Friday, November 20, 2009

Catching up on reading

The following is a blurb for a book called Howards End is on the Landing, by Susan Hill

This is a year of reading from home, by one of Britain's most distinguished authors. Early one autumn afternoon in pursuit of an elusive book on her shelves, Susan Hill encountered dozens of others that she had never read, or forgotten she owned, or wanted to read for a second time. The discovery inspired her to embark on a year-long voyage through her books, forsaking new purchases in order to get to know her own collection again. A book which is left on a shelf for a decade is a dead thing, but it is also a chrysalis, packed with the potential to burst into new life. Wandering through her house that day, Hill's eyes were opened to how much of that life was stored in her home, neglected for years. "Howard's End is on the Landing" charts the journey of one of the nation's most accomplished authors as she revisits the conversations, libraries and bookshelves of the past that have informed a lifetime of reading and writing.

Now I haven't actually read this book, but the idea behind it sounds great. My life is spent not reading the old books I've got on my shelves (most of which I have read at some point) and Hill's idea seems a great one. But could I resist the tempation of all those other books that I don't possess that I haven't read....?

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