Oliver Jeffers ‘Catch 22 was the first time I had a physical reaction to a book’
over 2 years in The guardian
The children’s author on persisting with Joseph Heller’s classic, reading thrillers on planes and how Richard Dawkins made him question certaintyMy earliest reading memoryI was being read a picture book of Waltzing Matilda by my dad, when my nose started bleeding again; I’d been hit with a ball in the face earlier in the day. A big drop splatted right in the middle of the book and I remember thinking: “Uh oh – I’ve ruined a book!” I still have that book and I still see the dried-out splotch.My favourite book growing upThe BFG by Roald Dahl. It was the first book that didn’t feel like homework. There was a darkness to it that felt forbidden, but still on the right side of scary. I felt very proud when I’d finished it, but also sad as I didn’t want it to be over. A feeling I’ve grown used to over the years. Continue reading...
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