The hat has chosen The Bridge by Iain Banks. This hymn to the Forth road bridge, lament for the ills of Thatcherism and story of a fatal car crash seems beautifully appropriate in the month of the Scottish Independence referendum – but it is also, of course, a book for all time. Banks himself thought it was his best novel. According to Wikipedia, he called it: "Definitely the intellectual of the family, it's the one that went away to university and got a first. I think The Bridge is the best of my books."

Elsewhere, the first review comment I found online brought a lump to my throat. Back in 1986, The Times said it "represents significant progress in the flowering of an exceptional talent … a totally absorbing read."

Well, that talent has flowered, blossomed and moved on. But at least we still have its products to enjoy. I haven't read The Bridge yet – but if, as Banks suggests, it's even better than Whit and The Wasp Factory, I'm looking forward to setting that right. I hope you'll join me. To that end we have 10 copies to give away. We're keen to put those copies in the hands of the first 10 readers in the UK to post "I want a copy please", along with a nice constructive comment relevant to the book. And if you're lucky enough to get your request in quick enough, don't forget to email laura.kemp@theguardian.com, as we can't track you down ourselves. Be nice to her too.

In the meantime, all comments, suggestions for potential topics for discussion and opinions on the great Iain Banks will be gratefully received.