The question
Which book do you still mean to read, and why has it stayed on your list?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’ve never read any Salman Rushdie.
The Q&A, The Guardian, 29 August 2026 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.
I never finished The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir.
I’ve never read any Proust.
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.
Enthusiastic, resilient, empathetic.
A mix – safety to be yourself, acceptance, a feeling of peace and reliance, but also challenge, whether that’s intellectual or emotional.
When I was in my 20s, I had an uncle who took his own life. I would like a second chance to say: “Hang in there.” My parents were living abroad, and me and my sister were just too young to notice the flags.
Speaking negatively to myself.
A sushi chef in my kitchen.
When I concentrate, I put my thumb in my mouth. I once did it during a really important meeting when asked a question I didn’t know the answer to. When I left the meeting my friend said: “What did you put your thumb in your mouth for?” I didn’t know I’d done it.
Marcus Brigstocke, Monica Dolan, Gregory Porter, Kerry Godliman, Charlie Higson, Siobhán McSweeney
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