Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
The Police (the band, not the force) introduced me to Lolita as a teenager, when Sting name-checked Nabokov in Don't Stand so Close to Me. I have no idea how I got my hands on it at 14, as the subject matter was very much adult material. The book made me aware that literature could be dark, provocative, yet profound.
The Faraway Tree - Enid Blyton
Fiction was my escape as a child. I read this series of three books over and over. I'm sure it shaped my imagination and my love of adventure as Bessie, Fanny and Jo explored crazy worlds at the top of The Faraway Tree. I emulated them travelling to different worlds on planet Earth, always looking for magic.
The Corrections - Jonathan Franzen
I once wrote a song called I Want to be Jonathan Franzen. I love the way he writes, the depth of his characters and how he fits so many ideas onto the page. I'm a great lover of contemporary fiction because it's an epoch that I can directly relate to. This book delves into denial, capitalism and discontent. But ultimately, like any great novel, it's an exploration of the family.
1984 - George Orwell
I'm sure it was 1984 that gave me a profound fear of rats! Despite this, I'm still enthralled by Winston Smith, hero of this dystopian nightmare, who ultimately chooses freedom and love over Big Brother. I've always preferred my literature looking forwards rather than looking backwards, even if it was written in 1948.
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold - John Le Carre
This taut, tightly woven classic is a masterclass in how to write an edge-of-your-seat political thriller, while offering a porthole to a time since passed. Coming of age in the '80s, I was obsessed by Cold War spy novels, in particular Le Carre and the Len Deighton trilogies. I wonder if it's a coincidence that I now live 100 metres from the former Berlin Wall? Somewhere in the depths of my imagination, a spy novel is brewing.
Lollie Barr's second novel, The Adventures of Stunt Boy & His Amazing Wonder Dog Blindfold, is published by Pan Macmillan.
