Essential books for every occasion

Finished the internet and in need of a good read? Here are a few books that I keep coming back to — books that I continually recommend, often thrusting copies into the hands of friends despite their protestations.

Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
Best for: When you need a good laugh
Me Talk Pretty is a bunch of embellished anecdotes that centre on bizarre situations, everyday frustrations and the author’s own neurotic, often obsessive behaviour. The best stories involve events in the lives of the wonderfully weird Sedaris family — which includes David’s sister Amy Sedaris, the whip-smart, hyperactive writer/performer of Strangers With Candy fame. (Watch this video and try to tell me you don’t love her.)

Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
Best for: When you’re cursed with writer’s block and need a bit of a kick to get going
Tina Fey cites Anne Lamott as one of her heroes. That’s reason enough for me, but this funny, beautifully written book will get you fired up and ready to write if you’ve fallen into a lull. Lamott’s tone is frank but supportive — she puts you at ease by talking about her own fears and headnoise, and gives you a “you can do it” boost with practical tips on plot, pacing and characterisation.

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Best for: Making you cry at the ending
This is currently being made into a film starring Keira Knightley. Before the flick hits your local multiplex or torrent site, I implore you to read the novel. It’s difficult to give a summary without ruining the story, but it is narrated by a woman named Kathy, who shares her memories of growing up at Hailsham, a boarding school with something strange and secret going on in the shadows. As the story unfolds, Kathy and her friends gradually realise what makes the students there different from everyone else. Ishiguro, who also penned The Remains of the Day and When We Were Orphans, gives just enough information in each chapter to keep you in thrall without making you too frustrated.

PostSecret: Extraordinary Confessions from Ordinary Lives by Frank Warren
Best for: A fascinating look at other people’s struggles:
If you’re a weekly visitor to the PostSecret blog, you’ll know what this is all about: people write their secrets on a postcard and mail them to Frank, who then selects a batch to scan and post online every Sunday. They range from stark reports of drug addiction and domestic abuse to confessions about peeing in the shower. It’s a concise, creative look at the full spectrum of human experience.

Northern Lights (known as The Golden Compass in America) by Philip Pullman
Best for: A children’s story with adult ideas
I first read this book as part of a children’s literature course at uni. I wasn’t expecting much, but this is a work with incredible emotional resonance and thought-provoking themes about childhood, the loss of innocence and the nature of belief. The recent film adaptation starring Botox Kidman drew the ire of various religious groups, who reckoned it was an all-out condemnation of the church. I can’t say I picked up on that vibe when I read it, but do pick up a copy and decide for yourself. Then go on to the other two titles in the His Dark Materials trilogy.

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
Best for: When you’re feeling out of sync with society
Yes, it feels kinda dorky to be holding this book on the bus, but Win Friends makes for revelatory reading regardless of how confident you are among others. Good ol’ Dale C wrote this tome of human relations way back in the 1930s, but it’s held up surprisingly well. Almost all of the principles — take an interest in others; listen; put yourself in their shoes — are commonsense, but reading about them makes you thwap your forehead and think “Der, why haven’t I been doing that?” The language may be slightly archaic, but it just adds to the charm.

Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
Best for: Gaining a new perspective on modern living; freaking yourself out late at night
You were probably forced to read this at gunpoint in high school, but it’s definitely worth a revisit, especially in the context of a world filled with biometrics, surveillance and interactive telescreens television. The sense of danger that Orwell creates in his dystopian London is thrilling, and the final comeuppance for Winston and Julia will make you want to sob into your spumante.