What ELLE Reads

Lorraine Candy, Editor in Chief

I read this on the road during fashion month. It's the follow up to his Notes on a Small Island. I love the quietly comical way Bryson writes about the UK and it is always fun to read this kind of book in another country while observing another cultures foibles.

Anna James, Literary Editor

I’ve just started the second in Bourne’s brilliant feminist YA series, the first one of which has just been shortlisted for the YA Book Prize. The series revolves around a trio of girls who form a feminist club and call it ‘The Spinster Club’. This book follows 17-year-old Amber as she works as a summer camp in the US and tries to connect with her ex-alcoholic mother.

Alice Wignall, Content Director

I'm reading an advance copy of We'll Always Have Paris: Trying And Failing To Be French (out in April) by Emma Beddington. Emma has written for ELLE in the past and I've always loved her writing – alternately moving and hilarious and always incredibly honest and insightful.

Hannah Swerling, Features Editor

Ephron famously lived by her mother’s mantra, ‘Everything is copy’. She had the rare ability to make the most mundane, everyday banalities sparkle with her incisive observations and knowing wit. This book is a compilation of some of her best writing and every page is a joy.

Suzanne Sykes, Creative Director

I have just been given this by my friend who always chooses the best books to read. My goal is to finish it before the film comes out! It’s based on a true story about an ordinary man defying the Nazi rule in Berlin.

Elizabeth Cooney, Senior Designer

A quick read, but I recently read and loved We Should All Be Feminists. It's a perfect articulation of the modern discussion around equality between men and women. It is accessible and inclusive of men and women alike so your gender shouldn't dictate whether you should read this or not!

Natasha Bird, Digital Content Editor

It is utterly bonkers but completely compelling at the same time. It's like looking at the world through a totally different lens, which means that the things that happen in it are both familiar and mundane, but also feel new and uncomfortable.

Roberta Hollis, Fashion Assistant

I'm enjoying reading a selection of short stories as opposed to a novel because it's easier to dip in and out of when reading on the work commute. The Acid House has a really interesting mix of stories, some are really surrealist and obscure while others are more realistic. Overall most of the stories have been pretty dark but still manage to have funny elements.

Billie Bhatia, Fashion Assistant

I am reading Tripwire, another Jack Reacher novel by Lee Child. Book 4 of 20 in fact. High paced action with enough twists and turns to keep you engaged. I read them with my dad and then we discuss what we would do if we were Jack Reacher and what great spies/hitmen we would make. I then go back to my world of fashion, and him his world of law.

Lulu Cooper, Fashion Intern

Perfectly succinct essays for bus rides and when you only have a minute to spare - ideal for the short attention span cursed upon my generation. Brings the interesting out of even the smallest details of the world and people around us.

Fern Ross, Associate Editor

I'm about to start In Patagonia by Bruce Chatwin as my husband and I are going there on holiday soon. Reading other people's travelogues always inspires me and gives me a deeper sense and understanding of the place.

Lotte Jeffs, Deputy Editor

This is so different to what I normally read (mainly contemporary American fiction), but I'm loving it. The world it creates is so vivid and it taps into that love I felt for my childhood best friend and how brutal and visceral childhood is.

Imogen van Zaane, Workflow Director

A 2006 sci-fi novel that's centred around main character Robert Gu and set in San Diego in 2025. Robert is a somewhat mean-spirited, retired poet recovering from Alzheimer's and needs to adapt to a new networked, hi-tech society that uses augmented reality and wearable tech in almost every part of daily life. As he adapts to the many changes in his life, he grows closer to his estranged family and (of course) a secret plot soon begins to unravel. I find it quite a refreshing fictional story that helps me structure my own thoughts around tech. It's a more fun approach to playing with the many, blue-sky ideas around AR, networked tech and wearables. All without taking it too seriously of course.

Sunil Makan, Picture Editor

The first in a series of books called the Southern Reach Trilogy and is about four scientists that venture into an area known as Area X. I’m a fan of books that fit into the otherworldly genre (His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman being one of my all time favourites). And I’ve heard it’s intensely creepy, addictive and also, beautifully weird. I can’t wait. Apparently they’re making a film and Natalie Portman has been tipped to be one of the leads. Now I definitely can’t wait!