Alex James chooses his favourite books
The Blur bassist, farmer and writer chooses his favourite books. His account of the band's 2023 reunion tour, "Over the Rainbow: Tales from an Unexpected Year", is out now.
Moonraker
Ian Fleming, 1955
Nicholas Shakespeare's recent biography of Fleming is a mind-blower that left me wondering how one man could have changed the world so much. He's really hitting his stride as a novelist in this third "Bond" novel. The description of drink, drugs and dining at M's club Blades is the finest food writing I've ever read.
Vines in a Cold Climate
Henry Jeffreys, 2023
British Cheese Explosion. Now we're into The Champagne Supernova years. This book tells the incredible story of commercial British winemaking since its beginnings in the 1990s. There was simply no English wine commercially available then; now our sparkling wines rank among the world's best.
Love Triangle
Matt Parker, 2024
Parker's videos on YouTube take geekery to new levels. I've spent countless hours watching them, and his books are even better. Move over Euclid. This latest bestseller is a blissful blend of pure science and pure merriment.
Flying Colours
C.S. Forester, 1938
I started reading Forester recently when I found out that he discovered Roald Dahl, my first favourite author. He's probably best known for the "Hornblower" series about the Napoleonic Wars, taking you to another world as complete and as fantastical as Middle Earth. This sees our man Hornblower and his principal thugs, Bush and Brown, mount a thrilling escape from the firing squad.
The Secret Hours
Mick Herron, 2023
This "Slow Horses" spin-off fills in the backstory of wheelchair-user Molly. Sean Barrett, who narrates the audiobooks, apparently often has to pause when recording Jackson Lamb's lines because he can't stop laughing. So funny it actually hurts. So sad, it hurts, too.