REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL

LOVE, NINA: DESPATCHES FROM FAMILY LIFE

In the 1980s Nina Stibbe wrote letters home to her sister in Leicester describing her trials and triumphs as a nanny to a London family. From the mystery of the unpaid milk bill, to mealtime discussions on pie filler, this is a hilarious portrait of London, and a wonderful celebration of bad food, good company and the relative merits of Thomas Hardy and Enid Blyton.

ONE DAY I SHALL ASTONISH THE WORLD

Susan and Norma have been best friends for years, at first thrust together by force of circumstance (a job at The Pin Cushion, a haberdashery shop in 1990s Leicestershire) and then by force of character (neither being particularly inclined to make friends with anyone else). But now, 30 years later, faced with a husband seeking immortality and Norma out of reach on a wave of professional glory, Susan begins to wonder whether she has made the right choices about life, love, work and, most importantly, friendship.