"Beijing to Moscow on the Trans-Siberian railway takes seven days, time enough to harpoon that whale of a novel, Moby-Dick. In 1987 the voyage was as wild as that of Ahab.

"I saw a man, caught thieving, thrown from the fast-moving train by a character no less imposing than Queequeg himself and ate mostly caviar in the buffet car for next to nothing. By the time we pulled into Moscow I counted seven broken windows."

Stephen Bowler, from Sheffield, South Yorkshire, wins five books

"In 1981 I was reading English at Oxford. My then boyfriend took me on a summer holiday to Greece. On Spetses he water-skiied while I lay on the beach reading The Magus by John Fowles, which is set there.

"I was mesmerised by the magic and mystery and among the cicadas hissing in the pines I could almost hear the whispering of the characters. It also shielded me from our growing estrangement, which resulted in the boyfriend dumping me just before finals."

Anastasia Parkes, Winchester, Hants

"For my 50th birthday in 2007 my family and I rented a cottage in Southwold. I’d wanted to visit this small Suffolk coastal town since reading a children’s book by Malcolm Saville set in the area.

"This association was overtaken, however, as I read Julie Myerson’s Something Might Happen, which is set in the town. Totally captivated, I sought out the locations mentioned, even following the route of a fictional funeral procession!"

Mike Shelton, Burton upon Trent

1988. The searing heat of Rome and Sorrento with a visit to Herculaneum, where I fell in love with one of my travelling companions. My life changed for ever. I read Le Grand Meaulnes by Alain-Fournier. It is a wistful novel of a young man’s first and only love — beautifully written, poignant and tragic.

I’ll never forget Meaulnes and I’ll never forget Herculaneum.

Ian Jones, Marsden, West Yorkshire

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