VERNON GOD LITTLE by DBC Pierre Faber, £8.99
This is about a shooting in a school seen through the eyes of a young boy.
It took me a while to get into it because it’s written in Texan slang but it’s a real romp: a funny, irreverent, dark comment on American society, but with heart.
WUTHERING HEIGHTS by Emily Brontë Vintage, £6.99
I am from West Yorkshire and grew up in the land of the Brontës.
The sisters were wonderful mythical creatures.
This is a brooding, Gothic, painful love story that, for all my happiness, taps into my nature.
A FINE BALANCE by Rohinton Mistry Faber, £8.99
Set in late 1970s India, this is a beautifully written, tragic tale of two men who try to leave their caste.
It explores in an intelligent way the people at the bottom of the pile.
I’m of Indian heritage and I despise the caste system but am fascinated by how complex and layered India is.
THE MASTER AND MARGARITA by Mikhail Bulgakov Vintage, £7.99
I like stories that give an insight into other countries and I love satire and magical realism.
The premise of this is that the devil lands in Moscow and chaos ensues.
It questions everything about communist Russia in a very clever, witty way.
THE TIMES CONCISE ATLAS OF THE WORLD Times, £90
I love to travel and I can happily study an atlas for an hour. I used to be dad’s navigator in the car because mum was rubbish at reading maps.
Even when I’m filming Countryfile, I always have to check where I am in relation to the rest of the country.
ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF SOLITUDE by Gabriel García Márquez Penguin, £7.99
A saga about birth and death through the generations.
I read this on holiday in three days. I had to put it down and step back because the beauty of his writing is so sublime.
It’s funny and sad and made me feel that humans are capable of remarkable things.