Quickfire Q&A… with Nikesh Shukla

Nikesh Shukla, author of the incredible Run, Riot, answers our quickfire questions…

1. When I was 5 years old I wanted to be… Michael Jackson probably.
2. If I were to be stranded on a desert island, my one luxury item would be… the ingredients for aloo paratha and a method of cooking it. If the island has a mango tree, I’ll make my own chutney.
3. The last song I listened to… Often by Abhi/Dijon.
4. The first album I ever bought… With my parents’ money, Bad by Michael Jackson. My own? Cooleyhighharmony by Boyz II Men.
5. The book I’ve read the most times… Drinking Coffee Elsewhere by ZZ Packer.
6. The book I always recommend to others… Drinking Coffee Elsewhere by ZZ Packer or Family Life by Akhil Sharma.
7. My favourite chocolate bar… A four finger KitKat where all the fingers are chocolate.
8. The item I have more of than anything else… Nike trainers, band t-shirts, Spider-Man comics.
9. The last time I went to the cinema… I went by myself and I saw The Receptionist.
10. The thing I could never give up… folded foods. Tacos, kathi rolls, dosas.
11. My choice of superpower… telekinesis seems fun.
12. The one piece of advice I would give my teenage self… it all needs to happen this way in order for things to happen later.
13. If I had to choose between saying everything I think or never speaking again… silence is golden.
14. My favourite city in the world… London, mate. Bristol, my new home is a close runner up.
15. The person I call when I need cheering up… Chimene, or Musa.
16. If I could go back to any time in history… I’d visit the first person to ever say ‘I’m not racist but…’ and scream at them.
17. The best invention ever… Netflix.
18. My most used emoji… Brown bicep.
19. The best thing about being a writer… Thinking counts as working.