The Canons

The Canons are books without boundaries. Some are classics already, the rest will be soon.

L.A. Woman by Eve Babitz cover
A glittering coming-of-age tale set in ’70s Los Angeles
Hollywood by Charles Bukowski cover
Charles Bukowski lays bare Hollywood, revealing the absurdity and egotism behind the glamour
Born on the Fourth of July by Ron Kovic cover
A powerful anti-war statement and memoir, with a foreword by Bruce Springsteen
The People's Act Of Love by James Meek cover
The international bestseller; longlisted for the Man Booker Prize and winner of the Ondaatje Prize
Dream Angus by Alexander McCall Smith cover
The powerful retelling of the Celtic myth of Angus, god of dreams, from the number one Sunday Times bestselling author
Ragnarok by A.S. Byatt cover
An odyssey of childhood, mythology and the imagination from the Booker Prize-winning author of Possession and The Children’s Book
Stone Junction by Jim Dodge cover
Jim Dodge’s unforgettable outlaw epic. Introduced by Thomas Pynchon
Looking In the Distance by Richard Holloway cover
An examination of spirituality, from the Sunday Times bestselling author of Leaving Alexandria
Now And Then by Gil Scott-Heron cover
‘A poet and polemicist whose lyrics have inspired and galvanised generations’ GQ. Introduced by Kate Tempest
The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng cover
Tan Twan Eng’s rich, absorbing, internationally bestselling, Man Booker-shortlisted epic
Doubts and Loves by Richard Holloway cover
A re-examination of the state of Christianity from the Sunday Times bestselling author of Waiting for the Last Bus and Leaving Alexandria
Godless Morality by Richard Holloway cover
A fascinating exploration of human morality from the Sunday Times bestselling author of Waiting for the Last Bus and Leaving Alexandria
The Discovery Of Slowness by Sten Nadolny cover
Nadolny’s internationally bestselling masterpiece, a gripping historical novel based on the life of Arctic explorer Sir John Franklin
Beneath The Underdog by Charles Mingus cover
A blisteringly powerful self-portrait of ‘The Angry Man of Jazz’, contemporary of jazz genius Miles Davis
A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki cover
Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, this is a timeless and compassionate novel about what it means to be human
1982, Janine by Alasdair Gray cover
The unforgettable, challenging and experimental second novel from the author of Lanark. Introduced by Will Self
Suicide Blonde by Darcey Steinke cover
The intensely-erotic feminist cult classic. Introduced by Maggie Nelson
If the War Goes On . . . by Hermann Hesse cover
A collection of essays on the absurdity of war, from the Nobel Prize laureate
Highland River by Neil M. Gunn cover
A dark and uplifting modern classic of Scottish literature. Introduced by Diarmid Gunn
The Outrun by Amy Liptrot cover
The Sunday Times runaway bestseller – an exhilarating nature memoir about recovering from alcoholism in Orkney
Ask The Dust by John Fante cover
One of the great novels of L.A., a semi-autobiographical story of a struggling writer (‘Fante was my God’, Charles Bukowski)
The Tartar Steppe by Dino Buzzati cover

‘Undoubtedly a masterpiece, a sublime book’ Sunday TimesA dark and beautiful tale full of pain and longing, introduced by Tim Parks

Its Colours They Are Fine by Alan Spence cover
Alan Spence’s debut collection of short stories is a timeless portrait of Glasgow, and an acknowledged piece of classic Scottish writing. Introduced by Janice Galloway
Lion's Honey by David Grossman cover
A daring retelling of the story of Samson, from the author of the Man Booker International Prize-winning A Horse Walks Into a Bar