Miles Kington: Tall tomes everyone should read on holiday

Sven Goran Eriksson has made all England football fans miserable and many women happy

1. Harry Potter and the Change of Name by Dave Gorman.

The cataclysmic success of the Potter books has brought great riches to JK Rowling but even greater embarrassment to all those people called Harry Potter in real life.

Many of them have been driven to change their names to something more anonymous, and this book traces some of their stories, including that of the poor man who unwittingly changed his name to Dan Brown!

nb: Author Dave Gorman (no relation) was also previously known as Harry Potter.

2. Grumpy Old Philosophers by Alain de Botton.

Cashing in on the Grumpy Old Men concept, author de Botton picks out famous philosophers who were grumpy for logical and well-thought out reasons. " And on the grand scale, too," notes de Botton. "You might find Jeremy Clarkson grumbling about speed cameras, but Nietzsche used to tear Christianity to shreds before breakfast, just for starters".

3. Rumpy Pumpy of the Old Bailey by Graham Lord.

Unauthorised life of John Mortimer.

4. The New Novel by Maeve Binchy by Maeve Binchy.

Maeve Binchy's new novel.

5. The Sven Syndrome by Bel Lettre.

From a woman's viewpoint there are two stories in Sven Goran Eriksson's life, thinks Bel Lettre. One is his story as the England football manager (in which he is clearly and objectively a failure), and one as a lover, in which he is equally clearly a winner. "He has made all England football fans miserable, and many women happy," she says, and she then advances the idea that many famous names are actually better at their number two activity.

"Woody Allen hasn't made a good film for years, but still plays nice clarinet. Michael Winner never made a good film in his life, but is shaping up well as a restaurant critic. Think of your own examples."

6. Grumpy Old Philosophers Behaving Badly by A.C.Grayling.

Cashing in on the Grumpy Old Philosophers trend, Grayling picks out famous philosophers who had a disgraceful private life. For our money, Bertie Russell beats the lot.

7. Sudoku Made Difficult by Stephen Fry.

Hilarious summer special.

8. Scrumpy Pumpy by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.

West Country cider cookbook.

9. Intelligent Design, by Ernie Taylor.

When Ernie Taylor wrote this modest little guide to the art of designing your own amateur furniture, he little dreamt that President George Bush would turn it into a bestseller by getting up and loudly saying that Intelligent Design should be on the syllabus of every school in America. "I guess the ironic thing is that I really don't believe in the existence of a supreme deity," says author Taylor. "Leastways, I didn't till all this happened. Now, I ain't so sure..."

10. Grumpy Old Bridget Jones, by Helen Fielding.

In which our heroine hits the menopause.

11. Grumpy Old Man Booker, by Graham Lord

Profile of celebrated europhobe Christopher Booker.

12. Grumpy Old Philosophers Behaving Badly on Holiday, by David Quantick.

The script of the pilot of the new TV sitcom.

13. The Sudoku, A Driver's Guide by Jeremy Clarkson

Mr Clarkson seems under the impression that the Sudoku is a large Japanese car.

14. A Picture of David Dimbleby.

Stunning pictures from the TV programme which gradually travelled all round David Dimbleby, week by week, studying each aspect of him.

15. Dumpy to Frumpy.

Letters from the Queen Mother to the Queen.