Nineteen Eighty-Four. I always meant to read it before 1984, and once 1984 had passed I didn’t see the point.
Which book are you ashamed not to have read?
Question
Who most deserves an apology from you, and why?
Failure & regret
Question
Which trait do you most dislike in yourself?
Identity & self
Question
How would you describe yourself in three words?
Identity & self
Question
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Values & belief
Question
Aside from a property, what is the most expensive thing you have bought?
Money & investment
Question
Which moment embarrassed you most?
Failure & regret
Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
A fixed Guardian Q&A prompt asked directly across respondents and years.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
I used to give a fantastic talk about Frankenstein and Dracula, but I’ve never been able to finish either book.
The Q&A, The Guardian, 11 October 2025 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 32 →Ulysses by James Joyce, but I might make a start next week – or the week after that …
All of them. I’m not someone who can sit down and read – I wish I could.
The Great Gatsby.
More from Charlie Higson
View profile →All the kids I didn’t reply to who’ve written lovely letters about my books.
I can be horribly smug and conceited, and yet always in the back of my mind is the thought that things could go terribly wrong at any moment.
Middle-class wanker.
Aggression. Anger. Rudeness. Intolerance. Lack of understanding. Pretty much your average day on X.
Three mature palm trees. We restored a property in Italy that had been derelict and I needed to make it look established as quickly as I could.
I’ve shat myself in public three times. It’s never quite as bad as you fear.
More on taste & recommendation
Also answered this
Kerry Godliman, Romola Garai, Siobhán McSweeney, Andrew Ridgeley, Monica Dolan, Marcus Brigstocke
Search the directory for somebody in particular.
Explore further
- All taste & recommendation questions
- The The Q&A questionnaire — 25 questions from the same format
- Explore the archive — by field, age, era, and subject