What to Read Next

For a whole year on his train to work, Stig Abell read books from across genres and time periods. Then he wrote about them, and their impact on our culture and his own life.

The result is a work of many things: a brisk guide to the canon of Western literature; an intimate engagement with writers from Shakespeare to JK Rowling, Marcel Proust to Zora Neale Hurston; a wise and funny celebration of the power of words; and a meditation on mental unrest and how to tackle it. It will help you discover new books to love, give you the confidence to give up on those that you don't, and remind you of ones that you already do.

What to Read Next has been written for the reader in all of us.

“Beyond splendid . . . a brilliant idea, beautifully realised - Bill Bryson A witty, warm and wonderfully wise celebration of the written word. A huge treat - Lucy Foley It's like being a member of the best book club ever - Frank Skinner Stig's books are must-haves. He educates, informs and entertains in equal measure - Dermot O'Leary This is Abell at his best - frank, funny and fascinating. Did Clive James and Bill Bryson have a secret love child? - Lee Child Far more than a guide, this is a book lover's companion, a wise friend's recommendations, an answer to the question "what to read next" and why. I wish I knew half as much about books as Stig Abell - Kit de Waal”

Beyond splendid . . . a brilliant idea, beautifully realised Bill Bryson
Far more than a guide, this is a book lover's companion, a wise friend's recommendations, an answer to the question "what to read next" and why. I wish I knew half as much about books as Stig Abell Kit de Waal
A witty, warm and wonderfully wise celebration of the written word. A huge treat Lucy Foley
It's like being a member of the best book club ever Frank Skinner
Stig's books are must-haves. He educates, informs and entertains in equal measure Dermot O'Leary
This is Abell at his best - frank, funny and fascinating. Did Clive James and Bill Bryson have a secret love child? Lee Child
A thoroughly enjoyable saunter through some great, and not so great, works of literature Times Literary Supplement
A book for Christmas and the fireside, but a book also for all days and weathers, even for a chilly morning commuter train - once commuting is back in fashion -- Allan Massie Scotsman
It is always interesting when an intelligent reader comes fresh to books you have known for a long time . . . the whole book is a lucky dip: put in your thumb, pull out a plum, and relish it. Yorkshire Post

Stig Abell is the breakfast presenter on Times Radio, a station he helped to launch, and a columnist for the Sunday Times. Before that he has been the editor and publisher of the Times Literary Supplement, a presenter on Radio 4's Front Row, and had a weekly radio programme on LBC. His first book, How Britain Really Works, was published in 2018.

For a whole year on his train to work, Stig Abell read books from across genres and time periods. Then he wrote about them, and their impact on our culture and his own life.The result is a work of many things: a brisk guide to the canon of Western literature; an intimate engagement with writers from Shakespeare to JK Rowling, Marcel Proust to Zora Neale Hurston; a wise and funny celebration of the power of words; and a meditation on mental unrest and how to tackle it. It will help you discover new books to love, give you the confidence to give up on those that you don't, and remind you of ones that you already do. What to Read Next has been written for the reader in all of us.

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