Vernon Scannell's book How To Enjoy Novels (Piatkus Press, £6.95 in UK) is aimed at the general reader. It encourages understanding of the many challenging masterpieces written in the English language and acknowledges that trashy, lucrative productions also have their place. Other novels allow us to re-create the real world and identify with characters, who, like ourselves, are unpredictable and surprising in their conduct and destinies. Good novels nourish, strengthen and entertain. They express an individual view, addressed to another individual, who is free to pick it up or drop it at will. A stimulating introduction to a vast subject.