The books that CHANGED MY LIFE

TV presenter and book club cofounder Richard Madeley is publishing his latest novel, Father’s Day, on 23 May. Here, he shares the books that have made him laugh, cry and think.

THE LAST BOOK THAT MADE ME LAUGH

It’s an old favourite: Rivals by Jilly Cooper, which I reread last summer. You probably wouldn’t write a book like that today, but it’s so funny.

THE LAST BOOK THAT MADE ME CRY

The Royle Family: The Complete Scripts made me well up. Judy and I knew Caroline Aherne well, as we lived near her in Manchester, and as I was reading her lines as Denise, I could hear her voice. It made me remember her huge talent.

THE BOOK THAT CHANGED THE WAY I THINK

Brief Answers To

The Big Questions by Stephen Hawking was published posthumously, and addresses 10 questions we all debate. I’d been wondering quite a lot about religion, and in the book he uses physics in a simple, accessible way to explain why, in his considered opinion, there isn’t a God. I found it comforting as it endorsed the fact I’ve drifted away from my faith.

THE BOOK THAT GOT ME THROUGH A DIFFICULT TIME

After my father died very suddenly of a heart attack at 49, I picked up The Cruel Sea by Nicholas Monsarrat. It’s an extraordinary book, which follows two men – a captain and his first officer – as they go through the Battle of the Atlantic. Reading it gave me perspective; it made me realise that death is a part of life. I found it very comforting.

THE BOOK I MOST OFTEN GIVE TO OTHERS

As anybody who has written a novel will tell you, you get sent a box full of books and I don’t hesitate to give both mine and Judy’s away to all our friends and family.