MY SIX BEST BOOKS
MICHAEL MOSLEY, 61, is a TV presenter known for science and medical programmes such as Trust Me, I’m A Doctor, Inside The Human Body and Eat, Fast And Live Longer. His UK tour Trust Fast Health starts on February 2. Visit michaelmosley.co.uk
THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD
by John Le Carré
Penguin, £8.99 I remember reading this aged 18 and thinking it was brilliant, with a chilling ending. It’s not like James Bond. I’m interested in the Cold War era. I studied politics so I read quite a lot about it. I’ve no idea if the story is authentic but it feels like it.
DOWN AND OUT IN PARIS AND LONDON
by George Orwell
Penguin, £8.99
I’m a huge Orwell fan. I found it amusing and insightful into life in Paris in the Thirties, and the second part is when he’s living as a tramp.
It’s a bit of self-experimentation. His ideas have continued to resonate and he writes incredibly well.
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE
by Jane Austen
Penguin, £4.99
I first read Austen in my early 20s and I loved the worlds she creates. There’s no political or historical context but she’s interesting about human relationships. A huge amount of romantic books and films are founded on her kind of three-act narrative.
HUNGER
by Knut Hamsun
Canongate, £9.99
By a Norwegian writing in the 1800s. I read it, reread it, then rushed out to buy his other books.
It’s about a starving young man and you have a strong sense of this crazy character and what he’s going through.
FLASHMAN
by George MacDonald Fraser
HarperCollins, £8.99
Fabulous funny stories. The idea of creating a central character from someone else’s book – Flashman was the bully in Tom Brown’s School Days – is odd but he’s a wonderful antihero. He roams through history, a coward and a cad. I have read all the books many times.
A BEAR CALLED PADDINGTON
by Michael Bond
HarperCollins, £6.99
My childhood favourite. He tries to do good and bumbles around and it generally ends well. There is something about his relationship with the Brown family that appealed when I was eight or nine. I enjoyed reading it to my kids as well.