Ultimate Reads

This week I was asked to think about my top 10 favourite reads of all time. This was HARD. It got me considering what makes A Great Book. This is one that moves beyond being just a story: it becomes an experience, an adventure, a learning curve, and comes to define some point in the reader's life, able to conjure that particular stage of development and all the feelings that went with it. For me these novels also shaped, in some capacity, my own bonkbuster ambition, and for that I owe them a great deal. Here is my Power 10 . . .

Lovers & Gamblers by Jackie Collins - sizzling with sex, scandal and shocking secrets, for me this is the best of Jackie's novels

Octavia by Jilly Cooper - Jilly's romances are less known than her Rutshire Chronicles, but these shorter books are a masterclass in fun and frolics by one of the best writers in the genre

Lace by Shirley Conran - the definitive 80s classic that boasts one of the greatest lines in literature: 'Which one of you bitches is my mother?'

Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann: arguably the bonkbuster that paved the way for all others, this seminal novel follows the fates and fortunes of three women in 1960s America

The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough - described as the Australian Gone With The Wind, this sweeping family saga spans five decades and is brimming with intrigue, romance and adventure

Kane & Abel by Jeffrey Archer - proof that sexy, epic blockbusters can just as easily star men, this was one of the first doorstop dramas that made me want to write big, ambitious novels of my own

River God by Wilbur Smith - gutsy and magnificent, this explosive tale is set in Ancient Egypt and is one of the most atmospheric, transporting and thrilling novels I've read

Flowers in the Attic by Virginia Andrews - a heady brew of horror, fairy tale and teenage sensuality, this one was passed dog-eared between us at school, a literary rites of passage that had us all reading furiously after lights-out

Deenie by Judy Blume - from the queen of YA, this is a beautifully realised novel about coming of age, alienation and friendship from a truly wise and brilliant author

An Absolute Scandal by Penny Vincenzi - glossy and addictive, Penny's bonkbusters are sheer indulgence from start to finish, and this is my all-time favourite.

... What are yours?

Love V x