Matthew Kelly: Which book do you still mean to read, and why has it stayed on your list?

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.

Matthew Kelly

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here

Fifty per cent of the books on my shelf, so much so that I gave them away.

The Q&A, The Guardian, 14 February 2026 source ↗

Others on this question

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Kerry Godliman

Loads. All the greats.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 9 September 2023 source ↗

Siobhán McSweeney

I feel no shame about not reading a book. That’s silly.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 30 December 2023 source ↗

Jack Dee

Audiobooks have allowed me to catch up on the books I always claimed to have read anyway. On long journeys I’ll often be listening to Kafka, Dostoevsky, Solzhenitsyn. It’s a fantastic way to pass time and often means I’ll turn up at the gig really depressed. So it’s a win-win.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 9 November 2024 source ↗

Jason Donovan

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 ↗

More from Matthew Kelly

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Question What disappointment has stayed with you longest? Failure & regret

I didn’t get a part in a TV series for a writer that I’ve always wanted to work with, but I wasn’t right for it, if I’m truly honest.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 14 February 2026 source ↗

Question Who deserves an apology from you, and for what? Failure & regret

My parents, because I rather slipped from their standards on more than one occasion. And when they got older, I wish I’d been kinder and more tolerant with them.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 14 February 2026 source ↗