Claire Fuller: ‘Dylan Thomas showed me that writing can make me feel anything’ | Books

My earliest memory of reading
When I was five years old and started school, I was hired by a teacher from the village in Oxfordshire where I lived. Twice a day I read the small metal sign on the upholstery, which warned “Choose your head when leaving your seat”.

My favorite book growing up
In the late 1970’s my father owned the book Phenomena by John Michell. Each page describes something strange, which may or may not be true: a storm of fish, stigmatization, spontaneous combustion. When I lie on the mat and look at the leaves and love the cold it gives me that (maybe) there is something wonderful in the world.

A book that changed me as a teenager
When I was 14, I was Mrs Ogmore-Pritchard in Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas. As we were reading the words aloud, I understood for the first time that writing makes me feel everything.

The the book that changed my mind
Learning to Love You More by Miranda July and Harrell Fletcher. This book is a list of tasks: some very simple (draw a picture under your bed), and some very difficult (have a one-man show). The jobs that people did used to scare me, but I realized that I really liked them it’s done they and I have been searching for that feeling ever since.

The book that made me want to be a writer
We’ve Been Living in a Castle by Shirley Jackson. It was the first book I read from the author’s point of view, trying to figure out how Jackson created the wonderful Merricat and how he made me feel so sorry for him.

The the author returned
I read Angelo by Denis Johnson about 15 years ago and thought, “what’s all the fuss about?” Then I read Teach Your Dreams and then Son of Jesus, and now his books are some of my favorites.

I read this book again
There is only one book I keep on my desk and write: Wild Animals by Richard Ford. I usually pick it up and read a page or two to remind myself of what I need to do.

I can’t read this book anymore
Last year I read and loved Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry but I would not read it again because it is 843 pages and there are many other books I want to read.

A book I found later in life
I missed almost all the classics when I was younger so last year I decided to read a year, starting with Pride and Prejudice. And yes, I rather enjoyed it.

The book I am reading now
I run a book club at the Cabinet Rooms in Winchester. And as well as our monthly picks, I’ve chosen The Stand by Stephen King to read over the course of the year. I can’t wait to take it again.

My comfort read
I have a comfort writer: Elizabeth Strout. I love his writing, his stories, his style. I just finished his latest novel, The Things We Never Never, and it was a delight.