JUNE SARPONG

TV presenter

. ..are you reading now? CATHERINE MAYER’S Attack Of The 50ft Women — I love it! Both men and women should read it. It sets a clear vision for what a gender-equal world looks like. Plus, Catherine is such a witty writer.

...would you take to a desert island?

LITTLE Women — I never tire of that book, so if I were stuck on a desert island, I’d happily read it again and again. Louisa May Alcott’s enthralling story of the March sisters’ journey from girlhood to adulthood is as relevant today as when she wrote it more than a century ago.

...first gave you the reading bug?

HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN’S The Ugly Duckling. Growing up, I felt a little awkward. I had braids and wasn’t allowed to wear cool clothes like my school friends, so I easily related to the protagonist in this classic.

. ..left you cold?

ANYTHING by Stephen King. I find horror books even more frightening than horror movies. I’ve never understood why someone would actually choose to take their mind to such dark places.

DiveRsiFY: six Degrees Of integration, by June sarpong, is published by HQ at £18.99. June will be speaking at the Henley Literary Festival on sunday, October 8. visit henleyliteraryfestival.co.uk/ book-tickets