Susan Hill's Landing

I have just finished reading Susan Hill's Howard's End is on the Landing.  This was another of those reads when other books are set aside in order to concentrate on this one.  Writer Susan Hill

went to the shelves on the landing to look for a book I knew was there.  It was not.  But plenty of others were and among them I noticed at least a dozen I realised I had never read

What follows is a guided tour of her bookshelves with each short chapter providing a window in to some aspect of books, literature, publishing and the lives of various authors.  Every now and again a particular book sparks off a memory and we have a glimpse into a brief episode in Susan Hill's life or a comment or thought on a related subject.

As with all good reads, one book leads to another and the last pages contain Susan Hill's 'Final Forty' choices as the books she could not do without.  Earlier in the book she writes about the books she could well do without and the books she knows she will never read for one reason or another.

There is a word of warning for us readers too

The internet can also have a pernicious influence on reading because it is full of book-related gossip and chatter on which it is fatally easy to waste time that should be spent actually paying close, careful attention to the books themselves, whether writing them or reading them.  Rationing it strictly gave me back more than time.  Within a few days, my attention span increased again, my butterfly-brain settled down and I was able to spend longer periods concentrating on single topics, difficult long books, subjects requiring my full focus.  It was like diving into a deep, cool ocean after flitting about in the shallows, Slow Reading as against Gobbling-up

I found this a fascinating read, highly recommended for any book lover and for anyone up for a challenge the 'Final Forty' provides the perfect reading list.

www.susan-hill.com