This is a book I've had kicking around for a while, finally got round to flipping through and taking some notes of books that sounded like they would appeal to me. It has a little write up of each of the main list of 50 or so books, and is also quite good for suggesting similar books to ones you may have read and liked. ( )

This guide to what books to read, contains explanations of 52 books, with author biographies, suggested further reading and an extract of each book. Five sections explore genre fiction: crime and thrillers, fantasy and horror, science fiction, short stories and romance of the past. Altogether the book recommends over 500 books. Recommended writers include Terry Pratchett and Jeanette Winterson. Kenneth McLeish is also the author of the "Bloomsbury Good Reading Guide".