Someone Else's Bookshelf : Harriet Bourton

Someone Else’s Bookshelf is a weekly activity where I will have one guest every Tuesday to share their favourite books from their shelves, what they are reading and what’s next on their list.

Today, I am glad to have Harriet, Senior Commissioning Editor of women’s fiction at Transworld to share her story.

Hi, Harriet! Welcome to Eve's Chick Lit Reviews!

Hi Eve, and many thanks for letting me be a part of your feature!

1. What genre do you read most?

I read an enormous amount of women’s fiction, not only because it’s the area of the market I acquire in but also because it’s always been the cornerstone of my reading habits, from Maeve Binchy, Joanna Trollope, Marian Keyes, Sophie Kinsella, Jilly Cooper… I just love reading about different women and the lives they lead.

2. Tell us about your favourite books?

I have many ‘favourite’ books, I suppose, if ‘favourite’ means beloved!

It’s an endless list, but there are a few I go back to every now and again and enjoy just as much as the first time I read them, especially Circle of Friends by Maeve Binchy and The Time Traveller’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger.

I’m reading some of my favourite Judy Blume novels to my niece at the moment, which is bringing back a lot of forgotten memories and often leaves me tearful but happy.

3. What are you reading now?

I have just finished reading Little Lies by Liane Moriarty and The One Plus One by Jojo Moyes. I absolutely loved both of them, but for very different reasons.

I thought Liane’s novel was a masterclass in intriguing plotting – she has used snippets of police interviews with various mums whose children all go to the same school about a death, but you have no idea who it is that’s died right up until the end which was utterly compelling.

The One Plus One made my heart hurt, and that is truly my favourite thing about reading: that authors can create a powerful, all-encompassing connection with characters who are entirely fictional. How incredible is that?

4. Lastly, what book do you plan on reading next?

Over Christmas, I’m aiming to read Marian Keyes’ newest novel, The Woman Who Stole My Life; The Girl With All The Gifts, which sounds very interesting; The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton; and Lena Dunham’s Not That Kind of Girl. Roll on Christmas!

Harriet Bourton is a Senior Commissioning Editor of women’s fiction at Transworld. Harriet joined Transworld in April 2013, and previously worked at Headline and Hodder & Stoughton where she was involved in a broad mix of publishing, including women’s fiction, brand names like Martina Cole and John Grisham, to young adult and literary fiction.

Twitter : @harrietbourton