Best Books... Martha Lane Fox

WHEN WE WERE BAD by Charlotte Mendelson (Picador £7.99)
Charlotte is one of my oldest friends, so it was particularly humbling that she wrote a novel of such a high calibre. It is fast paced, witty and brilliantly observed. It explores the way in which the children in a Jewish family are dealing with the move towards independence, especially from their mother, a bohemian rabbi. Charlotte has a hilarious eye for detail and some of the lines stay with you long after you close the book.

BELOVED by Toni Morrison (Vintage £7.99)
This novel knocks you sideways with its extraordinary depiction of slavery - the devastating events that unfold seem to jump at you out of every page. This was one of the first books I read about the subject and it cannot be beaten.

ETHAN FROME by Edith Wharton (Penguin £6.99)
I was given this by my mother and remember reading it on a train journey, at the end of which I was unable to speak. It is a fierce story with an incredible climax - all told with stark simplicity.

THE AMERICAN WAY OF DEATH by Jessica Mitford (Little, Brown £10.99)
Not the Mitford book most people might have chosen, but this is a brilliant investigation of the US funeral industry, which made me both laugh out loud and gasp with horror.

ORANGES ARE NOT THE ONLY FRUIT by Jeanette Winterson (Vintage £7.99)
I love her writing, and this novel is still my favourite - the combination of sexual and religious awakening is a killer...

HISTORY OF GOD by Karen Armstrong (Vintage £9.99)
A highly intelligent and profound piece of comparative history. She respectfully but fearlessly traces the roots of the three major religions and illuminates the present day with her deft research and storytelling.
Martha Lane Fox is the co-founder of Lastminute.com, owner of the karaoke chain, Lucky Voice, and head of the grant-giving foundation Antigone.org.uk. Books in print are available from the Week Bookshop.
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