The journalist, author and broadcaster picks his favourites. His latest book, "Letters to Margaret: Confessions to my Late Wife", was published earlier this month.
Just William
I never laughed as much in my life at any books. Then or now. Strange that I loved them so much – for William's life was so different from mine. He was living in the posh suburbs somewhere in the south, and I was in a council house in Carlisle. Yet his anti-adult stance, his japes and scrapes and his awful spelling had me in hysterics.
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Available on The Week Bookshop
An Inland Voyage
Robert Louis Stevenson, 1878
His first book, about a canoe trip with a friend on the Belgium-France borders. Potty really, it was a just an excuse for an adventure. Nothing much happens, but it's ever so charming. Robert Louis Stevenson is the writer I would most liked to have met in the flesh – always ill, but always on the move.
The Northern Fells
Alfred Wainwright, 1962
One of seven books in his "Pictorial Guides to the Lakeland Fells". He produced them his way – with his drawings, his hand-writing. They are works of art as well as being vital for any Lakeland lover.
Available on The Week Bookshop
My Name is not Matilda: Miranda's Memoirs
Miranda Amapola Symington, 2024
I encouraged her to write and publish this book, her first at the age of 77. I was just so amazed by her life story – working as a model in Chelsea in the 1960s, crossing the Atlantic in a home-made trimaran with her husband in the 1970s. But mostly because she is such a talented, touching, revealing writer.
Daisy Belle: Swimming Champion of the World
Caitlin Davies, 2018
OK, she is my daughter but it is such an excellent idea: the fictionalised life of a real 19th century working-class woman who was a diver and swimmer. These modern Olympic swimmers, eh, they have it easy. Daisy had it hard. Ever so touching.
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Homes with great fireplacesFeature Featuring a suspended fireplace in Washington and two-sided Parisian fireplace in Florida
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Is $140,000 the real poverty line?Feature Financial hardship is wearing Americans down, and the break-even point for many families keeps rising
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Film reviews: ‘The Secret Agent’ and ‘Zootopia 2’Feature A Brazilian man living in a brutal era seeks answers and survival and Judy and Nick fight again for animal justice
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Homes with great fireplaces
Feature Featuring a suspended fireplace in Washington and two-sided Parisian fireplace in Florida
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Film reviews: ‘The Secret Agent’ and ‘Zootopia 2’
Feature A Brazilian man living in a brutal era seeks answers and survival and Judy and Nick fight again for animal justice
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A postapocalyptic trip to Sin City, a peek inside Taylor Swift’s ‘Eras’ tour, and an explicit hockey romance in December TVthe week recommends This month’s new television releases include ‘Fallout,’ ‘Taylor Swift: The End Of An Era’ and ‘Heated Rivalry’
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December’s books feature otherworldly tales, a literary icon’s life story and an adult royal rompThe Week Recommends This month's new releases include ‘The Heir Apparent’ by Rebecca Armitage and ‘Tailored Realities’ by Brandon Sanderson
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Wake Up Dead Man: ‘arch and witty’ Knives Out sequelThe Week Recommends Daniel Craig returns for the ‘excellent’ third instalment of the murder mystery film series
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Zootropolis 2: a ‘perky and amusing’ movieThe Week Recommends The talking animals return in a family-friendly sequel
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Storyteller: a ‘fitting tribute’ to Robert Louis StevensonThe Week Recommends Leo Damrosch’s ‘valuable’ biography of the man behind Treasure Island
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The rapid-fire brilliance of Tom StoppardIn the Spotlight The 88-year-old was a playwright of dazzling wit and complex ideas
