The Bookworm

All last week for a half hour TV slot every evening they celebrated National Book Week by inviting two people [I suppose to generalise one could call them celebraties but actually it was a very varied selection of authors, actors, sportsmen/women] to bring in and discuss their favourite books.

It was quite fascinating and made surprisingly good TV as the idea was to select books which were important at various stages of their lives.

It got me thinking which books I would have chosen. For first childhood choice I was drawn back to "What Katy Did" or "Little Women" which I remember reading over and over again when I was at Primary School. I learnt to read very early and always have been a fast reader, my local library couldn't believe how often I came to change my books.

In my teens I read "Exodus" in one very long night because I just couldn't put it down. I have worked my way through most of the classics but the object of the TV programme was to try and pick the really significant reads.

I discovered that to be truthful it wasn't always the prize winning novels [The Booker, Costa etc etc] that made the lasting impression. "Fever Pitch" made me laugh out loud in a crowded tube train, "Perfume" was another through the night read and any of Sharon Penman's historical sagas can find a place in my holiday case.

Last year I read Stieg Larsson's Millennium Triology "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo", "The Girl who Played with Fire" and "The Girl who kicked the Hornet's Nest" one straight after the other. I was hooked from the second chapter in the first book.

At the end of the programme the contributors were asked for a book they considered their "guilty pleasure" - for me that could be a really good thriller, one that kept the reader in the dark too, working out the clues along the way, something by Lee Child or Karen Rose.

This book selection business is tough, I keep thinking of other books I ought to include and I could definitely not pick just one as my favourite so it was lucky I wans't invited on to the programme.

I am signing off now to go to bed and read a few chapters of my current book which is actually a prize winner, "The Finkler Question" - I haven't made my mind up about this book yet. I didn't particularly like Part 1 but have now progressed to Part 2 and it has improved. I am not sure it is as good as the hype.

Any book recommendations always welcome.