In case you haven’t heard, it’s true. A good book can cure the common cold. Don’t roll your eyes just yet; we promise to banish your runny nose in no time (well…almost). From short stories by Joanne Harris to Seth Grahame-Smith’s historical horror, simply sit back, hug your hot water bottle for dear life and pick up one of our books to read this November to while away your sick day. We promise they make better company than daytime TV. They really do.

 The Man Who Forgot His Wife by John O’Farrell

Lots of husbands forget things: they forget that their wife had an important meeting that morning; they forget to pick up the dry cleaning; some of them even forget their wedding anniversary. But Vaughan has gone one step further…

Vaughan is sitting on a train when he realises that he can’t remember where he is going. Or where he has come from. Or even who he is. When he is eventually rescued, he learns that his memory loss may have been triggered by extreme stress in the life he can’t remember – Such as his marital difficulties with the wife he didn’t know he had.

The Man Who Forgot His Wife is the funny, poignant story of a man who has done just that, and who will try anything to turn back the clock.

  Unholy Night by Seth Grahame-Smith

Bestselling author of historical horror mash-up Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Seth Grahame-Smith rewrites history to retell the truly remarkable story of the Nativity’s ‘Three Wise Men’…

It’s one of the most iconic vignettes in history: three men on camels, arriving at a manger, bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. An impossibly bright star is suspended in the vast desert sky above. It’s a moment of serenity and grace. A holy night… 

But what do we really know about the Three Kings or Three Wise Men of the Nativity? The Bible says little about this enigmatic trio, historical record is vague at best. What if they were petty, murderous thieves – led by a fickle individual called Balthazar?

Two Brothers by Ben Elton

Ben Elton’s most ambitious novel to date, Two Brothers transports the reader to the time of history’s darkest hour.

Drawing on real life experiences taken from his own family history, Ben Elton writes a story straddling two time periods, immersing the reader into the extraordinary years charting the birth of Hitler’s Nazi party and its inextricable link to the vortex of misery and despair in Germany for so many Jewish people from all backgrounds.

Laced with subtle pathos, harsh realities and searing authenticity, Two Brothers tells the story of two young brothers, forced to make apparently impossible choices.

The Winter Palace by Eva Stachniak

The Winter Palace tells the epic story of Catherine the Great’s ruthless rise to power, through the eyes of a young girl groomed as the Empress’s spy in 18th Century Russia.

Vavara, a young orphaned Polish girl, is brought to serve at Empress Elizabeth’s glittering, dangerous court in St Petersburg. Under the tutelage of Count Bestuzhev, Chancellor and spymaster, Varvara is educated in skills from lock picking to lovemaking, learning above all else to listen—and to wait for opportunity.

With dazzling details and intense drama, Eva Stachniak depicts Varvara’s secret alliance with Catherine as the princess grows into a legend, proving that the Tudors don’t have a monopoly on marital scandal, royal intrigue, or feminine triumph.

A Cat, a Hat and a Piece of String by Joanne Harris

Conjured from a wickedly imaginative pen, here is a new collection of short stories that brilliantly showcases Joanne Harris’s exceptional storytelling art. Sensuous, wicked, mischievous, uproarious and wry, the sixteen tales here combine the everyday with the unexpected; wild fantasy with bittersweet reality.

Over half of the stories have not been published before, including Cookie (a newborn baby created from sugar and spice and all things nice), Muse (an oldfashioned station café provides inspiration as a creative hotspot to its clientele), and The Game (concerning the perils of playing an addictive internet game).

From the house where it is Christmas all year round (There’s No Such Place as Bedford Falls), to a woman who falls in love with a tree (Dryad); from the Congo where a young girl braves the raging rapids to earn a crust of bread (River Song), to Norse gods battling for survival in New York (Wildfire in Manhattan), these stories will delight readers with their variety and inventiveness. And the title, A Cat, A Hat and a Piece of String? These are the three things Joanne Harris would take to a desert island!

So, what will you read this November?