Richard Madley - 'Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell' by Susannah Clarke 

"I love returning to books, and digging out nuggets I've overlooked first time around. Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrel, by Susannah Clarke, is a perfect example. It's about the return of magic, real magic, to England during the Napoleonic Wars, and it's worth re-reading for her wonderful foot notes alone.  It's always by the bed."

Judy Madley - 'Jane Eyre' by Charlotte Bronte 

"I re-read Jane Eyre every year and each time, I'm even more impressed by the writing. I recently gave it to my twenty-one year old daughter and she absolutely loves it too."

Richard & Judy are renowned TV presenters.

Lorraine Kelly - 'South' by Sir Ernest Shackleton

If I am feeling in need of inspiration I dip into Sir Ernest Shackleton's "South", which is by my bedside and recounts his incredibly brave expeditions to Antarctica. The way he managed to keep up his men's spirits after their ship Endurance was trapped, crushed and smashed by the ice is extraordinary - as is the way he cheated death and brought them all home safe.

Lorraine Kelly, presenter on LK Today.

Sophie Dahl - 'Pursuit of Love' by Nancy Mitford

"This book makes me laugh, cry and sigh".

Sophie is the author of Miss Dahl's Voluptuous Delights: The Art of
Eating a Little of What You Fancy (HarperCollins, 30th April 2009)

Terry Wogan - PG Wodehouse

"I'm never without PG Wodehouse by my bedside table. I read and reread him, even when I'm reading something else. His brilliant plotting, his wit, his wonderful use of the language lift my spirits, and always bring a smile. Along with Myles na Gcopaleen (Flann O'Brien) Wodehouse is the author who can still make me laugh out loud, no matter how many times I turn to him" 

Terry Wogan is a TV and radio presenter.  He hosts the BBC Radio 2
Breakfast Show and regularly appears on TV. 

Alan Titchmarsh - diaries especially James Lees-Milne

"I find that reading diaries is the perfect antidote to a busy day.  I can take them in bite-sized chunks, and if they are by James Lees-Milne they extend my knowledge of architecture, make me gasp at their candour, fill me in on the whims of the aristocracy and irritate me profoundly in a sort of enriching way!  The perfect nightcap."

Alan Titchmarsh is a gardener, broadcaster and journalist.  Among other things he currently hosts The Alan Titchmarsh Show on ITV as well as regularly contributing to Gardeners World.

Roger Moore - 'The Reconstructionist' by Josephine Hart

"It's a story that examines the lingering and indelible influence that parents have on their offspring and is a truly brilliant novel that really stays with the reader once read."

Ex-007 Roger Moore has recently turned his hand to writing.  His book, My Word is My Bond: The Autobiography by Roger Moore, is available from Michael O'Mara books.

 

John Humpreys - children's books

My children range in age from eight to forty-three and I have several grandchildren in between. If I had to choose one thing that is guaranteed enrich their lives it would be a love of reading. So the books I would choose are those I have read to them over the years - everything from The Snail and the Whale to The Wind in the Willows. Children's books give you joy twice over: your own pleasure in reading and your children's pleasure in listening.

Radio 4, Today presenter and journalist

 

Kaye Adams - newspapers

"I'm rarely out and about without a newspaper to hand. For less than a quid and sometimes for free, you get information, opinion, story telling and usually a giggle. To me, it's one of life's simple pleasures"

Kaye is a well respected Scottish journalist and was previously a presenter on Loose Women. 

 

Darren Shan - 'Salem's Lot' by Stephen King

"One of the scariest books I ever read was Salem's Lot by Stephen King. I was only 10 or 11 years old when I first read it -- too young, probably, but I think if kids want to be terrorised, then they're old enough to go wherever their fast-beating heart leads them!! Whenever I want a good scare -- and who doesn't every now and then -- I know that Salem's Lot is always there, waiting for me, calling to me from out of the darkness, inviting me to step forward into the terrors of the blood-drenched night."

Darren Shan is a prolific writer of children's books predominantly about vampires and demons.

 

Lauren Child - 'John Patrick Norman McHenessy, the Boy who was Always Late' by John Burningham

"There's  something pleasantly anarchic about this book that appeals to me and I love the way he always sees things from the child's perspective."

Lauren Child is a renowned English author and illustrator. She is best known for writing the Charlie and Lola books and Clarice Bean novels.

 

John Boyne - 'David Copperfield' by Charles Dickens.

"I return to this novel every few years as a source of inspiration and comfort. Following David's journey from boy to man, and his various travails along the way in life and love, is one of the greatest pleasures in literature. And when the novel ends in happiness and triumph one can't help but feel satisfaction at an epic story brilliantly resolved."

John Boyne is the author of the bestselling novel and film ''The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas'.

 

Andy Stanton - 'Danny the Champion of the World' by Roald Dahl

'It's warm, funny, and good to read on a rainy Sunday with a cup of tea'.

Andy Stanton is the author of the Mr Gum series of books and has won the Blue Peter Book Award for Most Fun Book with Pictures in 2008 and 2009. He is also the winner of the inaugural Roald Dahl Funny Prize and the Red House Children's Book Award 2007.

 

Katie Fforde - 'Life According to Lubka' - Laurie Graham

"This book not only made me laugh out loud but it restored my faith in human nature.  People do look out for each other, anyone is capable of change and growth and it was an uplifting place to go each night.  It is a real 'comfort' book - for when you need a lift.'

Katieis the best-selling author of contemporary, humorous romances. Her latest book, Love Letters, will be published in June 2009.  She is also the next Chair of the Romantic Novelist's Association.

 

Michael Morpurgo - 'Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel' by Virginia Lee Burton  

"A picture book I adored, and maybe the first book I ever read for myself.  It helped that the hero and I shared the same name. Wonderfully illustrated, it had the most satisfactorily of all endings."

Michael is an award-winning children's author has written over 100 books and also enjoyed a stint at Children's Laureate.

 

Dame Jacqueline Wilson - 'Never Change' by Elizabeth Berg

"My 'Feel Good' read is Never Change by Elizabeth Berg.  It's about a plain, middle-aged nurse called Myra, an unlikely heroine, but it's the most romantic, tender, touching story.  I'm about to start reading it all over again."

Dame Jacqueline Wilson is a multi award-winning English author, known for her vast and diverse work in children's literature.  Her novels have been adapted numerous times for television, and commonly deal with such challenging themes as adoption, divorce and mental illness, issues that have sometimes made her controversial considering her young readership.

 

Fay Ripley – Observer Food Monthly                                               

“Once a month I slip into a steaming hot bath, infused with some "don't you dare touch that it cost a fortune" bath oil, to read my long awaited copy of The Observer Food Monthly. With a glass of chilled Rose and a face mask on;   I lap up every last column inch.   As a busy,multi tasking, working mum reading has become a luxury.   This brief moment between me and my supplement acts as a re fuel,   a full body massage,  a blood transfusion.  ‘If anyone calls tell them I'm happy’.”

Fay is a London born actress who shot to fame in the TV drama Cold Feet.  Since then she has appeared in numerous programmes including Mute Witness, Rosanna's Grave, Dead Gorgeous and The Stretford Wives.

 

Penny Vincenzi – Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh          

'The book that gives me the greatest emotional workout still is Brideshead. I read it about once every five years and every time I get more wrung out. The sheer beauty to start with--incredibly moving--and then the dazzlling Sebastian turning into a drunk, and the huge love affair between Charles and Julia, so exquisitely beautiful and tender and then Lord Marchmain dying and his death-bed conversation and then Julia  giving Charles up, the long long exposition about Catholicism, the grief, the self sacrifice--I just sit and feel torn to shreds with emotion and at the very end completely uplifted at having been through this incredibly complete and wonderful experience.'  

Penny Vincenzi's is a well known author.  Her new novel The Best of Times is published on 14th May by Headline Review.