September 11th, 2008
Book Talk:Bedside Reading
I’m one of those people who are drawn to explore bookcases when I visit a friend’s house. I love to see what books they read. Of course actually what is in the book case in the living room is probably last year’s reading or even reading spanning a lifetime. It occurred to me that the books by your bed are the current reading choices (not that I would be that nosey).
By my bed are thirty or so books. There are a number of collections of short stories, such as Ladies’ Night published by HarperCollins, which is a collection of contemporary stories written by authors like Cecelia Ahearn. All the authors donate their royalties to two children’s charities; now that’s what I call girl power. Then there are a few novels, such as No Time for Goodbye by Linwood Barclay; a book my daughter recommended but I haven’t started yet. Patricia Cornwell’s book, Book of the Dead, is the first one of hers I’ve abandoned. It’s written in her usual accessible style but the cold blooded and lengthy torture scenes are not to be recommended just before you go to sleep.
Another group of books I have piled high are the poetry ones. These are great because they tend not to give you nightmares and they play with a variety of themes. In Carol Ann Duffy’s book of selected poems, published by Puffin, is a wonderful poem, called Warming Her Pearls. The first time I read it I didn’t really think much about it, but it kept coming back to me. It tells of a servant who wears her mistress’s pearls before the mistress wears them for the evening. It is obviously set in a different time, but how decadent is that? The servant obviously loves her mistress and is mesmerised with her, which also takes some thinking about. Fancy being at someone’s beck and call and loving them! Thank goodness we don’t live with such a class system these days.
If you like lots of different poets you could try one of my other favourite books, which is Staying Alive edited by Neil Astley and published by Bloodaxe Books Ltd. There are so many different themes and styles; there will certainly be something to make you think. One section I love is about mothers marvelling at the miracle of their newborn child. I remember examining my new son so many years ago and looking at his tiny hands and thinking how amazing his little finger nails were. The Spirit is Too Blunt an Instrument by Anne Stevenson ponders at the wonder of her baby and the precise perfection of her child’s form and contrasts this to the imprecise passion of conception. Staying Alive also contains Robert Frost’s, The Road Not Taken, which inspired one of the issues of All Things Girl. The sequel to this book (which I’ll be getting soon) is Being Alive; so more pleasure to come!
