Book review: Howard’s End is on the Landing

By
By Susan Hill
Published by Profile Books

One day, British novelist Susan Hill, went browsing her bookshelves in search of a specific book. She didn’t find it. What she found was a world of books that she had loved and wanted to re-read, books that she had yet to read and books that she had even forgotten she owned.

This discovery led to her decision to not buy or otherwise acquire any new books for a whole year, which she would spend reading or re-reading those that she already possessed. In her words: “A year of reading from home”.

I was first attracted to Howard’s End is on the Landing by the brightly-coloured book spines that grace its cover, designed by Peter Dyer. Having spent years unsuccessfully pledging to stop purchasing new books until I’ve read all the ones that are patiently waiting on my shelves, I was also curious to learn how it is done. That, I didn’t learn! On the contrary, I enjoyed Hill’s opinions and suggestions so much that I ended up adding lots of titles to my wish list.

If you think that reading about reading books is not your cup of tea, think twice. Far from being a mere list of novels and authors, Howard’s End is on the Landing is rich in amusing anecdotes from the novelist’s personal and professional life and thoughts on a number of issues dear to booklovers. For example, what is the best way to organise your bookshelves? What do you think about the habit of writing on the margins?

Depending on your reading background, this “literary memoir” will be dearly familiar or excitingly new. Either way, it is definitely worth a read!

Comments

  1. Anonymous13 May 2011 at 21:29

    It is a lovely book I read it last year and loved it ,all the best stu

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jeane14 May 2011 at 07:44

    Sounds good!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Booknet: a new platform for authors and readers

By
Image
‘Ooooh, what is Booknet ?’ I hear you ask… Booknet is a popular literary social media network, self-publishing platform, and Bookscription eBook sales model, all of which is being introduced to the UK following rapid growth in Latin America and Eastern Europe since 2015. How does it work? Booknet is both a successful literary self-publishing platform and a social network, founded by Ukrainian entrepreneurs in 2015. Booknet has gained significant traction in countries such as Ukraine, Russia (the Russian division was sold in the spring of 2022 because of the war between Ukraine and Russia), as well as Latin America. The company is now actively investing resources into the development of its English-language version. Authors can either publish their books with free access by readers, or sell them after obtaining commercial status through the platform. Booknet provides free advertising for eBooks sold by their authors on the platform. Booknet’s distinctive features (apart from being a pop...
Read more

Book review: She’s Never Coming Back

By
Image
By Hans Koppel Translated by Kari Dickson Published by Sphere It is safe to say that my choice of reading material is not usually truculent. That’s why I surprised myself when I decided to read a novel whose front cover prominently displays a quote describing it as a ‘terrifying crime novel’. I started to read expecting the worse and - it being impossible to put the book down - a few hours later I was trying to understand what had hit me. Let’s be clear: I loved this book and I’m grateful to Sphere for publishing this Swedish novel by author Karl Petter Lidbeck who, being a children’s literature author, decided to have it published under the pen name of Hans Koppel. I can see why he doesn’t want to have the two genres mixing on the bookshelves! The plot is simple enough: one day after work, Ylva does not return home. When she hasn’t returned 24 hours later, her husband Mike starts to worry and calls the police. Ylva seems to have disappeared without a trace and, month after month, Mike...
Read more

“Italy in books” - reading challenge 2011

By
Image
Why this challenge? This year I’ve decided to host a reading challenge because I think that they are a brilliant idea. They help to make reading a more collective experience and are a great way to find out more about any particular author / genre / topic and get to know about books you might never have come across. I chose this topic because - as an Italian who has been living abroad for many years now - I feel the need to learn more about my home country and I’m curious to see the difference between the way it is portrayed by native Italians and others. The details of the challenge The challenge will run from January, 1st 2011 to December, 31st 2011 . The aim of the challenge is to read at least 12 books that are set in Italy. Whether written by Italian authors or not, it doesn’t matter. They don’t have to be set exclusively in Italy but this country needs to play a significant role in the book. The challenge can include non-fiction books about Italy. You can also review Italian lea...
Read more