Writer and comedian Richard Ayoade picks his favourite books.
The Code of the Woosters
P.G. Wodehouse, 1938
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.
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