My earliest reading memoryI was being read a picture book of Waltzing Matilda by my dad, when my nose started bleeding again; Id been hit with a ball in the face earlier in the day. A big drop splatted right in the middle of the book and I remember thinking: Uh oh Ive ruined a book! I still have that book and I still see the dried-out splotch.<\/p>\n
My favourite book growing upThe BFG by Roald Dahl. It was the first book that didnt feel like homework. There was a darkness to it that felt forbidden, but still on the right side of scary. I felt very proud when Id finished it, but also sad as I didnt want it to be over. A feeling Ive grown used to over the years.<\/p>\n
The book that changed me as a teenagerI was not a big reader as a teenager. I had too much else going on, like being a failed delinquent, football, and helping look after my mother. But I read The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger, a nonfiction book about a convergence of weather patterns in a north Atlantic storm that made waves so big they broke the equipment used to measure them, and a human story that weaves through the scientific data. It hooked me on a life of reading nonfiction, and the true seismic shift of reading that book was the realisation that storytelling wasnt just about fiction.<\/p>\n
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The writer who changed my mindRichard Dawkins, in my very early 20s, about the difference between agnosticism and atheism. I read some of his work at a turbulent time in my life. I had just lost my mother, having been raised Catholic, and feeling the church was wildly hypocritical, I became, as I used to say, devoutly atheist. But I came to understand that this too was a story, and one that was as potentially closed-minded as any of the major religions. Agnosticism, on the other hand, left open the possibility that we humans couldnt possibly know everything. I have given up on trying to be sure of anything and it is liberating. Ironically, Dawkins himself is a famous atheist, but there is a relief in being absent from the arrogance of both atheism and religion. The only main difference in all this is the story we tell ourselves.<\/p>\n
The book that made me want to be a writerThe Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. I came to it late in life, and realised immediately the raw kinetic power of picture books as a vehicle for art and storytelling.<\/p>\n
The book or author I came back toMy dad always insisted I read Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. I tried in my mid 20s, but couldnt get my head around the cadence of it, and gave up. Years later, he prompted me again. This time I stuck with it admittedly out of respect for my dad and am thankful for doing so. It was the first time I ever had a physical reaction to a book, like Id been winded or punched in the gut. <\/p>\n
The book I rereadAt Home by Bill Bryson. It explains why our homes are the way they are, how we got there through trial and error and centuries of history.<\/p>\n
The book I could never read againA Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole. I adored this in my early 30s, the academic toilet humour of it. I tried reading it again, but perhaps too much has changed, or the humour is no longer fresh.<\/p>\n
The book I am currently readingI currently have five books on the go. I know this infuriates some people, but its how I do it. Im not in the same mood every evening.<\/p>\n
My comfort readJohn Grisham novels on long flights.<\/p>\n
Theres a Ghost in This House by Oliver Jeffers is published by HarperCollins Childrens Books (20). To support the Guardian and Observer order your copy at guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply.<\/p>\n
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See the article here: <\/p>\n
Oliver Jeffers: Catch-22 was the first time I had a physical reaction to a book - The Guardian<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" My earliest reading memoryI was being read a picture book of Waltzing Matilda by my dad, when my nose started bleeding again; Id been hit with a ball in the face earlier in the day. A big drop splatted right in the middle of the book and I remember thinking: Uh oh Ive ruined a book! I still have that book and I still see the dried-out splotch. Continue reading