Caitlin Moran: 5 Books That Changed My Life

Caitlin Moran is a best-selling author and award-winning columnist for The Times. Here, she tells Marie Claire about the five novels that have influenced her the most.

The Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis

I had no friends when I started school, so I used to sit on my own with one of these books and get into this fantastical world. It was a real juxtaposition with the council estate I was living on. Narnia is still a room in my head I can go to.

Jane Eyre by Emily Bronte

She wasn’t beautiful, but ‘plain as you are’ and very ordinary and working class. But what I liked about Jane Eyre was the idea that you could create yourself – you’re not at the mercy of your heritage or your parentage. If you ask yourself what Jane Eyre would do, you can’t go far wrong. 

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

Han Solo and Buck Rogers were my ideal men before I read this, but then it became Douglas Adams – a gentle, liberal, educated, gleeful man who drank. I married the first man I met who reminded me of him.

Riders by Jilly Cooper

This was the first book I could borrow on my own adult ticket at the library (rather than having to use my parents’), which meant access to rude books. It was the first porn I ever read and very exciting – beautiful horses and shagging all night.

Revolution in the Head by Ian McDonald

I read this in labour with both my kids because it was so comforting. If you love the Beatles, you have to read it. Not doing so is like being Christian and not reading The Bible. 

Caitlin's latest book, How to Build a Girl (£14.99, Ebury Press) is out now, and her tour starts on 3 July.