Newcastle University

So what would you say that books mean for you?

Enjoyment, happiness. Thought-provoking. Using imagination. You can get lost in your little world. It’s sort of relaxation as well; it’s part of what I .., you know, to relax. Sort of peace. Sometimes it’s happy, sometimes the book’s not, but it doesn’t detract from the fact hat you want to just finish it and find out what’s happening. The plots. You know, sometimes you pick up a book, don’t you, and you think, Oh, gosh, I’ve read that in days. Because it’s just so … You can’t … You want to get back to it. You know, you can’t put it down, and think I want to wait for the next bit [?], Or they sort of drag on, like the one I’ve just .. Ali Smith’s Accidental dragged on. But some you just absolutely whizz through and think.. And then, you know, the idea that, you think, I’ve really enjoyed that book. Or like, tomorrow I’ll say, ‘Mm, I didn’t enjoy that one so much.’ [Others will say] ‘I really enjoyed that book’, so … It helps. It almost helps you sort of ... Well, for me, it’s relaxing, it’s also ... I don’t know, it just sort of ... It makes you feel happier, just .. It’s quite difficult … Now you’ve asked me, it’s difficult to kind of articulate, because it’s just so part and parcel of what I do. And just the enjoyment of seeing the book and reading it and stuff.

Yes. You say that books are part and parcel of what you do and …

… of who I am, yes.

So yes, how important a part do they play in your life?

They’re very important. Here’s never ever a time that .. There’s always a time in every day that I think to go back to the particular book that I’m reading. And some days I can’t always … You know, if you’re very busy you can’t always fit the reading in every single day. But you kind of think about it. It’s almost like it’s a religious ... Well, especially the reading group one; I think, well, I’ve got to read this because … Like this week, I knew that it was tomorrow and I had to pick up on it; I wouldn’t not read it, because obviously I want to go to the group and I want to be able to talk about it. So they’re always there, and there’s always a book. You know, like, as you p[ass] ... I’ve got a bookcase in the hallway and I’ve got like a shelf where I put the books ... I’ve got a lot [?] of books, but the ones I’m reading at the moment. So as I pass it, you know .. And I always keep them pristine; I’ve always got my bookmarks, because obviously, from when we got books when I was a child, you know, you never ever turned over the page; you always kept them pristine. And it’s just part of what .. You would never see me without … You know. If you asked me at any time, I’d always be reading something – sometimes some slower than others, just depending on what I’ve got to do. Even when I was at work I would always have a book. And I never took it … Funnily enough, I never took it … I take a book to the hairdressers, when I go to the hairdresser’s. And I feel … And it’s funny, the one I’m reading. And I get irritated with myself the odd time I’ve forgotten, because I’ve got to read some magazine that’s in the hairdressing salon [laughter], you know, one I wouldn’t normally read. [laughter]