Loads. All the greats.
Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 9 September 2023 source ↗
taste
Which book are you ashamed not to have read?
Originally asked
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One of 24 questions in The Q&A here.
On the record
Public figures who have answered a question like this elsewhere. Quoted from the source shown, not written for FLAPSS.
Read by age
Any age
In their thirties 5
In their forties 7
In their fifties 9
In their sixties 4
Seventy and beyond 4
I’m not really ashamed, but I haven’t read Lord of the Rings.
Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 23 September 2023 source ↗
Neil Gaiman
Author of fiction, comics and screenplays
I’ve never read Proust.
Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 21 October 2023 source ↗
I’ve never got through Ulysses.
Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 28 October 2023 source ↗
Probably all of them because I am not big into English literature. I read a lot of self-improvement books.
Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 16 December 2023 source ↗
I feel no shame about not reading a book. That’s silly.
Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 30 December 2023 source ↗
Any unread book a friend bought me.
Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 6 January 2024 source ↗
My own biography! Being serious, there’s an Australian novel by Gregory Roberts called Shantaram that I didn’t read through.
Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 13 January 2024 source ↗
I’ve been lugging around Doris Lessing’s books, which I have yet to read.
Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 23 March 2024 source ↗
This year, I was asked to be a judge for the Women’s prize for fiction and I’ve read 75 books in six months, so I’m parking shame for the time being.
Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 13 April 2024 source ↗
I’ve never read any Proust.
Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 21 September 2024 source ↗
All of them. I’m not someone who can sit down and read – I wish I could.
Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 28 September 2024 source ↗
Nineteen Eighty-Four. I always meant to read it before 1984, and once 1984 had passed I didn’t see the point.
Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 12 April 2025 source ↗
Because it’s in one of my songs, War and Peace.
Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 19 April 2025 source ↗
None. I love reading, and I read a good book and a bad book at the same time.
Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 31 May 2025 source ↗
None! We shouldn’t shame people for not having read “the greats”. There are always new greats emerging that may feel more relevant to our life experience, particularly female writers.
Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 14 June 2025 source ↗
The Great Gatsby.
Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 5 July 2025 source ↗
Ulysses by James Joyce, but I might make a start next week – or the week after that …
Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 26 July 2025 source ↗
Anything by Dostoevsky. I tried!
Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 30 August 2025 source ↗
I used to give a fantastic talk about Frankenstein and Dracula, but I’ve never been able to finish either book.
Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 11 October 2025 source ↗
0 answers from members
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