MY SIX BEST BOOKS
SIMON DAY, 55, is known for his comedy work on TV in The Fast Show and Brian Pern: A Life In Rock. His one-man show Simon Day In Character is touring until April 12. edgestreetlive.com/simon-day 50 GREAT CURRIES OF INDIA
by Camellia Panjabi
Kyle, £10.99 I’ve got many curry recipe books but this is the best by miles. I use it all the time. There’s an amazing cardamom chicken, one which is totally green. I used to get curry after going to the pub but they’re so much better when you grind your own spices. THE GORMENGHAST TRILOGY
by Mervyn Peake
Vintage, £18.99 I read this when I was young and thought it was amazing: the size of the castle and the fact that these people lived in a strange way. But the characters were spot on. I knew someone similar to Steerpike: cold, ruthless and a social climber. THE BALLAD OF A SMALL PLAYER
by Lawrence Osborne
Vintage, £8.99 About a guy who steals money from the firm where he works and just gambles. Then the story becomes odder and odder. But Osborne writes lovely, descriptive prose. He talks of travelling alone, spending your whole time examining things, which I’ve done. THE COMEDIANS
by Graham Greene
Vintage, £9.99 One of our best writers. I met Sebastian Faulks at a party and when I said Greene was one of my favourite writers, he said he found him very narrow. He does write a lot about good and evil but I find his books very funny. His heroes have a slightly superior cynical wit. This one is a noir set in Haiti. HAM ON RYE
by Charles Bukowski
Canongate, £9.99 A funny, well-ordered book about growing up. Bukowski had a cruel father, terrible acne and was a real outcast. He became a hero to people who don’t engage with society and there was a time in my life when I was doing stand-up and drinking and he was all I read. FAREWELL, MY LOVELY
by Raymond Chandler
Penguin, £8.99 I like noir and Chandler conjures up California well. This is set in the 1940s when I’d like to have lived: hardly any people, wonderful cars, lovely weather, fantastic femmes fatales.