From a rollicking personal history of rock and roll’s evolution and revolution, to a revolutionary vegan cookbook that’ll have you declaring, “I can’t believe it’s not butter!” (or meat, for that matter), our recommended under-the-radar reads for May will infuse your teetering to-be-read pile with rhythm, spice and all things nice!

Do You Believe in the Power of Rock & Roll? by John Robb

Do You Believe in the Power of Rock & Roll?

With decades under his belt as a music journo, John Robb’s Do You Believe in the Power of Rock & Roll? shares a personal musical odyssey from punk to the present-day.

Revealing how he came up with the Britpop epithet, and recounting his coverage of Nirvana before anyone else had noticed them (and a whole lot more besides), Robb’s writing is nothing but entertaining and engaging, making this a must-read for music-lovers. 

Anything You Can Cook I Can Cook Vegan by Richard Makin

Anything You Can Cook, I Can Cook Vegan

Kudus to the brilliant title that renders this “does what it says on the tin” cookbook an inspirational triumph. With over 100 recipes handily flagged with their difficulty level and how long they’ll take to make, Anything You Can Cook I Can Cook Vegan arms users with delicious veganised versions of timeless favourites, among them fried eggs, cheesy chicken parmesan and beefless bourguignon.

Add to that useful pantry tips, vegan hacks, and a fresh, fun vibe, and this will have you inviting your meat-eating mates to take an Anything You Can Cook I Can Cook Vegan challenge!

Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson

Pineapple Street

Old money New Yorkers, class snobbery, a poor little rich girl, and family friction over who gets to live in the big house, Jenny Jackson’s Pineapple Street is a top-notch novel for fans of fiction that offers a secret peek into how the other half live to reveal trouble, tension and truths about what makes us all tick. It’s also quite a page-turner. 

But don’t just take our word for it. Grazia deemed it a “killer debut about class, love and money”, while the New York Times praised it for being “the novel Jane Austen would have written… if Jane Austen lived in Brooklyn Heights in the 21st century”.