SOPHIE KINSELLA
The British author, 49, has just released the ninth in her best-selling Shopaholic series, which follows the adventures of retail addict Becky Bloomwood. Kinsella tells WHO about the book that …
… first captured her imagination as a young child I remember waking up very early one Christmas morning and finding a copy of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl in my stocking. I started reading it immediately, couldn’t put it down and ignored my other presents until I had finished. That showed me the power of a good story. … she loved as a teenager
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume. It was so honest and dealt with issues no-one else seemed to. I loved Fifteen by Beverly Cleary, which was so funny and true and painful. And I absolutely adored Lace by Shirley Conran, with its glamour, sex, epic story and killer line: “Which one of you bitches is my mother?”
… inspired her to become a writer
When I was working as a financial journalist straight after university, I read a lot of Joanna Trollope while travelling to work. She wrote about contemporary issues in such an engaging, intelligent way and I remember thinking, “I want to do this”.
… makes a good holiday read
Holidays are when I read big books all in one gulp. I’m a sucker for a well-plotted thriller and I remember one holiday reading The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson. I absolutely couldn’t put it down – but luckily I didn’t have to. I also saved up the third book in Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy for a long flight. I knew I would want to read it absolutely uninterrupted.
… she has read and re-read
I often dip into The Diary of a Nobody by George and Weedon Grossmith. I love the humour and voice, and sometimes I just want a little uplifting snippet. Diary books are perfect for that. I also regularly reread my collection of Agatha Christies. I have a bad memory, so I can never remember who did it! … she would love to have written
The Time Traveller’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. It’s just so clever and romantic.