The books the top authors will be reading in 2015

“As a non-fiction treat, I would love to read Andrew Solomon’s Far From The Tree [Vintage, Dh80], a beautifully written psychiatric study of difference and compassion. The death of the Duchess of Devonshire in September this year closed an era on the glamorous Mitfords, and I think it would be nice to revisit her autobiography, Wait for Me! [John Murray, Dh57], as a balance to Solomon, with both books begging the question, what is normal?”

“On my to-read list are H Is For Hawk by Helen Macdonald [Jonathan Cape, Dh107]. I read medieval studies at university and have always been fascinated by hawks and falconry. I’ve read excerpts from this book and it sounds wild, strange and haunting. I would also like The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters [Virago, Dh116]. I love her novels – I’ve read them all – but I know that, once started, they are almost impossible to put down, so I have to make sure I read undisturbed for a day or two.”

“I’d ideally like to read some Ngaio Marsh Inspector Alleyn mysteries – I’ve never read Marsh’s Golden Age detective novels, and it’s about time I did. I’d also like to read Adultery by Paulo Coelho [Hutchinson, Dh72], his new novel, about a woman’s search for fulfilment, and The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino [Abacus, Dh52], because I’ve heard it’s my very favourite thing: a crime novel with a supremely clever plot.”

“I want to read Science For Her! by Megan Amram [Hardie Grant, Dh105], which looks both useful and very, very funny; the new Stephen King, Revival [Hodder & Stoughton, Dh117], for after a big meal when you can’t do anything but lie there like a sated anaconda and let the pages turn themselves – King is great for that – and The Ghost Of The Mary Celeste by Valerie Martin [Weidenfeld & Nicolson, Dh105], which looks very cold and chilly.”

“I’m a huge fan of India Knight’s no-nonsense column in The Sunday Times and her marvellous take on life, the universe and shopping. I’m looking forward to reading her new book, In Your Prime [Fig Tree, Dh121]. I believe it covers ageing, shopping, parents, kids, the menopause, and what the effect is of looking at one’s naked self from a mirror on the floor. Not a happy sensation, it seems... Sure to be deliciously funny. I love crime novels, and though I’ve read several of Iceland’s Yrsa SigurÕardóttir’s novels, I haven’t read The Silence Of The Sea [Hodder & Stoughton, Dh79] yet. There’s something fascinating about Iceland – a country I’ve never been to – and the concept of this glorious landscape with its craters, hot springs and mystery. Our heroine, Thóra Gudmundsdóttir, is hired to find out what happened to the family who rented out the luxury yacht, which arrives in Reykjavik harbour with nobody on board. Sounds thrilling.”

“I’m going to be getting my hands on AN Wilson’s biography of Queen Victoria [Victoria: A Life; Atlantic, Dh145], almost as long as the reign of that Sovereign Lady herself, but I can’t think of anyone with a livelier feel for that era. I’d love to find also a nice edition of the ghost stories of MR James, still for me the finest of the genre.”

“I’ll be finishing Straw Dogs by John Gray [Granta, Dh71], which looks at what it is to be human and how ludicrously self-important we are about our species. It needs to be read in short bursts, as it’s intensely depressing – so depressing it somehow bounces back on itself and becomes quite exhilarating. And I’ll be reading the sequel to Graeme Simsion’s The Rosie Project, The Rosie Effect [Michael Joseph, Dh85], because The Rosie Project, though a little too slick, made me laugh out loud many times.”