What Are You Reading?

We asked our friends and colleagues across the art, architecture, design and cultural heritage worlds to let us know what they are reading this summer. The result is this cornucopia of titles across fiction and non-fiction.

Happy City by Charles Montgomery, published by Penguin

Chosen by Alex White, Commissioning Editor, RIBA Publishing

‘Happy City is an essential and, crucially, accessible book that transformed the way I think about cities. This book helped to ignite my passion for places to the extent that I was, fortunately, able to get a job commissioning books about urban design. I’d usually feel uncomfortable trotting out a well-worn line about a book being transformational… but for me, it was!’

A Ghost in the Throat by Doireann Ní Ghríofa, published by Tramp Press

Chosen by Hannah Belcher, Senior Exhibitions Coordinator, Royal Collection Trust

‘This brilliant book is a blend of biography, autobiography and scholarship with an unexpectedly compelling narrative. There are some beautiful descriptions of what it is to be a woman in all her guises; daughter, sister, wife, and mother. The prose is exquisite and captivating. I couldn’t recommend more!’

Parallel Hells by Leon Craig, published by Hodder & Stoughton and People Person by Sam Cottington, published by JOAN Publishing

Chosen by Tom Love, Project Editor, National Portrait Gallery

‘I’m about to take these books away with me on holiday and am excited to read them both. A set of short stories and a novella by two interesting young writers.’

Howard’s End is on the Landing by Susan Hill, published by Profile Books

Chosen by Kathryn Jones, Senior Curator of Decorative Arts, Royal Collection Trust

'Usually, I’m a devoted reader of fiction, but I chose this because it’s a book about treating books (and their authors) as old, familiar friends or challenging acquaintances. You can dip in and out of it. It’s also sprinkled with Susan Hill’s own thoughts and experiences and covers a whole raft of insights into her literary influences from travel writing to Dickens, cookery books to natural history, Shakespeare to pop-up books, in a delightful way. A book for reading enthusiasts.'

An Opinionated Guide to Eco London by Emmy Watts and Charlotte Schreibe, published by Hoxton Mini Press

Chosen by Sarah-Louise Deazley, Production Controller, Hoxton Mini Press

‘An Opinionated Guide to Eco London by Hoxton Mini Press is for anyone who wants to enjoy the capital while eating, drinking, shopping and playing as sustainably as possible! With so many amazing low-impact brands, shops and destinations to be celebrated in the city, this guide shows you where to go to live the good life.'

The Passenger by Ulrich Alexander Boschwitz’s, published by Pushkin Press

Chosen by Polly Fellows, Publishing Editor, Royal Collection Trust

'My boss recommended The Passenger to me because she knew that my grandmother had fled Vienna in 1938. Boschwitz describes the tense and surreal journey of Otto Silbermann as he attempts to escape Germany in the wake of Kristallnacht. Set mostly on Germany’s train network, the unrelenting pace of Boschwitz’s writing and Otto’s journey had me completely hooked – the settings and encounters felt particularly pertinent when I was travelling on a train, making it an ideal holiday read. The book was first published in 1939, offering a real insight into what it was like to live as a Jew in Germany at the time. I can’t believe I’m only discovering it now.'

The Lizzie Belle Mysteries: Drama and Danger by J.T. Williams, published by HarperCollins

Chosen by Louise Cooling, Curator, Kenwood, English Heritage

‘Drama and Danger is the first in a new series, The Lizzie and Belle Mysteries, from British Library Educator J.T. Williams. This fun YA mystery follows real-life Black Britons Dido Elizabeth Belle and Lizzie Sancho as they try to foil a would-be assassin in Georgian theatreland.'

The Scapegoat by Daphne du Maurier, published by Virago Modern Classics

Chosen by Lizzy Silverton, Director, First Pages

‘This thriller from Daphne du Maurier transports the reader to 1950s rural France and into the life of the Comte du Gué. This too is where the narrator, John, finds himself, trapped in the life of his doppelganger. Wrapped in the history of post-Occupation France, the narrative is both claustrophobic and compelling. The premise is absurd, but somehow du Maurier pulls it off; I couldn’t put it down!’