Hay Festival 2018
Important moments in life often start in the most unassuming fashion. It was on a drizzly and damp morning in Hay – at one of the festival events – that I heard a phrase which went straight to my heart and reverberated for hours in my head: 'Stories are a balm for the soul.'
This simple truth unearthed a jumble of memories, as I realised just what a central role books have always occupied in my life. Aside from the obvious (my day job), I read extensively – mostly after a careful selection, but at times indiscriminately and often greedily, as though books were a lifeline to hold on to in uncertain times. Different titles and genres, fiction and non-, suit different moods: some books make the best celebratory companions, like a warm, welcoming embrace at the end of a good day, while others offer much needed succour in distressing moments; they can make us laugh out loud, alleviate boredom or expand our horizons – and these are just a few examples.
I revel in the solid, weighty feel of a physical volume in my hands and inhale that delicious new-book smell, but I equally lose myself as I scroll through the milky light emanating from an e-book reader – and don’t get me started on the hours spent wandering around a library or second-hand bookshops, lost among unfamiliar titles I wouldn’t normally consider, but thrilled by the glimpses into previously unexplored territories. The truth is that, no matter their shape or form, stories speak to us and their message often reaches us, in a sort of serendipitous way, when we need it most.
So I thought: why not give fate a hand? Here you’ll find reviews of some of the books that have crossed my path over time: I’ve read, enjoyed and found them helpful at one point or another. My hope is that you will – serendipitously – find something that speaks to you, too.
This simple truth unearthed a jumble of memories, as I realised just what a central role books have always occupied in my life. Aside from the obvious (my day job), I read extensively – mostly after a careful selection, but at times indiscriminately and often greedily, as though books were a lifeline to hold on to in uncertain times. Different titles and genres, fiction and non-, suit different moods: some books make the best celebratory companions, like a warm, welcoming embrace at the end of a good day, while others offer much needed succour in distressing moments; they can make us laugh out loud, alleviate boredom or expand our horizons – and these are just a few examples.
I revel in the solid, weighty feel of a physical volume in my hands and inhale that delicious new-book smell, but I equally lose myself as I scroll through the milky light emanating from an e-book reader – and don’t get me started on the hours spent wandering around a library or second-hand bookshops, lost among unfamiliar titles I wouldn’t normally consider, but thrilled by the glimpses into previously unexplored territories. The truth is that, no matter their shape or form, stories speak to us and their message often reaches us, in a sort of serendipitous way, when we need it most.
So I thought: why not give fate a hand? Here you’ll find reviews of some of the books that have crossed my path over time: I’ve read, enjoyed and found them helpful at one point or another. My hope is that you will – serendipitously – find something that speaks to you, too.