1. Simon Shama’s A History of Britain
2. Living in London: A Survival Guide for Canadians by Network Canada This book is about moving to London as a Canadian. If you’re a Canadian moving to London, this is the most important book you will read before you depart for the UK, and specifically for London.
3. Time Out London I just picked up a cheap copy from Costco and highly recommend it. The Time Out is a weekly magazine that Londoners read to keep their social calendars filled. It’s a valuable resource to say the least! The Time Out guide books are very good, geared towards a young & professional crowd and light enough to carry in your purse or bag.
4. Frommer’s London Day by Day This was another good Costco find. Cheap ($7.99), light and with a good pull out map. Well worth the money.
5. Lonely Planet – Great Britain – Get excited about where you will live in the UK and spend your weekends traveling to all the amazing towns, villages, cities and hillsides.
6. Any book by Nick Hornby – Nick Hornby is a London fiction writer and wrote Fever Pitch, High Fidelity, About a Boy, A Long Way Down, How to be Good, and more. He tends to be enjoyed by men & women alike, and I’ve lived in one of the neighbourhoods he describes in A Long Way Down. It’s great to read novels set in London!
7. A Small Island by Andrea Levi – What a great read! If you want to know more about Jamaican-Londoners and enjoy novels, this one is the perfect book for you. I loved it, and can’t recommend it enough.
8. Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson An easy, light, comical read.
9. Confessions of a Shopoholic by Sophie Kinsella. It’s set in London. It makes the list because everyone needs a good light read every once in a while. Bridget Jones Diary is another good light read based in London of course. Now, before the men think I’m just being silly, keep in mind that Nick Hornby is the male equivalent here. 
10. The Guardian Book Club – not one book, but many. You can follow along and read one book a month, and listen to the podcasts as well. When you are actually living in London, you can join the bookclub and get invited to meet the authors and participate in discussions. With wine ta’boot! I met Margaret Atwood and Zadie Smith. Very cool! This month they are reading Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels.
What books would you suggest to someone making the move across the pond to the UK? Please add to this list by leaving your comment below! Also, check out the list of books to help you pretend you’re in England on the right hand side of this blog. Happy reading & researching!
Victoria Westcott
kikimoo
