• Marie Moser of The Edinburgh Bookshop lists her top books for World Book Day: Shuggie Bain - Douglas Stuart
    Marie Moser of The Edinburgh Bookshop lists her top books for World Book Day: Shuggie Bain - Douglas Stuart
  • Luckenbooth - Jenni Fagan
    Luckenbooth - Jenni Fagan
  • Snow and the Works on the Northern Line - Ruth Thomas
    Snow and the Works on the Northern Line - Ruth Thomas
  • Edge of the Grave - Robbie Morrison
    Edge of the Grave - Robbie Morrison
  • Empireland - How Imperialism Shaped Modern Britain - Sathnam Sanghera
    Empireland - How Imperialism Shaped Modern Britain - Sathnam Sanghera
  • Becoming - Michelle Obama
    Becoming - Michelle Obama
  • Beyond Order - 12 More Rules For Life - Jordan B Peterson
    Beyond Order - 12 More Rules For Life - Jordan B Peterson
  • Arlo the Lion who couldn't Sleep - Catherine Rayner
    Arlo the Lion who couldn't Sleep - Catherine Rayner
  • The Boy Who Made Everyone Laugh - Helen Rutter
    The Boy Who Made Everyone Laugh - Helen Rutter
  • Concrete Rose -Angie Thomas
    Concrete Rose -Angie Thomas

World Book Day: 10 of the best books for kids and adults to read this year


Neil Murphy
  • English
  • Arabic

World Book Day is upon us and will hopefully inspire a new generation of young people to start reading.

The event was created as a worldwide celebration of books and reading and is marked in over 100 countries around the globe.

Although World Book Day focuses on kids, that shouldn't stop older readers from picking up a book or two for themselves.

Marie Moser, of Edinburgh Books, has suggested these novels that should be top of everyone's shopping list.

It includes Shuggie Bain by the Douglas Stuart. In addition to being her store's best seller it was also the  2020 Booker Prize winner.

Also on the list is Luckenbooth by another Scottish novelist Jenni Fagan, while Snow and the Works on the Northern Line by Ruth Thomas makes up the top three.

For kids, she has selected Arlo the Lion Who Couldn't Sleep by Catherine Rayner, The Boy Who Made Everyone Laugh by Helen Rutter and the Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas.

An estimated 200 million print books were sold in the UK last year, according to book sales monitor Nielsen BookScan, the highest number since 2012.

Many in the industry agree 2020 has offered a very strong range of titles from authors such as Richard Osman, Hilary Mantel and Barack Obama.

The UK's top selling book last year was Charlie Macksey's illustrated book The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse, underlining how important children's titles remain to booksellers.