Welcome to The books that shaped me – a Good Housekeeping series in which authors talk us through the reads that stand out for them. This week, we’re hearing from Vogue Williams, broadcaster and co-host of hit podcast My Therapist Ghosted Me. She is a judge of the 2025 British Book Awards (winners will be announced on 12 May).
Books have had a massive impact on me and I absolutely adore reading. I find it really therapeutic; it relaxes and calms me. I get anxiety quite regularly and it’s one of the things I do to calm myself, particularly if I have it at night, as I find that reading is really helpful for sleeping well.
The childhood book that’s stayed with me…
I used to love reading The Baby-Sitters Club books and the Goosebumps series – I loved frightening myself! My son T now has the Goosebumps books and I read them to him, and he loves them. They’re really fun books.
My favourite book of all time…
I’m going to say The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne – it’s such a great book. I stopped reading for a couple of years when T was born. I don’t know why, I just got out of the habit of it, and when I started reading again, I found all these authors I’d never read before. John Boyne just writes so beautifully. There are two authors I have to tear myself away from and he’s one of them; he’s just so brilliant. If anyone is looking for something to get them back into reading, this a really, really good one. It will always be my book of all time.
The book you wish I’d written…
I love Marian Keyes’ books – they’re so easy to read, they’re really enjoyable, you can’t put them down and they’re romantic. They have every single theme you’d want from a book – they’re bitey and they’re not too soft. I just love Rachel’s Holiday and I’d love to have written that one – and all of the books that have come after it as well!
The book I wish everyone would read…
This changes regularly, but currently I’ve just read Graham Norton’s book Frankie and I really loved it. The story was great and it was just a really nice book to read, so I would say if you’re looking for a very good holiday read, read that!
The book that got me through a hard time…
Many Lives, Many Masters by Dr Brian Weiss is a short book about death and what happens when you die. After my dad passed away, I needed something and I felt like it really helped. I went through a weird time when I was really worried about death, and that book was really insightful. I always think it’s nice to believe in something and because it’s from a psychotherapist and a scientific mind, and there’s so much he can’t explain, it’s really, really interesting.
The book that uplifts me…
There are so many books that uplift me, but if I had to choose just one, it would be The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo, which I loved. Taylor Jenkins Reid is amazing.
