Is it day five already? My book of choice today is Dance Dance Dance by Haruki Murakami …

… the sublimely surreal story of a writer, whose name we never know, who is broken and just about operating on a basic daily level.

The writer is haunted by a woman he once had a relationship with who has since mysteriously disappeared. He has vivid dreams about the time he spent with her in the seedy, Dolphin Hotel.

Driven to find out what happened to her, he returns to the hotel only to find it considerably changed. While there he has visions that could be dream, could be an alternate reality. Whichever they are, they give him access to the old hotel within the new hotel where he meets the bizarre Sheep Man. He begins a relationship with the hotel receptionist who is also able to experience this phenomenon. He meets a teenage psychic and ends up babysitting her; reconnects with an old school friend who is now a famous actor and gets involved in a murder mystery.

It’s a captivating book, the only one of Murakami’s I’ve read so far although I have another on my reading pile. Like so many of my favourite reads, it’s a book about personal journeys and healing.

I really like Murakami’s writing voice – kind of Japanese American, I’m not sure how else to describe it. I love the way he plays with the imaginary and the reality so that you’re not quite sure which is which. I like too, the way his characters are all a bit odd – even the one’s you’d expect to be quite normal. Nothing is as it seems in this novel.

My day four book of choice is Daniel Deronda by George Eliot …

… which is not just, as the title implies, about Daniel Deronda. It’s a tale of two physically beautiful people who are driven by an inner darkness – Deronda himself and Gwendolen Harleth. Both characters are outsiders in their cloistered worlds and, as the story progresses, they become more and more drawn to each other – as much emotionally as physically. The chemistry between the two is so intense, it leaps off the page and yet there’s a real subtlety to it that leaves you wondering right to the end – will they or won’t they?

I’ve read several of Eliot’s books and, for me, no one does heartache quite as well as she does and, even though you’re positively drowning in the stuff, you can’t help but want more. Such is the quality of her writing.

Much is made of Gwendolen’s haughtiness but I found Deronda equally so and – ti has to be said – somewhat patronising, to the female characters in particular. Nonetheless they are both fascinating protagonists. The minor characters too bring additional depth and complexities that make this such an engrossing read.

I won’t give away the ending but the fact that it doesn’t end entirely happily is another reason to like this book. Eliot does not do saccharine.

My day three choice is The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce …

… the story of a lonely man who does something incredible and completely out of character and in doing so, finds a way to accept and forgive himself.

Full disclosure. I love a good journey book. By that I don’t necessarily mean a physical journey – more, the kind of internal journey in which the protagonist comes out the other side having learned something about themselves. In fact my draft debut novel, The Three Things That Broke Netta Wilde, follows exactly that theme.

There are other books I could have chosen from – Joyce’s second novel in this series, The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy, or Gail Honeyman’s Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. I have read and loved both, but Harold is my favourite. I love the way he gradually opens up, like the flowers that he begins to notice on his long, lonely walk. It feels as though I’m walking with him and experiencing his highs and lows – both physical and mental.

The other thing that captivates me about this book is that Harold is not alone in his loneliness. First, there’s his wife, Maureen, so debilitated by grief that every day is a struggle for her to do anything other than function. Then there’s neighbour Rex and so many characters Harold meets along the way each of which are dealing with their own version of loneliness. And all the time, Queenie is waiting for him at the other end of the country. It’s a wonderful, sad, funny read. Try it, if you haven’t already done so.

My day two book of choice couldn’t be any further from day one – unless of course you count the fact that they’re both written by men.

Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens …

… really is much funnier than I expected it to be. How’s that for a review?

I only read it last year and before then, hadn’t read any Dickens since my teenage years. I have to say, Dickens is not for the fainthearted: his language is, how can I put it, very flowery and of its day, but once you get your head round it, it’s a joy to read.

Poor bumbling Mr Pickwick is like everyone’s favourite dotty old uncle constantly getting into ridiculous scrapes and misunderstandings. For me Dickens’ best characters are men and there are plenty of those in this novel, my favourites – aside from Pickwick himself – being Sam Weller and, scoundrel and all round bad egg, Alfred Jingle.

Well worth the read. I’ve already added more Dickens to my reading pile.

So, I’ve accepted a challenge from one of my writing group friends, to post seven books that I love – one book per day with no explanation or review. I posted my first choice on Facebook today but it seemed a bit churlish not to explain why I like it so much. So I thought I’d share it with more detail here.

Meatspace by Nikesh Shukla …

… was a revelation to me when I first read it. In terms of grand literary themes it’s not big and it’s not clever. It’s basically about this lonely guy who for one reason or another (I won’t give away the plot) gets lost in his own world but the writing is so light and funny that you end up getting lost in that world too such that, when the twist comes it’s a real shocker because you really didn’t see it coming.

So basically it’s a funny, clever, contemporary book about old fashioned emotions and how not to deal with them.

Read it. You’ll love it.