Claire Recommends

Recommended by Claire
‘Babel-17 is a sci-fi novel concerned with language, and specifically the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis. It is serious and philosophical, but still a visually rich big space romp. Read everything you can by Sam Delaney!’

Recommended by Claire
‘Jefferson turns her typically elegant scrutiny towards a cultural icon, a life the whole world thinks it already knows, in this short, brilliant book. I cannot think who could have done this better.’

Recommended by Claire
‘I owe all of my wit and comedic skills to this book, given to me at a very impressionable age, and I will not stop recommending it until we have a nation of mini Tommy Coopers. This is an absolute hoot and full of all the classics.’

Recommended by Claire
‘Sjöwall and Wahlöö wrote a series of 10 crime novels, not only to entertain, but also to provide important social commentary on 1960s Sweden. These are the Scandi noir OGs who influenced everyone from Mankell to The Killing.’

Recommended by Claire
‘Some things I have learnt from Afterglow by Eileen Myles: 1) Rosie the pitbull wrote virtually every poem by Eileen Myles from 1990 to 2006; 2) Puppets and dogs may be colluding to overthrow the human race; 3) Eileen Myles has reinvented the memoir format and it is wild.’

Recommended by Claire
‘Everybody talks about Speedboat but this is THE ONE. (Actually Speedboat is also marvellous.) The lens moves in and out of focus across fragments of memory as Kate Ennis negotiates the end of an affair.’

Recommended by Claire
‘90s L.A. and a queer drug-addicted woman’s repeated failed attempts at self-improvement in the middle of the apocalypse. OR How I Learnt to Love Matt Dillon and Stop Worrying About the Bomb.’

Recommended by Claire
‘For Tove Jansson, love and work were inseperable - her emotional life was crucial to her creativity. 2014 would have been her centenary year and this book is one of its highlights, full of beautiful, inimitable illustrations, unseen sketches and a photo of her feeding a seagull on page 278.’

Recommended by Claire
‘If you, like me, feel you don't know nearly enough about queer theory but you want to, then Queer: A Graphic History is a serious but accessible introduction; ideal for knowing your Ahmeds from your Butlers.’