Newspapers: I don't read anything on a daily basis because I travel so much. I get the Times, the Telegraph, the Guardian and, frequently, the Independent at weekends.
Magazines: I'm not much of a magazine person. If I want to spend a really frivolous train journey, I'll get something like Tatler.
Books: I try to read as omnivorously as possible. Occasionally I'll read a book that a critic I've got time for has liked, but most of the time I go into bookshops and see what I like the look of. I don't always agree with critics. I've been judging the Whitbread, so I've read an awful lot of first novels, which has been tremendous. My great comfort reading is Mervyn Peake. I find his books completely rewarding. When I discovered them, I was about 15 and they were completely different to when I read them now. This ability to evolve is the sign of really great writing. I also tend to go back to Nabokov because he's such a fabulous stylist and it just never fades.
TV: The Sopranos and West Wing are terrific, and I've been enjoying Green Wing and Monkey Dust. I recognise Monkey Dust characters walking down the main street of the village I live in. I enjoyed League of Gentlemen enormously and I quite enjoy Little Britain. Other than that, there's not a lot I like.
Radio: I listen to either Radio 2, if it's somebody who plays the kind of music I like, or Radio 4 because I was brought up on all those gameshows, things like Just a Minute and Any Questions.
Ads: If I remember one, it's usually because it's irritated me and I get a kind of hostility against the product. There are some very well made ads but I hardly ever remember what they're for.
New media: I use the internet a lot for the normal author kind of thing. I've always wanted to learn old Norse and I've found a terrific online course, hi.is/~haukurth/norse. I like rathergood.com, which is music and animation, some of it rather scatological.
· Joanne Harris is a judge for the 2004 Whitbread Book Awards. The shortlist was announced last week and the winners will be announced in January.
