Discover what really turns off bestseller Laura Dave when she gets into a new book
New York Times bestselling author, Laura Dave
What Book…
… are you reading now?
What Can We Know by Ian McEwan. It’s a love story and a detective story and genre-bending in the best way. McEwan is such a wonderful writer. His novel, Atonement, has a special place in my heart.
… would you take to a desert island?
Heartburn by Nora Ephron. It’s a funny, touching novel, loosely based on the end of Ephron’s marriage. For such a heartbreaker of a subject, it’s a real comfort read, and I always have my copy close by.
As a bonus, the protagonist is a cookbook writer and there are wonderful recipes throughout. I love this novel and re-read it every year.
If allowed, I would also take the classic, forever wonderful Pride And Prejudice by Jane Austen.
Penelope Gets Wheels was published in 1982
… first gave you the reading bug?
THE first book I remember falling in love with was a children’s book called Penelope Gets Wheels. I mentioned how much I love it during a book tour – and a very kind reader found it somehow and sent me a copy, even though it’s now out of print. I cherish it!
… left you cold?
I love everything – fiction, memoirs, poetry collections and non-fiction alike. I rarely find myself wanting to cast a novel off or not finish it. Though, I will confess, if it turns out all the characters are bad or villainous, I tend to feel a bit of a disconnect when I get to the last page.
Maybe I should give it another read, but my 16-year-old self really didn’t like The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand.
The First Time I Saw Him by Laura Dave (Penguin, £18.99) is out on January 15.