George Orwell - 'Down and Out' persuaded my foray into the world of hotels and restaurants, searching for the amicable and the seedy, the heat of the kitchen, the... I needed money as well. 1984 is also worth a read.
Franz Kafka - 'Die Verwandlung'. Wonderful and surreal visual comedy in many scenes - it could have been written as a play. On rereading it, you become more interested in the narrator than the protagonist.
Roald Dahl - 'Boy' - One of my first books, I was fascinated by his sincerity.
The Beach - Alex Garland, A Passage To India - E.M. Forster, The Liar - Stephen Fry, Life of Pi - Yann Martel, anything by Waugh.
Ella Fitzgerald - parents are fans. I have gradually come to appreciate her inimitable voice.
Nina Simone - has produced many classics
Ben Harper - defies categorisation, his genres include soul, rock, country, ethnic african.
The Sounds - unabashed populist drivel, commented one jealous critic. Good tunes, shame about the lyrics - I suppose the name does say it all.
David Bowie - good car music
The White Stripes - Marching music.
Wendy Cope - very witty, and sometimes salacious.
Robert Frost - Read at school, and can accredit him to my interest in poetry