YOU JUST DON’T WANT THE PARTY TO END

There’s a time in our lives when we feel the party has to end, but it’s hard when you look around and realise that moment hasn’t yet come for your friends. Do you go it alone or do you stick with your gang? These titles will help you see the party from the outside.

Irvine Welsh’s Trainspotting was first published in 1993 and was made into a film three years later. Its catchphrase, “Choose life”, became a mantra for a generation. With the follow-up film T2 Trainspotting released last year, it’s great to read the original book and join Renton and friends deep in the hedonistic underbelly of ’80s Scotland, where the kicks never come for free.

Slouching Towards Bethlehem is Joan Didion’s epic portrayal of Californian life in the ’60s. Published in 1968, her first collection of essays is an unflinching examination of the reality of the counterculture (including an episode of a five-year-old being given LSD by her mum). It is raw, redolent and, despite its age, feels as fresh as ever. Writing this book helped Didion to become unstuck, and I’m sure it will challenge you, too.

The journey of three young Londoners in The Bricks That Built The Houses by spoken-word supremo Kate Tempest is a rollercoaster of desperation to get away from their claustrophobic existence of drug dealers and dead-end jobs. Weaving through time and written in poetic prose, this will make you glad you’re tucked up in bed and not out on the town.