Newcastle University

How important a part do books play in your life?

I think they’re … it’s difficult to decide, isn’t it? Because it’s a thing you just take for granted, and you don’t think about until you’re asked. I’d be a very poorer person without them. Very much, yes … in as much as they offer me an escape, yeah. It’s wonderful to be able to pick up a book … I pick up books I’ve read many times. One of them is on the first day on the Somme, which is a fascinating book, and it’s not long before I’ve got the feeling that I had when I first read the book, and it just transports you into … I don’t know, it’s difficult. […] They mean relaxation, they mean instruction, they mean reassurance, comfort. Whole spectrum of things. And I’ve got huge bookshelves at home that I dip into.