The “Countdown” lexicographer picks her favourites. She’ll be talking about her new book, “The Roots We Share: 100 Words That Bring Us Together”, at Wimbledon BookFest on 25 October

Oxford English Dictionary

Unsurprisingly, this has to be the top of my list. It may sound predictable, but the OED is anything but. It has comedy, passion, drama, and thousands of tales of the unexpected.

Le Grand Meaulnes

This was the first book to stop me in my tracks – I was about 14 and completely receptive to a story set in the twilight world between childhood and adolescence. It is wistful, melancholy, achingly romantic and full of longing. I found it so magical that I’m almost scared of picking it up again in case the spell is broken.

In the Shadow of Man

This book changes your view on what it is t

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