Reading:
a page for bookworms

I can't remember being unable to read. I used to read everything, anything, but I've become more fussy as I've grown older. Maybe it's because I have less time left to read so I need to be more particular about what I read - there's no time now for books I may not enjoy when there are so many books I would like to read before I die!

I've always read primarily for pleasure - in the story, the style, the voice, the characters, the setting, the structure - but now I look deeper, too. Studying creative writing at Masters level has made me aware of the skill and craft behind the writing in the books that work best, and I love to see that.

Reading used to be an entirely solitary pleasure where no-one was interested in your delight in a book, or your decision not to carry on reading because you were not enjoying the book. It's wonderful, now, to be able to talk about books with other readers in book groups or on-line, or to read reviews or those little snippets the bookshops sometimes stick up on the shelves. And of course, discussions about books, reviews, author interviews and the rest also bring to your attention books that you may otherwise miss.

The great thing about books and reading is that they are available to anybody: in bookshops and on-line, in charity shops, in car boot sales, and in our wonderful public libraries - and college and school libraries, too, if you're a student - where for a very small fee you can order any book you want, and the library will do its best to get it for you.

If you are interested in the books I read, and why, then the links below will take you to pages about some of them: fiction, poetry, non-fiction, Welsh, English and in translation (coming soon!)



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