Writer and comedian Richard Ayoade picks his favourite books.
The Code of the Woosters
Although, it could be nearly any one of a dozen of his works. Unlike, say, Dorothy Parker, Wodehouse is not a one-liner type. It's an overall spirit of ridiculousness that becomes addictively optimistic – or "bracing", as he might say.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Available on The Week Bookshop
The Catcher in the Rye
J.D. Salinger, 1951
This is the first book I remember really loving. It felt like meeting two friends at once – the author, and Holden Caulfield. I loved them both. I even got a baseball mitt (not easy to source in Ipswich) and wrote poetry on it – "The Fly" by Blake, since you ask – which further endeared me to all. I tried to find a red hunting hat like Holden. Instead, I bought a farcically small army hat with a red section on the skull – presumably for target practice? In my case, for attracting the phlegm of Suffolk-based well-wishers.
Available on The Week Bookshop
Tenth of December
George Saunders, 2013
I think he is the best writer in the world. Like Kurt Vonnegut mixed with David Foster Wallace and Mark Twain, with the soul of the Russian masters.
Available on The Week Bookshop
Plays 1
Wallace Shawn, 1997
I love all of Wally's writing. His essays are great, but his plays are so well written that you could kid yourself into thinking that they were effortless. How does he manage to make everything sound so natural, so poetic – so unexpected?
Available on The Week Bookshop
Middlemarch
George Eliot, 1871
Lydia, my wonderful and vastly more literate wife, convinced me to read this after years of gentle persuasion. Like many books that feel scary because of their reputation/ size, it is a pleasure – sentences so packed that you cannot believe that they were constructed by a person. Funny, philosophical and compassionate – she seems to see all.
Available on The Week Bookshop
Ayoade will talk about his "The Fairy Tale Fan Club" and "The Unfinished Harauld Hughes" at Cheltenham Literature Festival (5 Oct); cheltenhamfestivals.org
-
China’s single mothers are teaming upUnder the Radar To cope with money pressures and work commitments, single mums are sharing homes, bills and childcare
-
Employees are branching out rather than moving up with career minimalismThe explainer From career ladder to lily pad
-
‘It is their greed and the pollution from their products that hurt consumers’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Jane Austen lives on at these timeless hotelsThe Week Recommends Here’s where to celebrate the writing legend’s 250th birthday
-
‘Mexico: A 500-Year History’ by Paul Gillingham and ‘When Caesar Was King: How Sid Caesar Reinvented American Comedy’ by David Margolickfeature A chronicle of Mexico’s shifts in power and how Sid Caesar shaped the early days of television
-
Homes by renowned architectsFeature Featuring a Leonard Willeke Tudor Revival in Detroit and modern John Storyk design in Woodstock
-
Film reviews: ‘Hamnet,’ ‘Wake Up Dead Man’ and ‘Eternity’Feature Grief inspires Shakespeare’s greatest play, a flamboyant sleuth heads to church and a long-married couple faces a postmortem quandary
-
May your loved ones eat, drink and be merry with these 9 edible Christmas giftsThe Week Recommends Let them eat babka (and cheese and licorice)
-
We Did OK, Kid: Anthony Hopkins’ candid memoir is a ‘page-turner’The Week Recommends The 87-year-old recounts his journey from ‘hopeless’ student to Oscar-winning actor
-
The Mushroom Tapes: a compelling deep dive into the trial that gripped AustraliaThe Week Recommends Acclaimed authors team up for a ‘sensitive and insightful’ examination of what led a seemingly ordinary woman to poison four people
-
10 concert tours to see this winterThe Week Recommends Keep cozy this winter with a series of concerts from big-name artists
