BEST AUTHOR BEST : GRAHAM NORTON [2]

.-  What books are on your night stand?

I rarely read in bed but waiting right there are '' Gabriel's Moon,'' by William Boyd, '' Cher : The Memoir '' and ''Parade,'' by Rachel Cusk.

.-  What's the most insightful book you've ever read on aging?

I'm not sure it is strictly about aging, but there is a section near the end of '' A Tale of Two Cities, '' by Charles Dickens, where Carton looks back at his life and considers his death.

I found it enormously moving and strangely modern. There is something in how we all think of a story as it nears its end which is reflected in my character. Frankie, and how she talks about her life.

Lost loves, heartbreaks and triumph all seem to take on a similar weight.

.-  On a British talk show, you described '' Frankie '' as '' the first happy romance I've ever written.''  Why do you think that is?

The most obvious reason would seem to be that I'm now a happily married man, but I was already with Jono when I was writing novels with miserable relationships in them.

Maybe this story demanded a happy thread to hang everything together or it could-be-just a reaction to all the despair that seems to surround us.

.-  What's the most interesting thing you learned about 1960s New York in researching the novel?

I hadn't previously been aware of Robert and Ethel Scull and their role in the Pop Art Movement.

I love that this rarefied, effete world of contemporary art was transformed by a taxicab impresario.

.-  What book would you most like to see turned into a movie or TV show that hasn't already been adapted?

'' Misfortune,'' by Wesley Stace. I actually tried to buy the rights. It is an epic Dickensian story, full of fabulous characters, wild plot twists and a healthy dose of gender fluidity.

.-  You're organising a literary dinner party. Which three writers, dead or alive, do you invite?

Charles Dickens, Daphne du Maurier for the stories and Enid Blyton so we can talk about her after she leaves.

The World Students Society thanks The New York Times.