Brighton-based writer Matt Haig is the internationally bestselling author of the novels The Midnight Library, The Life Impossible, How to Stop Time, The Humans and The Radleys. The Midnight Library was an instant bestseller in 2020 and sold more than 10 million copies. The audiobook was read by Carey Mulligan. His award-winning children’s book, A Boy Called Christmas, was made into a film starring the late Maggie Smith, Sally Hawkins and Jim Broadbent. His latest novel, The Midnight Train, is out now (Canongate, £20).
The book I loved as a child
I loved all Roald Dahl’s books. But in particular I adored Danny the Champion of the World. It’s one of the greatest father-son stories of all time.
The book that inspired me as a teenager
SE Hinton’s The Outsiders was a great read and very relatable for me as a misfit teenage boy. I loved that these were delinquent teenagers who also read poetry. They found escape through books and poems and beauty.
The book I’ve never finished
There are more books I haven’t finished than books I have. I am a terrible reader. I have ADHD and I flit between books. I have five on the go at once. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel is just one I can think of off the top of my head. But that is no comment on the book, just my brain.
The book that moved me most
I love the Brontës. All of them. But I will say The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck is my all-time most emotional read. It’s about human resilience and how lives are at the mercies of politics and economies. It’s about the lengths people will go to look after each other.
The book I’m reading now
I’m reading an old collection of Agatha Christie short stories called Midwinter Murder. I find short stories suit my fidgety brain..
