The Reader: Tania Gomez

If you were on a plane and the oxygen masks dropped and the seat belt lights went on and it felt like things were about to get a little terrifying Tania Gomez is the person you would want sitting beside the emergency exit. You. can. not. rattle. this. girl. Also she's pretty much great at everything she puts her hand to so she could potentially also rush in and safely land the plane. Tania is a writer, editor and the one of the most stylish people I've seen in real life. Anyway these are her three favourite books.

Bright Lights, Big City by Jay McInerney

"Ahh my new literary love. The novel is written entirely in the second person which made me feel like I was in a Choose Your Own Adventure book (remember them?). Having loved those books when I was younger, I was hooked. It also incorporates many of the magical ingredients which make me fall head over heels for a book, namely: a gritty Manhattan setting, a totally messed up protagonist, and some light comedy thrown in for good measure. It's now my mission to read every single book McInerney's ever written." *

Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote

"I experienced the movie before the book (which essentially meant I had "Moon River" looping as a mental soundtrack the entire time I was reading it), but this novella really is just as beautiful as the film adaptation. The setting of 1940s New York, combined with one of the most endearing characters I've ever come across in Holly Golightly, makes this an enduring classic."

Essays in Love by Alain De Botton

"I like to throw the occasional non-fiction book into my reading mix, which is what I thought this novel was going to be, but I was pleasantly surprised. Utilising a hybrid approach, this book manages to combine elements of a novel like plot and character development, along with the reporting/analysis style that comes with non-fiction. It also had such an interesting love story anchoring the whole thing that it almost felt like I was reading a romance novel, but just written 10 million times better. And with philosophical extras. So, what's it about? This book examines De Botton's relationship with his ex, Chloe, and philosophically takes it apart stage by stage from their first meeting, right through to their break up. It's an honest, and fascinating take on something I'm sure we can all relate to in one way or another."

* Josh Schwartz, the man behind The OC and Gossip Girl has signed up to write and direct a remake of the film Bright Lights, Big City (the 1984 version starred Michael J Fox and Kiefer Sutherland).