13 best books to read in November

How do you follow up a book as much loved as One Day? David Nicholls’ 2009 bestseller sold over two million copies and was turned into a Hollywood film. Five years on, Nicholls is back with a perceptive look at the ups and downs of long-term love that is just as compelling, funny and bittersweet. Us is the story of a couple whose 20-year marriage begins to unravel, just as they head off on one last Summer holiday with their son before he leaves home for university. Cue much tension and heart-break, set against the sights of Paris, Munich and Venice. An elegant, grown-up read. 
 
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Victoria Hislop writes so vividly about the Med, you can almost feel the scorching heat. The Sunrise is an absorbing tale about family, friendship, loyalty, betrayal, set during a violent period in the history of Cyprus.
 
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Award winning author Colm Toibin returns with Nora Webster, a beautifully-told account of a young widow and mother of four making a new life for her family in 1960s Ireland. 

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The Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce was a surprise word-of-mouth hit. Readers fell for the novel's charming hero, who walks the length of the country to visit a woman from his past. In the sequel, The Love Song Of Queenie Hennessy, she tells her story.

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In Dear Thief by Samantha Harvey, a woman writes a letter to the best friend who betrayed her 18 years ago. A hypnotic read.

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Part memoir, part life guide, In Your Prime: Older, Wise, Happier by Sunday Times columnist India Knight is a manual for managing middle age with confidence. Funny, feisty and invaluable. 

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The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion was one of our favourite books of last year. Book two - The Rosie Effect - is equally heart-warming and hilarious and follows the awkward hero Don's first year of married life as he struggles with the idea of becoming a dad.
 
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Nobody takes a magnifying glass to the dark side of relationships like Jane Green. The heroine of her new book, Saving Grace, appears to have it all – a successful husband, happy family and lovely home. But when a new PA comes into her life, cracks begin to show.

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Cecelia Ahern’s novels are always life-affirming, warm and wise. In The Year I Met You, high-flier Jasmine finds herself at a crossroads after she gets fired. Stuck at home she gets to know her neighbour Matt, whose life is also unravelling and an unlikely friendship develops.

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Val McDermid's new standalone novel The Skeleton Road is a gripping read, featuring an unidentified corpse, political intrigue and a race across Europe to find answers.

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Small Island author Andrea Levy draws together short stories from across her 20 year career in Six Stories And An Essay.

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The Boleyn King by Laura Andersen imagines what would have happened if Anne Boleyn had given Henry VIII the son he desperately wanted. A brilliant new voice in historical fiction.

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