Mike Leigh

"As the maker of Topsy-Turvy, I’m an unapologetic fan of W.S.Gilbert. ‘Bab’ was his childhood pet-name and his adult pen-name. His delightful verses and drawings are a total gas, and no bathroom library should be without a copy."

"Another influence. What characters and characterizations! How perceptively Dickens portrays our complex imperfections! And, incidentally, what a splendid picture of 19th century America! "

"Searle has inspired and influenced me since I was six years old. He was one of the greatest illustrators and cartoonists of the 20th Century. A Japanese prisoner-of-war in his early 20s, he managed, often with great difficulty, to make drawings and, remarkably, to keep them. Horrifying, often moving, sometimes funny, this collection is a total joy, on so many levels. "

"My favorite of Flann O’Brien’s novels, although I love At-Swim-Two-Birds. Profound, haunting, mystical and utterly hilarious. The bizarre narrative is accompanied by an eccentric parallel saga about something obscure called The De Selby Codex, a red herring that gradually grows in quantity until it all but obscures the main story."

"Hard to choose between this and his ‘Death on The Installment Plan’. But Céline’s quasi-autobiography wins. Despite the nihilistic cynicism of which he is often justifiably accused, underneath it all, his characters bristle with life and hope. "

"For me, Auster’s masterpiece, and worth our waiting for. The dazzling scope of his inventiveness is breathtaking. Healthily nostalgic for us who are contemporary with his multiple central character. A compulsive read; I found it hard to put down, and I couldn’t get enough of it. I found the negative response to the book in some quarters quite astonishing, but as the frequent recipient of diametrically opposite reviews myself, I ought to know better!"

"A massive influence. He sums up existence. He reinvents writing itself. He makes me howl with pain and scream with laughter."

"For me, this is a most important work. Zadie Smith brilliantly evokes contemporary Britain with astonishing accuracy, and unique wit and charm. A book to savor."