The Standard's journalism is supported by our readers.
asserted
journalism → support → readers
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
uncertain
we → purchase → commission
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.
asserted
they → change → hearts
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.
asserted
they → look → writers
David Nicholls’s top pick
David Nicholls is an author and screenwriter best known for writing the international best-seller One Day.
asserted
Nicholls → know → seller
He says: “The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13¾ by Sue Townsend was like looking in a mirror.
asserted
Diary → say → mirror
I’m sure I wouldn’t be a writer without that book.
asserted
I → ’m → 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.”
uncertain
mess → write → comedy
Katherine Rundell’s favourite book
Children’s author Katherine Rundell made a name for herself by writing The Girl Savage and Rooftoppers.
asserted
Rundell → make → Girl
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.
asserted
it → say → 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.
asserted
enchantment → feel → 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.”
asserted
I → come → world
Caitlin Moran’s standout read
Columnist Caitlin Moran wrote the semi-autobiographical How To Be A Woman in 2011, redefining feminism for a new generation of readers.
asserted
Moran → write → readers
She said: “If you’re one of the people plunged into catastrophic doom and sorrow by the advent of winter — which is long!
asserted
which → say → winter
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.
uncertain
you → leave → May
Read More
“Once you can love every season, you’ve really cracked the big one: how to love your whole life”
asserted
you → read → 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.
uncertain
you → hate → year
No other living thing does this.
asserted
thing → live → this
“They all shed their leaves, sleep more, or — in my case — put on half a stone eating Christmas cheese.
asserted
They → shed → cheese
And that is the right thing to do.
“
asserted
that → do → ?
“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!”
uncertain
I → follow → winter
And once you can love every season, you’ve really cracked the big one: how to love your whole life.”
asserted
you → love → life
Alice Cooper’s go-to
He may be revered as a heavy metal icon and the ‘Godfather of Shock Rock’ but Alice Cooper also has a literary side.
uncertain
Cooper → revere → side
He said: “Orphan X by Gregg Hurwitz got me into spy novels and books about paramilitary operatives.
asserted
X → say → operatives
With characters like Brad Taylor’s Pike Logan and Vince Flynn’s Mitch Rapp, I started following a slew of such heroes.
asserted
I → start → heroes
“I’ve read more than 200 books in the past three years.
asserted
I → read → years
Always remember that a hero is only as good as a villain is bad.”
asserted
villain → remember → ?
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.
“
asserted
that → come → readers
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.
asserted
that → ’ → Tolstoy
“My thoughts on all three never diminish or falter.
asserted
thoughts → diminish → three
They’re beautifully written, with elegant prose and are deeply pleasing to read.
asserted
They → write → prose
Helen Fielding’s beloved choice
Helen Fielding became a household name almost overnight in the 1990s after she wrote the sensational Bridget Jones’ Diary.
asserted
she → become → 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.
asserted
they → say → world
Tom Parker Bowles’s favourite literature
The son of Queen Camilla has written numerous cookbooks and even fronted his own show crafting kitchen recipes.
asserted
son → write → recipes
He said: “The Ninja by Eric van Lustbader: Nunchucks, shurikens, sex and violence.
asserted
He → say → Lustbader
This book was banned at school, which made us love it even more.
asserted
us → ban → it
Patrick Radden Keefe’s top title
The New Yorker’s intrepid investigative journalist Patrick Radden Keefe has become a celebrated non-fiction writer, with six books to his name.
asserted
journalist → become → name
He said: “When I was a law student, wondering if perhaps I should give up on my dreams of becoming a writer, I picked up Scott Turow’s first novel, Presumed Innocent.
asserted
I → say → novel
“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.
asserted
I → find → prosecution
“It was that electric reading experience that cemented my conviction that I had to get a book deal before leaving law school”
asserted
I → cement → school
…and 29 more, not listed.
The Aporia
