The books that made Britain’s best-known writers fall in love with reading
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From life-changing novels to the books that sparked lifelong passions, some of the biggest names in literature, entertainment and food have revealed the books they hold closest to their hearts.
David Nicholls, Helen Fielding, Caitlin Moran and more share the books that shaped their careers, inspired their imaginations and stayed with them long after the final page.
Whether you’re looking for your next great read or curious about the stories behind some of Britain’s best-known writers and creatives, these are the books they’ll never forget.
David Nicholls is an author and screenwriter best known for writing the international best-seller One Day.
He says: “The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13¾ by Sue Townsend was like looking in a mirror. I’m sure I wouldn’t be a writer without that book.
“The best possible evidence that the mess of ordinary lives, the anxieties and obsessions and delusions, could be the subject of brilliant, beautifully written comedy.”
Children’s author Katherine Rundell made a name for herself by writing The Girl Savage and Rooftoppers.
She said: “The day I read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, aged seven or eight, I learned what it is to long for fantastical worlds. It was my first experience of a fictional landscape that felt real enough to walk and sprint and feast in; I felt the enchantment sink into my skin.
“When I came to write fantasy books of my own, it was that feeling I tried to capture: of a new world large enough and joyful enough to return to over and over.”
She said: “If you’re one of the people plunged into catastrophic doom and sorrow by the advent of winter — which is long! Wet! And sexist! Women can’t leave the house after 3.30pm because it’s dark and we get murdered! — then you, like me, will need Wintering by Katherine May.
“Once you can love every season, you’ve really cracked the big one: how to love your whole life”
“If you hate winter, May tells us, gently, it’s simply because you’re trying to live your Summer Life for 365 days of the year. No other living thing does this.
“They all shed their leaves, sleep more, or — in my case — put on half a stone eating Christmas cheese. And that is the right thing to do.
“To lead a smaller life, for a while. To recharge, be gentle and make plans for the coming year.
“I followed all of May’s advice so assiduously — and fell so passionately in love with winter — that, when spring came, I found myself thinking, for a moment, “Oh! I will miss winter!” And once you can love every season, you’ve really cracked the big one: how to love your whole life.”
He may be revered as a heavy metal icon and the ‘Godfather of Shock Rock’ but Alice Cooper also has a literary side.
He said: “Orphan X by Gregg Hurwitz got me into spy novels and books about paramilitary operatives. With characters like Brad Taylor’s Pike Logan and Vince Flynn’s Mitch Rapp, I started following a slew of such heroes.
“I’ve read more than 200 books in the past three years. Always remember that a hero is only as good as a villain is bad.”
Jeremy Lee keeps coming back to
Jeremy Lee is one of Britain’s most popular cookery writers, penning kitchen manifestos that are accessible for 21st century readers.
He said: “Ah, where would we be without books? My mum bought me a Puffin every week when I was a kid and each one was devoured.
“It’s nigh-on impossible to define a life-changing book, but three that have stuck are Elizabeth David’s Italian Food and French Provincial Cooking, and Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy.
“My thoughts on all three never diminish or falter. They’re beautifully written, with elegant prose and are deeply pleasing to read. These are my offerings — on the proviso that these are but the tip of the great mountain of books.”
Helen Fielding became a household name almost overnight in the 1990s after she wrote the sensational Bridget Jones’ Diary.
She said: “The book that changed my life was of course Pride and Prejudice: most obviously because I shamelessly stole the plot for Bridget Jones’s Diary, and most importantly because it was the first time I saw real women being presented in classic fiction with an honesty, wit and perceptiveness which told you so much so apparently lightly about the wider world they were inhabiting.
“I’ve been trying to copy Jane Austen ever since.”
Helen Fielding has launched a Bridget Jones Prize as part of the Northern Writers’ Awards
Tom Parker Bowles’s favourite literature
The son of Queen Camilla has written numerous cookbooks and even fronted his own show crafting kitchen recipes.
He said: “The Ninja by Eric van Lustbader: Nunchucks, shurikens, sex and violence. This book was banned at school, which made us love it even more. My first “adult” book; the gateway drug to a whole new world of reading delight.”
Patrick Radden Keefe’s top title
“I found it completely, infernally absorbing; I neglected my dull criminal law coursework because I was so rapt by Turow’s quicksilver explication of one complicated criminal prosecution.
“It was that electric reading experience that cemented my conviction that I had to get a book deal before leaving law school”
“Though my ambitions lay in non-fiction, it was that electric reading experience that cemented my conviction that I had to get a book deal before leaving law school. Six months later, I did.”
He said: “A Time of Gifts by Patrick Leigh Fermor. I read it as a teenager and learned the best way to find out about the world is just to pack a rucksack and go. I think I owe my whole career to it.”
Oliver Bullough is at the London Literature Festival on October 31
He said: “I read The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins in the late 1980s and it got me interested in genetics. I subsequently set up the TwinsUK programme at St Thomas’ Hospital, which changed my life.”
Classically-trained musician Emily Crane published her debut novel In Search Of Lost thoughts earlier this year.
She said: “Perfume by Patrick Süskind is wonderfully disgusting. The way he toys with words made me fall deeply in love with fiction.
“By creating such a vivid world that exists only in the minds of those who read it, this book made me realise I didn’t want to be anything as strongly as I wanted to be a writer.”
Meera Syal’s life changing novel
The Goodness Gracious Me star is one of Britain’s best loved comediennes and authors.
She said: “To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee changed my life — it taught me about prejudice, about the justice system and how everyone should be an Atticus Finch; to stand up for something that’s right, even when you know you’re going to lose.”
Bookseller Max Porter became renowned for his 2015 novella Grief Is the Thing With Feathers. He has written five novels since.
He said: “Another Way of Telling by John Berger and Jean Mohr changed my life and continues to inform the way I think about the relationship between images and text, politics and art. Like all Berger’s books it is deeply political and profoundly beautiful.”
Max Porter is at the London Literature Festival on October 23
Cora Corré’s ultimate page turner
Vivienne Westwood’s granddaughter Cora Corre has become an influential activist on climate change, UK asylum legislation, and human rights.
She says: “I was always more drawn to the books I chose to read than those prescribed at school, but one book from my school years that has stayed with me more vividly than most is John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men.
“I remember spending the last day of the holidays reading it in my grandmother Vivienne Westwood’s bed, determined to finish it as quickly as possible.
“Vivienne, who always read with a dictionary beside her, would stop me whenever I skimmed over a word I didn’t understand, encouraging me to explore its meaning.
“What began as homework became an experience of curiosity, companionship and connection across generations. Steinbeck’s exploration of loneliness and our fundamental need for human connection has stayed with me ever since.”
E L James’s daring story
E L James became a writing sensation when she authored Fifty Shades of Grey.
She said: “The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer changed my life.
“I remember taking Christmas off to read all four books at once and it was the best vacation I have ever had. It was inspirational.”
“I remember taking Christmas off to read all four books at once”
Jeremy King’s go to recommendation
Renowned London restaurateur Jeremy King wrote the memoir and hospitality guide Without Reservation: Lessons from a Life in Restaurants.
He said: “The Dice Man by Luke Rhinehart captured my imagination as I was leaving school in 1972. It is a novel depicting a psychiatrist who determines the course of his life through the throw of a die.
“I did the same for fun but also, fatally, when I had won a place at Cambridge and then decided whether to go up, or stay in hospitality for life. Dangerous book.”