One of the most colourful men in politics, Boris Johnson is the MP for Henley and shadow minister for higher education, a man widely regarded as the 'Tory Adonis', possessed of wit, wisdom and an unruly hairstyle.
The Iliad by Homer
At the age of 16, I was very moved by Homer's Iliad. It seemed to me to present as interesting an account of the relationship between men and the gods as anything you will find in the Bible and I found it...
Paradise Lost by John Milton
My parents were big readers - there's no question that that's where I get it from - and I was one of those children who read a lot of PG Wodehouse when I was young. Books like his were so easy to devour and I...
Scoop by Evelyn Waugh
I hugely admire Waugh's incredible gift for dialogue and description. He's probably my favourite author after Homer. Waugh is impressive because his...
War And Peace by Leo Tolstoy
Not the easiest read, but a wonderful book. There's
so much to like, such as the descriptions of hunting, the fantastic sense of the enormous vastness of Russia, birch forests and huge anonymous...
Who Moved My BlackBerry by Martin Lukes and Lucy Kellaway
I don't only devote my time to wordy narratives of epic length, I do occasionally allow myself to read works that are lighter in tone. In fact, I've just enjoyed this very funny book. On the one hand, I can't believe...
Native Tongue by Carl Hiaasen
About ten years ago I became a complete evangelist for the work of Carl Hiaasen, an American thriller writer. I was in Brussels and couldn't find a thing to read. I remember catching sight of these rather schlocky looking...
Middlemarch by George Eliot
At this late stage in my life I've decided I need to understand the female mind more. Why do girls love these big, epically long, boring books?...