Summer, throughout my life, has been a time to fill up the days with stories; to read books on a beach, up a mountain or wrapped up in a duvet paying no attention to time or the outside world. This summer has been no exception, and over my first Cambridge year, a big pile of 'proper' books had grown under my bed, having been hidden away in fear of distracting from reading lists and research papers.

The only criteria I have for a book to be classified as ‘good’ is that it somehow challenges and changes your perspective of the world. For every book worth taking the time to flick through the pages, there have been others which drag, without maintaining an interesting plot or fast pace (I'm sorry, I still cannot be swayed by Fifty Shades). Here are a few of my best reads, which I urge you to pick up in the quickly diminishing weeks left before Michaelmas starts.

1. Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

This was given a lot of attention in the media and I eventually gave into the influence of the raving reviews. The plot follows a woman who travels on the same train at the same time to London every morning, inventing stories for people she sees out of the window as she goes. On one particular day, she sees something that perhaps she shouldn't have: as a result, she takes it upon herself to delve into the lives of the characters she has created, bringing many a skeleton out of the closet. This book can get quite confusing as the characters share many similar names; and, while there a few riveting twists, the end is nevertheless disappointingly predictable.

2. Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy by Helen Fielding

This book is fabulous. I initially worried that it might be aimed solely at women in the depth of a mid-life crisis, but it kept me giggling throughout, despite my not being fully able to relate to the experience of being a single mother. Bridget Jones is back for the third book of Helen Fielding’s eponymous series, in which we see Bridget trying to keep afloat after the death of her beloved Mr Darcy, facing infestations of nits, managing toy-boys and trying to navigate Twitter, all while maintaining her good looks and not falling flat on her face. Plus, who wouldn't make Daniel Cleaver their children’s godparent?

3. If I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh

Again, this book has done well in the charts, perhaps due to the wide range of readers it appeals to. In the opening chapter a young boy is hit by a car and instantly killed. After overcoming the shock of this event, the reader follows the story of Jenna who tries to piece her life back together in the aftermath of the incident. The storyline is decent, but the major fault lies in the one-line reviews that litter the cover, promising shocks and unexpected plot twists. As a result I spent the first half of the book expecting the unexpected, leading to much thwarted anticipation, which detracted from the rest of the story.

4. Chocolat by Joanne Harris

After hearing Joanne Harris speak at the Union, I thought it was high time to give Chocolat a read. It is a beautifully written, poetic and lyrical tale of a mother and her child who move into a traditional, religious French village, opening a chocolate shop opposite the church. It is an easy read, painting a clear visual of the town and its inhabitants; and the narrative flicks cleverly between the two main characters, effectively juxtaposing their opposing beliefs. Under the surface, this book is quite rebellious: it challenges readers to move away from their established views and expectations, and promotes the importance of pleasure.

5. Us by David Nicholls

From the author of One Day, I began this book expecting to emerge at the other end in tears and fearing all forms of public transport. However, Us is a light-hearted novel about the realities of family life that is intrinsically funny, as well as having a meaningful message at the end. There is no happily ever after as such, which is refreshing as it makes the narrative somewhat more relatable. A father, mother and son go on a family holiday across Europe which tests the strength of their relationship and the lengths to which one man will go to salvage his marriage and save his family from disaster. It's fun, the chapters are short, and you can pretend you are becoming a bit more cultured by reading it.

6. The Versions of Us by Laura Barnett

Brilliant, inspirational and highly confusing; I have previously reviewed this literary masterpiece, which enthralled and baffled me in equal measure. It will be appreciated best by Cambridge students due to the realistic and accurate picture of university life which it paints, as it is set in the city itself. 

7. Before I Go To Sleep by S.J. Watson

This reads like a dark and rather twisted version of Peter Segal's 2004 film 50 First Dates. A woman awakes every day with no recollection of who she is or what kind of life she is leading, having suffered a brain injury when she was younger. Her husband looks after her: but, immediately, you know that something isn't quite right with him, and the twists and turns of the tale are exactly what keeps the reader hooked. The narrative switches between her diary entries, past visions and present life which can be quite disorientating, but doesn't minimise the exciting and mysterious plot.

8. Birdsong by Sebastian Faulkes

The World War genre has never previously appealed me, so Birdsong is the last book I thought I would ever read. However, having avoided it throughout my schooling, it had to be done some time or another. I actually really enjoyed it; yes, it's depressing, gruesome and there will be guaranteed tears, but as with exercise, you feel a lot better afterwards even if the duration is painful. The narrative follows a naive young man who falls in love with a married woman, though I can't say much more without spoiling the story. After the first half, the narration begins to drag a little, but if you power on through the ending picks up the pace that was present at the start.

9. Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee 

While I concede that Go Set a Watchman had its merits, it ultimately led me to a rather flat sense of disappointment. This sequel of To Kill a Mockingbird fell lamentably short of its renowned predecessor, as the characters once so finely put together were slowly unravelled in this instalment, and at times appeared to be completely different from their incarnations in the first novel. Atticus doesn't particularly suit being an old man; his knowledge and wisdom always seemed superior to age, and the degradation of his character makes him seem less of a man immune to stereotypes but more of an ordinary follower. Scout is all grown up, and returns to Alabama from New York where she is leading an independent life. She encounters the same racist views from the folks in Maycomb County and yet, unfortunately, the absence of her naivety makes this a little less shocking than it was previously.

10. Not That Kind of Girl by Lena Dunham 

This is essentially Dunham’s TV series 'Girls' in literary form. Not recommended for the faint of heart, the easily embarrassed, or people with a substantially high intellect in need of a deep and meaningful read; but fabulous if you’re a single girl in need of a giggle. Not That Kind of Girl recounts the experiences and hardships a young woman may experience in her life, unflinchingly revelling in all the details in perfect clarity. A modern Bridget Jones, but less romantic and more explicit. 

@meggiefai