What are you reading this month?

I’m reading two wonderful books “The Covenant of Water” by Abraham Verghese; you’ll remember “Cutting For Stone” and “The Paris Deception” by Bryn Turnbull. If you’ve read them let me know what you thought of them.

Why do you read? I read because books transport me to faraway places; places I’ve never been to; they allow me to connect and teach me about our world and the human experience. Can you imagine life without a good book to immerse yourself in? Occasionally, I’ll choose a title because the cover is appealing and the blurb seems interesting until I delve into the first few pages and it’s not quite as it appears! It then ends up on the bookshelves, only to be despatched to the local charity bookstore when I need the space; hence the reason for this website.

Are you a member of a book club?

Our monthly ladies’ book club meeting is a joyful few hours spent in the company of like-minded people who love to eat as much as they love to read. Some of us are Gordon Bleau chefs, while others, like myself, prefer the convenience of The Market Place Deli in Craighall Park, Johannesburg, our go-to spot when time runs away, as it invariably does! As we explore the power of words and the world of culinary inspiration in the most vibrant of settings, there are always copious amounts of juicy Prosecco to tempt our palates, ensuring solutions to the problems of the world are found before parting ways for another month.

Do you love this cover? It hooked me the moment I set eyes on it! They say you should never judge a book by its cover but it’s neuro – physiologically impossible not to. We tend to judge most things similarly, such as people!

What do you look for first when choosing a book?

• The title?
• The cover?
• The blurbs?
• The customer reviews?
• The price?
• The length of the book?

How often do you visit bookstores?

If you’re like me, you spend your life wandering the aisles, browsing the various titles; old bookstores are even more captivating “It is the smell of a million mould-blossomed pages, of a thousand decaying bindings, of a universe of dead words” [a beautiful quote by Jess Kidd.] That distinct book smell has me returning, again and again, to indulge in a smell that entices me even more than that of freshly – baked bread!

My favourite old bookstore is Ricks Bookshop, on 4th Ave, Parkhurst Johannesburg, where you can find just about every old and rare title under the sun or even some trending titles for that matter! I spent my adult life searching for a copy of Old Peter’s Russian Tales by Arthur Ransome, given to me by a favourite aunt, before departing Scotland for South Africa in 1968; a treasured, leather-bound 1st edition which mysteriously vanished from a packing case. Much later in life, on our travels abroad, my husband Pete and I would head for second-hand bookstores, whether in Singapore, London, New York, or Hong Kong…

It was what we did!

My Mum’s family had grown up with these delightful tales of two children, Vanya and Maroosia, who lived with their grandfather in a forest cabin in Russia. I always wanted to read them to my children and grandchildren: sort of carrying on the family tradition!

I’d almost given up when I happened to come across Rick’s Bookshop and asked him if he’d ever heard of the title. Several days later, he miraculously produced a perfectly preserved copy with the original dust jacket. The feeling of absolute joy that overcame me was indescribable – If only I could bottle that feeling and pass it on to others!

Have you ever searched for an out-of-print book?

I’d love to know the title and if you were successful in obtaining it.

In the developed world in which we live, our precious time is spent increasingly glued to our mobile phones, smart devices and the internet – with much complexity for those of us, especially the ones we’ll call mature adults, who struggle to make sense of it all! We spend far too much time stuck in this pursuit instead of immersing ourselves in a good book that we can’t put down.

What has been your best read this year?