English Language A Level Summer Reading and Media List

Novels

  • A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
  • Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh
  • White Teeth by Zadie Smith
  • Babel 17 by Samuel R. Delany

Non-Fiction books

  • How Language Works by David Crystal
  • The Adventure of English by Melvin Bragg
  • Lost for Words by John Humphrys
  • A Little Book of Language by David Crystal
  • Language: A Student Handbook on Key Topics & Theories

Textbooks

  • OCR A Level English Language: Student Book

Online media sources

  • The Guardian (opinion column)
  • The Independent (voice column)
  • Blogs (see separate list for further guidance)

Films

  • Arrival

Radio