Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach is a book beloved of Bobby Seagull and his family (there's a clue there). Bobby is the school maths teacher and maths genius who leapt out of the screen after appearing on University Challenge into a TV career of his own.

Poet Henry Normal chooses Diary of a Somebody by Twitter-poet Brian Bilston. Henry co-wrote The Mrs Merton Show and The Royle family, and produced TV comedy including Gavin and Stacey and Alan Partridge. He knows funny, and Brian Bilston's book fits the bill.

Presenter Harriett Gilbert reminds them both of Lord of the Flies by William Golding, studied by them all at school but which reads very differently in adulthood.

Producer Beth O'Dea

talk books with us on instagram on @goodreadbbc

Show less