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Novels are a life experience. Any good novel you will go away from having learnt something, having something to really think about and discuss. We don't just become part of the adventure when we open up to Chapter 1 and start getting to know the characters. We live it ourselves and we learn about ourselves as we read. Any story that has nothing to give is completely lifeless. You know that, whether you enjoy a holiday read or whether you consider yourself and avid reader, all the books you remember have something special in common.

A page turner is almost a genre in itself. These are undoubtedly the books that tend to top the best sellers list; the easy reads, books like Twilight, the Da Vinci Code and to some extent, the Harry Potter series. Though they may flaunt themselves as intelligent literature, they have no real substance to them. To find a novel that is really significance, you have to dig just a little bit deeper. Ignore the bookstore recommendations. Ignore Richard and Judy's top 10. Look at what the newspapers say. Take word-of-mouth seriously.

So, what should you be looking for? A good novel has something important to say. It has longevity and significance, commenting on one or many aspects of society that capture attention; religion, environment, politics, psychology - anything and everything can be discussed via the medium of literature, simultaneously engaging the reader with an appealing story and loveable characters that have a subtext to stir debate.

There are plenty of fine examples to take into consideration from within and from well beyond our century. From Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights to Evelyn Waugh's Bright Young Things and from Ian McEwan's The Cement Garden to Cormac McCarthy's The Road; to make an international impact on the literature community, they have to have something in common.