The best books you have to read to understand journalism

When I left university, I wanted to know why journalists bother working in jobs where they are frequently abused, badly paid, and work long hours. I never considered journalism a career until I saw an advert for a post in the Chatham News.

I wanted to know more, so I found a second-hand copy of Journey Into Journalism by Arnold Wesker. He'd been allowed to spend a year at the Sunday Times, then edited by the legendary Harold Evans, to help him write his play The Journalists. He had so much leftover that he wrote this book, which answered the question I had: "Why do journalists do it?" He answered it correctly, but you must read it to know why.

As a foreign correspondent based in Vienna, I'm often asked to arrange interviews for reporters flying in from London. I remember a journalist from the Sun newspaper who flew in and wanted a translator. I found a local book author, but he canceled when he found out it was for the Sun. The journalist asked him why, and he said, "You wouldn't understand."

But that journalist had a first-class honors degree in literature from Oxford. Of all the types of journalism, tabloid is reviled, yet it attracts the best journalists. It starts the ball rolling on the best stories, and in its purest form, it is never about fake news; it's about taking on the biggest bully in the playground. I love it, and this book is pure tabloid.

I worked in local papers at the start of my career and was always amazed at why a network that had so many talented writers produced so few books about the hilarious things and the tragic things we experienced. I think it's partly because local newspapers are often seen as a stepping stone, we focus on the famous at the pinnacle of their career, editing a national newspaper for example, when in fact local news careers could and should be an end in themselves.

Roger Lytollis is not only a brilliant writer, but his book is remarkably personal in the way he faces his own demons and how journalism helped him cope with extreme shyness and depression. Coupled with hilarious stories, I couldn't put it down.

The stories my agencies create have probably appeared in some form in every major and most minor publications worldwide. A single-viral story can be repeated thousands of times in the media landscape. But no publication that we work for has paid as much as the Daily Mail. It may be hated by many, but journalists love it. It pays the best rates, and this book was a fascinating insight into my biggest customer.

My work for them was what made me a target of BuzzFeed because not only is it hated in some quarters, but it's the biggest news organization in the world, and many want to see it toppled. The book also featured many people I knew, like the legendary Allan Hall, who once punched the editor.

At the end of a busy day, which is always almost 12 hours long, it is often difficult to wind down, and a David Gemmell book with its inspirational lessons was always perfect until the books ran out. Rereading them can only be done so many times, and reluctantly, I decided to try one of the two books he wrote in a genre I am never usually interested in.

Many people forget that he used to be a journalist and wrote two books that draw on that experience, but this one is by far my favorite. The PR blurb fails to mention that at the heart of this story, it is about propaganda in the media, and Gemmell is a master storyteller. His journalism experience makes it highly authentic in his portrayal of local journalism struggling to survive, and if you are a Gemmell sword and sorcery fan, you will not be disappointed as this book has exactly the same lessons in life, even if the background is different.