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First Choice
This is the site for you to find books you want to read – from sport to humour, love to crime – there’s a book here for you. You can also let others know what you think about a book you’ve read by rating it and writing a comment.

You can borrow Quick Reads from your local library and many of the first choice books are available at the Central,Bitterne and Lordshill libraries.

Quick Reads
Quick Reads are short, exciting books written by bestselling authors and celebrities and well worth a read! Choose from the most recent Quick Read titles listed below or find more titles on the Quick Reads website.

Adele parks – Happy Families



Lisa is forty-two, divorced and a mum of three. For the past year, she has been going out with Mark, who is five years younger than her. But might he leave her like her husband did? Can Lisa have a second chance of love and happiness? Find out in Adele Parks' sparkling new novel.

Gilda O’Neil – East end tales

Gilda O’Neill was born in London’s East End. Her nan had a pie and mash shop and her grandfather was a tug-boat skipper. In East End Tales, Gilda – now a bestselling writer of novels and non-fiction – tells us what the real East End was like in stories of hardship, upheaval, courage and humour.

Josephine Cox – Girl on the platform

The intriguing new novel by the Number 1 bestseller. When Pete sees a girl on a station platform, he sees a glimpse of himself. He sees her often afterwards, but then she simply disappears. Hopelessly besotted by the girl he believes to be his kindred spirit, Pete will not rest until he finds her.

Scott Quinnell – The hardest test

Scott Quinnell is one of Britain’s best-known rugby players: captain of the Welsh team seven times and a British Lions player. But amidst all this success, Scott had a painful secret: he struggled to read. In this honest and powerful book he describes how he faced this hardest test.

Quick Reads

Colin Jackson – Life’s new hurdles

Colin Jackson is one of the greatest athletes Britain has ever produced. In 2003 he retired in front of an adoring home crowd. He went on to become a sports and television presenter and appeared on Strictly Come Dancing, but adjusting to life off the track was not straightforward. Here he describes the shock of sudden change and the challenges and joys of starting a whole new life.

Gordon Ramsay – Humble Pie

In Humble Pie, Gordon Ramsay tells the full story of how he became the world’s most famous and infamous chef. His difficult childhood and his failed first career as a footballer – all these things have made him the celebrated culinary talent and media powerhouse he is today.

John Bird – The 10 keys to success



John Bird, founder of the Big Issue, shows us how to be successful in whatever we choose in just ten easy steps. Success, John believes, is about deciding what you want, working out what is important to you, and then going out to grab it. The 10 Keys to Success shows us how uncomplicated success can be.

Vanessa Feltz – RaW Voices

Gripping, funny, sometimes sad and always inspirational, this collection of real-life stories gives a fascinating insight into the lives of other people. It will encourage readers to look at their own lives from a different perspective, perhaps providing the motivation to achieve new goals of their own. RaW Voices: True Stories of Hardship and Hope is edited with wit and sensitivity by broadcaster and columnist Vanessa Feltz.

Chris Ryan – One good turn

A soldier wakes up in a damp, dark basement. He is covered in mud, his skin is badly burned and he can’t remember anything – except that he took something from a dead man in the trenches and that the name he is being called is not his own. Can he remember what has brought him to this fate so he can clear his name and save his life?