Rishi Dastidar’s latest poetry collection, Cherry Blossom at Nightbreak, has been voted as poetry book of the month for March 2026 by The Observer. As a London-based author and poet, Dastidar is well-placed to give us his five favourite books on the city’s underground system.
Metroland by Julian Barnes
Barnes’ 1980 debut is a coming-of-age novel that reminds us one of the hardest escapes to make is from the suffocation of suburbia. In the bon mots of his precocious heroes, the Tube becomes a symbol of conformity and liberation.
253 by Geoff Ryman
Every Bakerloo Line train can carry up to 252 passengers and the driver. That’s the starting point for Ryman’s influential novel. Between Embankment and Elephant & Castle, it becomes a looping meditation on how we’re more connected to each other than we acknowledge.
Read more:
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- Top 5 books on Black British history, chosen by children’s author Atinuke
- Top 5 books for children under eight, chosen by author Truly Johnston
Tunnel Visions by Christopher Ross
Ever spared a thought for the passenger assistants who toil to keep you safe and moving freely? Philosopher Ross hadn’t, until he started working at Oxford Circus station. Drama, comedy, frailty – it’s all there, especially in a hectic commute.
London Underground by Design by Mark Ovenden
The Tube’s roundel is the closest that London has to a logo. Ovenden’s comprehensive history shows how this emblem, and the network’s design, helped elevate underground trains into the world’s most influential transport system.
