Graham Norton has revealed his five of his favourite books
The Irish comedian and actor is best known for his chat show, The Graham Norton Show, which has been running since 2007 and won Norton five BAFTAs.
In 2016, Norton published his debut novel Holding, about a murder in an Irish rural community. It won Popular Fiction Book of the Year in the Bord Gais Energy Irish Book Awards 2016 and was adapted for TV in 2022.
He has since written five more books – Keeping, Home Stretch, Forever Home, and Frankie. All have been Sunday Times bestsellers in the UK and Ireland
Here are some of Graham’s favourite books, as he told Waterstones in 2018.
Now We Shall Be Entirely Free by Andrew Miller
This is a story of justice and revenge when a ravaged soldier returns from the Napoleonic War – a contemporary examination of combat’s aftermath and its price for all involved.
Graham said: “This was an unexpected treat. I’m not normally a fan of historical fiction but this tale has enough tension and oddness to give it a very contemporary feel. It will also make you want to visit the wilds of Scotland.”
Wild Fire by Ann Cleeves
This is the eighth and final instalment of the Shetland series, which was adapted into the major BBC One drama. This book follows an English family moving to Shetland for a better life only to be caught in an investigation when a young nanny is found dead in their home.
Graham said: “Apparently, this is going to be the last in the Shetland series but it was the first one I’ve read. Brilliantly plotted with the sort of fully fleshed-out characters one rarely finds in crime fiction it made me want to read all the previous. Oddly this story will also make you want to visit the wilds of Scotland!”
Christodora by Tim Murphy
This is a story that charts the personal legacies of the AIDs epidemic over decades, through the eyes of a couple living next door to a gay man in New York.
Graham said: “This book was published a couple of years ago and it was on my “to read” pile for quite a while. I was sorry I’d waited.
“It is a compelling family saga that gives a fascinating insight into the New York AIDS activists of the eighties. It is also one of the best depictions I’ve read of addiction. Not for the faint-hearted.”
The House of Impossible Beauties by Joseph Cassara
This book is inspired by the real House of Xtravaganza made famous by the seminal documentary Paris Is Burning. Set in 1980s Harlem, it follows a found family in the LGBT underground ballroom scene for a story about hope, love and family.
Graham said: “If you have seen the documentary Paris is Burning then you’ll recognise some of the characters in this book.
“Taking real-life events and mixing them with fiction Cassara has written a heartbreaking tale of gay men struggling to survive in a world of clubbing and drugs. It is also an unexpected love story.”
A Place Called Winter by Patrick Gale
This book follows a man who is forced to abandon his family and emigrate to Canada after his affair is discovered and he is threatened with arrest. Based on a real-life family mystery, it explores secrets, sexuality, self-discovery and love.
Graham said: “Again, it took me a while to get around to reading this one, but what an extraordinary, unexpected book it is! An historical novel that spans continents, it is at its heart the story of a man finding love against all the odds.”
