If you’ve ever wondered what bestselling authors watch on TV or read in the bath, look no further. I’ve been asking some of today’s best-loved authors what their personal Top Tens are.
Ruth Saberton’s Top Ten
Book – Riders by Jilly Cooper
Film – Titanic
TV show – Star Trek (the original series with Kirk and Spock)
Actor – George Clooney
Song – School’s out for Summer by Alice Cooper
Quote – Anything Byron has written!
Holiday Destination – St Lucia
Animal – Horse
Desert – Crème brûlée
Pastime – Being with my friends and family
Ellie Andrews has Second Thoughts by Ruth Saberton is out now
click the cover to find out more…
Polly Williams’s Top Ten
Book – Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Film – A Room with a View
TV – Wire in the Blood – first series only
Actor – Meryl Streep
Song – Perfect Day by Lou Reed
Quote – ‘She runs the gamut of emotions from A to B.’ Dorothy Parker, speaking of Katharine Hepburn
Holiday – Ile de Re, France
Animal – Elephant
Dessert – My own rhubarb crumble with ginger
Pastime – Pastime – Reading, drinking red wine, scoffing chocolate. All at once, preferably.
It Happened One Summer by Polly Williams is out now
click the cover to find out more…
Trisha Ashley’s Top Ten
Book – Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons
Film – Fargo
TV Programme – Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Actor – Diana Rigg
Song – Ace of Spades (Motorhead)
Quote – ‘listen: there’s a hell of a good universe next door: let’s go.’
e.e. cummings
Holiday destination – I’d love another trip to Canada
Animal – Dog
Desserts – Fresh mango
Pastime – Oil painting
The Twelve Days of Christmas by Trisha Ashley is out now
click the cover to find out more…
Miranda Dickinson’s Top Ten
Book – Pride & Prejuduce by Jane Austen
Film – You’ve Got Mail
TV programme – Gilmore Girls
Actor – Richard Armitage
Song – Let There Be Love by Nat King Cole
Quote – ‘Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind.’ Dr Seuss
Holiday destination – Hope Cove in South Devon
Animal – Maj, my boyfriend’s cat – he’s hilarious
Dessert – Pancakes with strawberries
Pastime – Walking, cycling, songwriting and hanging out with my friends
Welcome to My World by Miranda Dickinson is out now
click the cover to find out more…
Carol Drinkwater’s Top Ten
Book – The End of the Affair by Graham Greene
Film – Some Like it Hot
TV programme – I have to say All Creatures Great and Small because it transformed my life!
Actor – Javier Bardem
Song – Laura played by Oscar Peterson
Quote – ‘Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.’ – Nelson Mandela
Holiday destination – Our Olive Farm in South of France – quiet time with lovely hubby is my idea of a holiday
Animal – My dogs and all pandas and lions
Dessert – Dark chocolate ice cream. THREE scoops, please!
Pastime – Discovering new places
Return to The Olive Farm by Carol Drinkwater is out now
click the cover to find out more…
Jane Wenham-Jones’s Top Ten
Book – Gone to Soldiers – Marge Piercy
Film – Truly, Madly, Deeply
TV programme – EastEnders
Actor – Was John Thaw. Now Martin Shaw
Song – Please Forgive me – David Gray
Quote – ‘Be bold and mighty forces will come to your aid’
Holiday destination – A quiet corner of Spain
Animal – Cat
Dessert – Ice-cream with hot chocolate sauce
Pastime – Reading/walking/drinking wine with crisps
Wannabe A Writer We’ve Heard of by Jane Wenham-Jones is out now
click the cover to find out more…
Nicola Cornick’s Top Ten
Book – Frenchman’s Creek by Daphne Du Maurier
Film – The Abduction Club
TV Programme – Doctor Who
Actor – Clive Owen
Song – (Take a Little) Piece of my Heart, Erma Franklin
Quote – ‘Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear – not absence of fear’ Mark Twain
Holiday Destination – Wester Ross, Highlands of Scotland
Animal – Dog
Dessert – Crème Brulee
Pastime – Visiting historic houses
Undoing of a Lady by Nicola Cornick is out now – click the cover to find out more…
Christina Courtenay’s Top Ten
Book – Midnight is a Lonely Place by Barbara Erskine
Film – Stargate
TV Programme – Time Team
Actor – Jared Leto
Song – When Love and Hate Collide by Def Leppard
Quote – ‘Aging is mandatory, maturing is optional’ – Chris Antonak
Holiday destination – Japan
Animal – Dog
Dessert – Eton Mess or Chocolate Mousse
Pastime – Reading
Trade Winds by Christina Courtenay is out now – click the cover to find out more…
Victoria Connelly’s Top Ten
Book – The Darling Buds of May by HE Bates
Film – Truly, Madly, Deeply
TV programme – Supernatural
Actor – James Stewart
Song – I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing by The New Seekers
Quote – ‘If you dream – dream big.’ The Bad and the Beautiful
Holiday destination – Dorset or Italy
Animal – Dog
Dessert – Chocolate ice-cream
Pastime – Walking in the countryside
Aweekend with Mr Darcy by Victoria Connelly is out now – click the cover to find out more…
Rowan Coleman’s Top Ten
Book – Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Film – Brief Encounter
TV Programme – Grey’s Anatomy
Actor – Johnny Depp
Song – Someone to Love by Queen
Quote – ‘Reader, I married him.’
Holiday Destination – Anywhere, I really need a holiday
Animal – Dogs
Dessert – Anything chocolate
Pastime- Sleeping
The Happy Home for Broken Hearts by Rowan Coleman is out now – click the cover to find out more…
Chrissie Manby’s Top Ten
Book – The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler
Film – Strictly Ballroom
TV Programme – Anything with Rick Stein in it
Actor – The incomparable George Clooney!
Song – The Way You Look Tonight – Peter Skellern and Grimethorpe Colliery Band version
Quote – ‘There are a number of mechanical devices which increase sexual arousal, particularly in women. Chief among these is the Mercedes-Benz 380 SL convertible.’ – P. J. O’Rourke
Holiday – Italy
Animal – Staffordshire Bull Terrier
Dessert – Tiramisu
Pastime- Dancing
Getting Over Mr. Right by Chrissie Manby is out now – click the cover to find out more…
Jane Green’s Top Ten
Book – The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford
Film – Truly, Madly, Deeply
TV Programme – Law and Order SVU
Actor – Javier phwoooargh Bardem
Song – Too many
Quote – ‘Most people are as happy as they make up their minds to be’ Abraham Lincoln.
Holiday Destination – Nantucket
Animal – Cat
Dessert – Anything with caramel
Pastime – Gardening
Girl Friday
is out now.
Paige Toon’s Top Ten
Book – Arthur Golden’s Memoirs of a Geisha
Film – Strictly Ballroom
TV Programme – Kath & Kim
Actor – Brad Pitt
Song – Radiohead’s ‘Talk Show Host’
Quote – ‘If you love someone, set them free. If they come back, they’re yours. If they don’t, they never were.’
Holiday Destination – Australia
Animal – Dog
Dessert – Sticky toffee pudding with vanilla ice-cream
Pastime – Making my toddler laugh
Pictures of Lily
is out now.
Jo Rees’s Top Ten
Book – Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With The Wind
Film – Election
TV programme – Still mourning ‘The Sopranos’. Love ‘Mad Men’
Actor – Damien Lewis
Song – ‘You’ve Got A Friend’ Carole King
Quote – ‘Sue Ellen, you’re a tramp, a drunk, and an unfit mother and that’s what my daddy said before he died.’ JR Ewing
Holiday destination – My tumble down rustic house in Mallorca
Animal – Lamb. Slow cooked with lots of red wine rosemary and garlic
Dessert – Lemon Tart if pushed. I much prefer starters
Pastime – Dancing around the kitchen with my 3 little girls.
Forbidden Pleasures
is out now.
Vernica Henry’s Top Ten
Book – Time After Time by Molly Keane
Film – Con Air
TV Programme – Top of the Pops – RIP
Actor – John Malkovich
Song – ‘Butterfly’ by Crazytown
Quote – ‘I wouldn’t want to join any club that had me as a member’ – Groucho Marx
Holiday Destination – New York
Animal – Moose
Dessert – Tarte Tatin
Pastime – Cooking
The Beach Hut
is out now.
Scott Mariani’s Top Ten
Book – Bel Ami by Guy de Maupassant
Film – Godfather 2
TV programme – Haven’t watched TV for nearly ten years, since my parrot chewed through the aerial wire and I never bothered fixing it…
Actor – Danny DeVito
Song – Grey Stone Chapel, as sung by Johnny Cash
Quote – ‘If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter’ – George Washington
Holiday destination – Bed
Animal – Siberian tiger
Dessert – Highland Park or Laphroaig, heretically on the rocks
Pastime – Finding ways to avoid writing
Uprising by Scott G. Mariani is out now – click the cover to find out more…
Matt Haig’s Top Ten
Book – The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen
Film – Y Tu Mama Tambien
TV – This Week
Actor – Robert Downey Jr
Song – God Only Knows by the Beach Boys
Quote – ‘We are all failures, or the best of us are.’ – Was that Oscar Wilde?
Holiday – Sardinia
Animal – Dog
Dessert – Tarte au citron or a good old trifle
Pastime- Swimming oudoors
The Radleys by Matt Haig is out now – click the cover to find out more…
Julia Golding’s Top Ten
Book – Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Film – The Fellowship of the Ring
TV Programme – Dr Who
Actor – Ben Kingsley
Song – Land of the Silver Birch
Quote – ‘The world is charged with the grandeur of God’ and the rest of the poem!
Holiday Destination – Zanzibar
Animal – Red squirrel
Dessert – Gooseberry fool
Pastime – Hill walking
The Glass Swallow by Julia Golding is out now – click the cover to find out more…
Jo Cotterill’s Top Ten
Book – Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
Film – Sliding Doors
TV programme – Midsomer Murders
Actor – David Tennant
Song – Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now by Starship
Quote – ‘We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars’ – Oscar Wilde
Holiday destination – Maldives (I’ve never been but live in hope!)
Animal – Dog
Dessert – Practically anything with chocolate in
Pastime – Card-making
Sweet Hearts: Star Crossed is out now. Click on the cover.
Sam Mills’s Top Ten
Book – Grey Area by Will Self
Film – Dangerous Liaisons
TV programme – Have I Got News For You
Actress – Jennifer Connelly
Song – ‘Lay Lady Lay’ by Bob Dylan
Quote – ‘The most essential gift for a good writer is a built-in, shockproof shit detector. This is the writer’s radar and all great writers have had it.’ Ernest Hemingway
Holiday Destination – India
Animal – Leopard
Dessert – Chocolate tart
Pastime – Gambling
Sam Mills is the author of ‘The Boys Who Saved the World’ which is currently
being made into a feature film. Visit www.tbwstw.com for more information.
Adele Geras’s Top Ten
Book – Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Film – Psycho
TV programme – The Wire
Actor – Marlon Brando
Song – Yesterday by the Beatles
Quote – Too much of a good thing can be wonderful. Mae West
Holiday destination – A city. Paris, Venice, Edinburgh
Animal – Cat
Dessert – Profiteroles
Pastime – Reading
A Hidden Life by Adele Geras is out now – click the cover to find out more…
Deborah Wright’s Top Ten
Book – The English Patient, Michael Ondaatje
Film – Moulin Rouge
TV programme- Peep Show
Actor – John Malkovich
Song – Life On Mars by David Bowie
Quote – “No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader.” Robert Frost
Holiday Destination – India
Animal – Cats, especially mine!
Dessert – Chocolate mousse
Pastime – Watching movies
Celebrity Mother is out now – click the cover to find out more…
Christina Jones’s Top Ten
Book – Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Film – Rear Window
TV programme- Coronation Street
Actor – Phil Davis
Song – Summer of 69
Quote – “We’ll talk of sunshine and of song and summer days when we were young; Sweet childish days that were as long as twenty days are now.”
Holiday Destination – Jersey
Animal – Cat
Dessert – Pavlova
Pastime – Reading
Moonshine is out now – click the cover to find out more…
Mike Gayle’s Top Ten
Book – The Wheels of Chance – HG Wells
Film – Gregory’s Girl
TV Programme – The Shield
Actor – Woody Allen
Song – Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want – The Smiths
Quote – “Sometimes I wish I was a check-out chick. But then again I guess check-out chicks have problems of their own.’ – Kylie Minogue.
Holiday Destination – New York
Animal – Rabbit
Dessert – M&S Melt in the middle Chocolate Pudding (with cream)
Pastime – Talking with good friends
New Book – click the cover to find out more…
Matt Dunn’s Top Ten
Book – Great Apes by Will Self
Film – When Harry Met Sally
TV Programme – Have I Got News For You
Actor – Halle Berry – though not for her acting ability
Song – Destiny by Zero 7
Quote – ‘It’s easy to make new friends, but a lot harder to make old ones’. Oscar Wilde
Holiday Destination – Madonna Di Campiglio – skiing
Animal – Baboon
Dessert – Tiramisu
Pastime – Tennis
The Good Bride Guide is out now. Click the cover to find out more…
Louise Bagshawe’s Top Ten
Book – Lord of the Rings
Film – Star Wars
TV programme- Inspector Morse
Actor – Tom Baker
Song – Photograph by Def Leppard
Quote – Veni, vidi, vici – Julius Caesar
Holiday destination – Manhattan
Animal – Border Terrier
Dessert – Italian Gelato
Pastime – Reading
Passion is out now. Click the cover to find out more…
Tilly Bagshawe’s Top Ten
Book – Rivals by Jilly Cooper
Film – Four Weddings and a Funeral
TV programme- Six Feet Under
Actor – Michael Kitchen
Song – Carolina in My Mind by James Taylor
Quote – On childhood, from The Mill on the Floss (George Eliot), Tom and Maggie remembering the days when they had: ‘clasped their little hands in love, and roamed the daisied fields together’
Holiday destination – Nantucket
Animal – Dog
Dessert – Hazlenut Souffle
Pastime – Sleep
Flawless is out now. Click the cover to find out more…
Katie Fforde’s Top Ten
Book – The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer
Film – Shakespeare in Love
TV Programme – Gavin and Stacey
Actor – Alan Rickman
Song – Summertime (Porgi and Bess)
Quote – ‘I have never seen a spade’ (The Importance of Being Ernest)
Holiday Destination – Dominica or Ireland
Animal – Dogs (or cats!)
Dessert – Trifle, made by me without jelly etc.
Pastime – Reading.
Love Letters is out now. Click the cover to find out more…
Carole Matthews’s Top Ten
Book – The Time Traveller’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
Film – Cabaret
TV Programme – 24
Actor – Keiffer Sutherland
Song – Appetite by Prefab Sprout
Quote – ‘Work as if you don’t need to, love as if you’ve never been hurt, dance as if no one is watching.’
Holiday destination – Maldives
Animal – Cat
Dessert – Chocolate ice-cream
Pastime – Reading.
The Difference a Day Makes is out now. Click the cover to find out more…
Kate Harrison’s Top Ten
Book – The Wedding Officer, Anthony Capella
Film – The Commitments
TV programme- Spooks
Actor – Matthew MacFadyen
Song – Anything sung by Dusty Springfield
Quote – Life is the combination of magic and pasta, of fantasy and reality – Federico Fellini
Holiday destination – Italy
Animal – Otter (or, for round the house, a tabby cat)
Dessert – Molten chocolate pudding
Pastime – Baking
The Secret Shopper’s Revenge is out now. Click the cover to find out more…
Lisa Jewell’s Top Ten
Book – The Colour of Money by Geoff Dyer
Film – Gregory’s Girl
TV programme- The Shield
Actor – John Cusack
Song – Time Will Pass You By by Tobi Legend
Quote – Youth is wasted on the young
Holiday destination – Italy
Animal – Lemur
Dessert – Chocolate cheesecake
Pastime – Reading
The Truth About Melody Browne is out now. Click the cover to find out more…
More top tens coming soon …