Some suggestions on reading and where to read for bookish people
How much would you love a reading nook? Today is World Book Day and in our March issue, we’re celebrating this most overlooked of areas in the home, in the first of a new series we’ve called ‘My Place’. The series is all about those special little corners of our homes that mean the most to us but are often overlooked, from the bedside table to the view from the kitchen sink.
We found so many beautiful pictures of people’s reading nooks it was hard to choose which to feature but we loved this one above from Siobhan Graham (@thehalcyondaysofsummer). You can find the rest of the book nooks on p62 of our March ‘Blossom’ issue. There are lots of ideas for places and ways to create your own. Every home has room for one somewhere.
And once you’ve made a landgrab for space for your book nook and installed a comfy chair or large cushion and a lovely lamp, you’ll need a few books to read in it. We’ve picked five books for book lovers to get you started.
1. The Eyre Affair, Jasper Fforde
Literary Detective, Thursday Next, pits her wits against the evil Acheron Hades, who has stolen a first edition of Martin Chuzzlewit and killed a minor character, removing him from every printed edition, and now has his dastardly sights on Jane Eyre. One for lovers of classic fiction, fun… and dodos.
2.The End of Your Life Book Club, Will Schwalbe
The moving tale of how a man and his dying mother find a new common interest as her life draws to a close, choosing books to read and discuss together as they wait in hospital for her treatments.
3. The Shadow of the Wind, Carlos Ruiz Zafon
In mourning for his mother, Daniel, the son of an antiquarian book dealer, seeks solace in a novel by Julian Carax, The Shadow of the Wind. But when he tries to find other works by Carax he discovers that every book by him has been systematically destroyed and he may have in his hands the last remaining copy of the novel. If mystery and intrigue set in post-war Barcelona sounds up your literary alley, you’ll enjoy this.
4.The Year of Reading Dangerously, Andy Miller
If you’ve ever been embarrassed to admit you haven’t read a classic novel (or embarrassed to have fibbed about having read it) this will strike a chord with you. It’s a real account of the books Miller read in a year in which he decided to branch out and read all those books he felt he should have read. Witty, warm and with lots of reading inspiration for the rest of us.
5.Parnassus on Wheels, Christopher Morley
Published in 1917, you’ll read this short but totally delightful book in an afternoon, as you follow the adventures of spinster Helen McGill, who buys a bookshop on wheels (drawn by a horse called Pegasus) from a book-loving stranger and sets off with him around New England. If you enjoy it, there’s also a sequel - The Haunted Bookshop.
And if you have a special place in your home, we’d love you to share a picture of it with us. We’re looking for bathroom mirrors, kitchen sinks, bedside cabinets and more. Tag your photos #TSTmyplace on Instagram and you may even see your special place in your home featured in a future issue.
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