caroline-ODonoghue-ebook/dp/B077QGSLH5/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1532451523&sr=1-1&keywords=promising%20young%20women)

##### Caroline O’Donoghue



 

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 ![Francis Plug How To Be Public Author from Paul Ewen](https://media.sheerluxe.com/_MjsMMp2qsvH-LHKbgD2qKxfUQs=/600x0/smart/https%3A%2F%2Fsheerluxe.com%2Fsites%2Fsheerluxe%2Ffiles%2Farticles%2F2018%2F07%2F31.jpg?itok=UMzfhdQ9)

 

 

 

[#### Francis Plug How To Be Public Author](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Francis-Plug-How-Public-Author/dp/1910296147/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1532451022&sr=1-1&keywords=francis%20plug%20how%20to%20be%20a%20public%20author)

##### Paul Ewen



 

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 ![Jennings from Anthony Buckeridge](https://media.sheerluxe.com/PCvb-YFwd6DELDn_-s0Jh6uYpLg=/600x0/smart/https%3A%2F%2Fsheerluxe.com%2Fsites%2Fsheerluxe%2Ffiles%2Farticles%2F2018%2F07%2F32.jpg?itok=pDpWN7DB)

 

 

 

[#### Jennings](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Jennings-Goes-School-Anthony-Buckeridge/dp/0755113683/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8)

##### Anthony Buckeridge



 

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 ![Starlust from Fred Vermorel](https://media.sheerluxe.com/z8tnPqoyBJZpoBWxD-z6Pf11HIE=/600x0/smart/https%3A%2F%2Fsheerluxe.com%2Fsites%2Fsheerluxe%2Ffiles%2Farticles%2F2018%2F07%2F33.jpg?itok=R7DtTlFV)

 

 

 

[#### Starlust](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Starlust-Secret-Fantasies-Fred-Vermorel/dp/0571280765/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1532509233&sr=1-1&keywords=starlust)

##### Fred Vermorel



 

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## *more from*

### Culture



 [View All Culture](/culture) 

  ![The Luxe List: December](https://media.sheerluxe.com/43wHZCUjtwU6LDsWjg2DBeCO9zM=/200x267/smart/https%3A%2F%2Fsheerluxe.com%2Fsites%2Fsheerluxe%2Ffiles%2Farticles%2F2025%2F12%2Fsl-site-assets-011225-thumb-ll.jpg?itok=QEcDoapQ)

  

 

 



 

[Culture](/culture)

/

  01 December 2025  

 [##  The Luxe List: December  


 

 ](/culture/the-luxe-list-december) 

 

 

 

  ![My Little Black Book With Amanda Kyme](https://media.sheerluxe.com/xJOXPJq0YuiTuPleVT5gYts1-vo=/200x267/smart/https%3A%2F%2Fsheerluxe.com%2Fsites%2Fsheerluxe%2Ffiles%2Farticles%2F2025%2F11%2Fsl-gold-171125-site-assets-amanda-kyme-lbb-hero-thumb_0.png?itok=saWHbMNd)

  

 

 



 

 [Life](/gold/life)/

  17 November 2025  

 [##  My Little Black Book With Amanda Kyme  


 

 ](/culture/my-little-black-book-with-amanda-kyme) 

 

 

 

  ![The Gold Hot List](https://media.sheerluxe.com/-3d8ylTG5dq1Bti5Tj0fk6k0w9Q=/200x267/smart/https%3A%2F%2Fsheerluxe.com%2Fsites%2Fsheerluxe%2Ffiles%2Farticles%2F2025%2F11%2Fsl-gold-171125-site-assets-hot-list-thumb.jpg?itok=aSLdWugO)

  

 

 



 

 [Travel &amp; Culture](/gold/travel-culture)/

  17 November 2025  

 [##  The Gold Hot List  


 

 ](/culture/the-gold-hot-list-0) 

 

 

 

  ![The Luxe List: November](https://media.sheerluxe.com/ozYh1VnUBAAl6ppkAE_Xp13aWUY=/200x267/smart/https%3A%2F%2Fsheerluxe.com%2Fsites%2Fsheerluxe%2Ffiles%2Farticles%2F2025%2F11%2Fsl-031125-site-assets-thumb-luxe-list.jpg?itok=yvzQJcXr)

  

 

 



 

[Culture](/culture)

/

  03 November 2025  

 [##  The Luxe List: November  


 

 ](/culture/the-luxe-list-november) 

 

 

 

  ![Inside SheerLuxe’s Annual Diwali & Bandi Chhor Divas Dinner](https://media.sheerluxe.com/64V5gAfcxqq962DZhUipVo6aLSk=/200x267/smart/https%3A%2F%2Fsheerluxe.com%2Fsites%2Fsheerluxe%2Ffiles%2Farticles%2F2025%2F10%2Fsl-layout-281025-diwali-dinner-thumb-v2.jpg?itok=uFyZMrwY)

  

 

 



 

[Culture](/culture)

/

  28 October 2025  

 [##  Inside SheerLuxe’s Annual Diwali &amp; Bandi Chhor Divas Dinner  


 

 ](/culture/inside-sheerluxes-annual-diwali-bandi-chhor-divas-dinner) 

 

 

 

  ![The Luxe List: October](https://media.sheerluxe.com/BHSJL3D36KyojTDn8X0zazDG5FM=/200x267/smart/https%3A%2F%2Fsheerluxe.com%2Fsites%2Fsheerluxe%2Ffiles%2Farticles%2F2025%2F10%2Fsl-site-assets-021025-thumb-luxe-list.png?itok=9xmaldAk)

  

 

 



 

[Culture](/culture)

/

  02 October 2025  

 [##  The Luxe List: October  


 

 ](/culture/the-luxe-list-october) 

 

 

 

  ![Go Behind The Scenes At The SheerLuxe X Pomelo Supper Club ](https://media.sheerluxe.com/9CQtpXQ_XU3Jqw2hy8teKU-3-Q4=/200x267/smart/https%3A%2F%2Fsheerluxe.com%2Fsites%2Fsheerluxe%2Ffiles%2Farticles%2F2025%2F09%2Fsl-site-assets-190925-thumb-cc-dinner.jpg?itok=cHh6Y60d)

  

 

 



 

[Culture](/culture)

/

  19 September 2025  

 [##  Go Behind The Scenes At The SheerLuxe X Pomelo Supper Club  


 

 ](/culture/go-behind-the-scenes-at-the-sheerluxe-x-pomelo-supper-club) 

 

 

 

  ![The Luxe List: September](https://media.sheerluxe.com/FvJQDFxNH-W-9AmE5RU0p2u8qKk=/200x267/smart/https%3A%2F%2Fsheerluxe.com%2Fsites%2Fsheerluxe%2Ffiles%2Farticles%2F2025%2F09%2Fsl-site-assets-010925-thumb-luxe-list-more-to-come_0.jpg?itok=Wrerxom6)

  

 

 



 

[Culture](/culture)

/

  01 September 2025  

 [##  The Luxe List: September  


 

 ](/culture/the-luxe-list-september) 

 

 

 

  ![A Cool Chef’s Perfect Summer Weekend In LA](https://media.sheerluxe.com/Jv4H1fjkr-Gzf3UUWPxe92vWCgI=/200x267/smart/https%3A%2F%2Fsheerluxe.com%2Fsites%2Fsheerluxe%2Ffiles%2Farticles%2F2025%2F08%2Fsl-290825-site-assets-thumb-my-weekend-chloe-cooks.jpg?itok=YIGqTzlY)

  

 

 



 

[Culture](/culture)

/

  29 August 2025  

 [##  A Cool Chef’s Perfect Summer Weekend In LA  


 

 ](/culture/a-cool-chefs-perfect-summer-weekend-in-la) 

 

 

 

 

           

 

 

 

 

 



  

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