What bibliophile could resist the lure of a bookshop where the weight of books inside is so much that the owner has to take to displaying his stock outside? This is Keith Fawkes bookshop, the subject for this week’s Bookshelf of the Week, and it has sat in a back street location in Hampstead London, for over 40 years.

This shot, as captured by John Keogh aka jovike, may not show the hustle and bustle of the interior of the Fawkes’ bookporium (this shot hints at it), but it speaks volumes in letting people know (in a simple yet effective way I think) that this is the kind of place that one has to rummage through in order to find anything.

And if further proof were needed that this particular bookshop is bursting at the seams with bookish booty, then this description from The Randomness Guide to London will surely suffice:

This place is one of those quintessential ramshackle shops, poky and dark as every available space is filled floor to ceiling with shelves threatening to crumble under the weight of all the collected tomes. More newly acquired books are in piles on the floor wherever there’s a space, and there’s some particularly large piles of art books. The many piles and very cramped spaces make it difficult to sometimes see what’s available.

Absolute bliss! I can think no finer place to wile away a cold and dreary Saturday afternoon. I’m sure you agree? Perhaps you’ve been lucky enough to spend a hour or two rooting around in Keith Fawkes bookshop, yourself. If you have then I’d love to hear from you. Comments below. Thank you.

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New Hart’s Rules: The Handbook of Style for Writers and Editors (Oxford University Press) — Although I consider myself to be very well educated (I have two degrees, one from University of St. Andrews), I’ll never be so arrogant as to think that I’ll never need to continually improve my writing. In fact, you’ve probably noticed that my writing could do with a heck of a lot of polishing up, especially with regards to grammar. And with one of my primary aims over the next 12 months being that I want to hone my writing craft to perfection (or as close as to possible to that), I’m currently focusing on stocking up the writer’s reference shelf in my library.

I have a number of good books on my writer’s reference shelf already, but shockingly I have very little in the way of grammar guidance or reference works particularly aimed at writers. And after asking around to find out which titles I should be looking out for, one of the ones that kept cropping up was New Hart’s Rules: The Handbook of Style for Writers and Editors (Oxford University Press). It seems that many consider this to be an essential for the serious writer, and if they think that then I do too. It’s rocketed to the top of my wishlist, together with a partner – the New Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors. I think these two together are going to be something of a killer combo. Well see, meantime if you have any further suggestions then I’d love to hear them.

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The Encyclopedia of New York City 2nd Ed., edited by Kenneth T Jackson (Yale University Press) — Well I guess everyone knows by now that I’m a huge fan of anything New York (I certainly go on about it enough ), and as a fan I have a rather extensive reference section of New York-related titles here at RobAround Manor. And one of my most favourite New york-flavoured titles in my library is undoubtedly Kenneth T. Jackson’s The Encyclopedia of New York (Yale University Press). This is undoubtedly my primary ‘go to book’, the first title I reach for whenever I need to find out about anything New York. It’s usually the only book I have to reach for too, because more and often than not the answer I need is sitting there waiting for me, in its tome-like pages. Imagine my delight then when I discovered that a second edition of The Encyclopedia of New York is coming out in November. With 800 new entries and a ton of updates to the previous one, this is the first revision of The Encyclopedia of New York, since it was originally published, 15 years ago. Am I excited? I don’t think I need to answer that!

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Writers and Their Notebooks, edited by Diana M. Raab (University of South Carolina Press) — You’ll know if you’ve seen me tussle with my own online reading journal, that I’m hugely passionate about keeping reading notes. Offline I use a Moleskine for more general note-taking, and a Midori Traveler’s Notebook for my more personal journal writing (and yes it did come all the way from Japan. There’s a pic of my one, HERE). My notebooks and journals are so valuable to me. They serve me in so many ways and on so many levels that I couldn’t imagine living without out them.

In fact I’m so fascinated by the whole concept of journal writing and notetaking, that I adore reading the notebooks and journals of others. Of course I’m not talking about snooping where one shouldn’t snoop here, but I’m happy to read those journals and notebooks which have been made public. That brings me nicely to the next title which has been added to my wishlist, Writers and Their Notebooks by Diana M. Raab.

Writers and Their Notebooks consists of a collection of essays written by professional writers, on the subject of notebooks and how they use them in their professional lives. Now, if ever there were a book that I could say was specifically written for me, then this would be it. This is absolutely, 100% my kind of thing, and I’m hugely excited about discovering this title. And if I wasn’t excited enough, than I can tell you that I almost had a heart attack when I found out that the foreword in this book is written by one of my favourite essayists, Philip Lopate. Do books get any more exciting than this? Absolutely not!

There is one slight downer to this book though – especially if you live in the UK – and that downer is PRICE. The exchange rate between US and UK has barely been taken into consideration and so the paperback edition comes in at £22.50, while the hardback edition is selling for a whopping £44.50. That’s a lot of dosh to lay down for a book that only just breaks 200 pages, and although I’m a little put off, I’ll still get around to picking a copy up. It’s just going to take a little longer than I would have hoped it would.

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Best European Fiction 2011, edited by Aleksandar Hemon (Dalkey Archive) — Last but certainly not least in this edition of my ‘On The Radar’ series, is the upcoming 2011 edition of Dalkey Archive’s Best European Fiction anthology. You remember that I mentioned the 2010 edition of Best European Fiction in an ‘On The Radar’ post way back in August 2009. Well, despite always meaning to pick up a copy I never got to around to it, and now my good buddy Stu (blogger over at Winston’s Dad), has given me a ‘heads up’ on Twitter, letting me know that the 2011 edition is coming in November.

Edited once again by Bosnian writer Aleksandar Hemon, the 2011 edition of Best European Fiction, contains this year’s selection of European short fiction (short stories and extracts from longer works, in translation where required of course), which offer something of a snapshot as to what’s happening in the European literature scene right now. Essential reading for any fan of European literature I’d say, and I for one am certainly not going to procrastinate on this one again this year.

There’s not a lot of detail about the subject for this week’s Bookshelf of the Week – other than it was taken in Bratislava, by fiction writer Michal Hvorecky – but I don’t think it really needs any. With books flowing from wall-to-wall and floor-to-ceiling, and even spilling out to the next room, this picture definitely speaks for itself. And what does it say most of all? That the person who lives here (who I’m assuming to be Michal) REALLY loves books. I stand in awe!

Thanks for a great shot Michal

Edit: Michal, the taker of this shot and owner of the bookshelves, was kind enough to send me some details on his most wonderful library. Here’s what Michal had to say:

This is my collection of the fiction (70 percent) and non-fiction (the rest). The books are in Slovak, Czech, German and English languages. About half of them are from second hand bookstores. my real treasures are some signed copies by the writers such as William Gibson or Cormac McCarthy and Egon Bondy.

The bookshelves were build specially for this small apartment by the couple of excellent Slovak joiners, all is hand-made.

Many thanks for the extra information Michal. If I wasn’t envious before (and I was), then I am now – signed copies from Gibson and McCarthy? Ohh and have you got the phone number for those joiners? They are superb craftsmen.

It’s been a wee while since I’ve done a Cover Love post (my last one was the four-volume Ox-Tales collection from Profile Books), so what better way to bring it back than with a post celebrating eight of the titles I’m reading in my Totally Knut reading project. All published by small independent publisher Souvenir Press, the collection of eight all feature artwork from one of my favourite artists- Edvard Munch (perhaps most famous for his painting, ‘The Scream’).

I think everyone will agree that the Munch artwork really does do these covers justice. And while I’m slightly disappointed not to see exactly the same cover design carried across the entire range, the pleasure one gets from gazing upon the sublime artwork of Edvard Munch, every time one picks up one of these Souvenir Press volumes, is indescribable. What’s more the decision to use Munch’s artwork on the covers of these Hamsun novels is a stroke of genius. Because after all Edvard Munch was not only a fellow-Norwegian and contemporary of Knut Hamsun, but both men were prolific in their respective art too – a befitting tribute to both then, to pair them together.

So for the pleasure of those who may want to know more about the Munch artwork that’s been used for these covers, here’s a rundown on artwork that’s been used for each of the books, with a link to an original example:

• Mysteries (1892) – ‘Snow Falling in the Lane’, 1906.
• Victoria (1898) – ‘Moonlight’, 1895.
• Tales of Love and Loss (1890s) – ‘Despair (Fortvilelse)‘, 1892.
• Dreamers (1904) – ‘Two Human Beings. The Lonely Ones‘, 1899.
• The Growth of the Soil (1917) – ‘Winter, Kragero‘, 1912.
• The Wanderer (1906/1909) – ‘The Wave’, 1921
• The Women at the Pump (1920) – ‘Red Virginia Creeper‘, 1898-1900.
• Wayfarers (1927) – ‘Train Smoke‘, 1900

1. Lose the TV. At number two in Michael’s list of reading rules is cutting out the TV, and I wholeheartedly agree with him on this one; so much so that cutting out TV time is the absolute #1 on my own list. As we all know TV is an accomplished leecher of time, even though 99% of the stuff offered up is pointless and of little value. So if it’s reading time you’re looking for, and the TV is still a biggie in your life, then the biggest favour you could do yourself is to push the TV power button to off. You’ll be amazed at how much reading time magically becomes available without the draw of the goggle box. And if you still need something in the background in the way of noise, then go and buy a nice DAB radio, or tune into any one of a gazillion free radio channels on the Internet. I went for the former, and I haven’t looked back since.

2. Find your favourite reading place and use it as often as possible. Everyone has a favourite place for reading right, where they feel most at ease and completely receptive to the written word? My ‘place’ is usually in the bath or at the library, but I’ve also got a favourite place in the woods where I can wile away an hour or two, and get some serious, undisturbed reading done. So if you don’t have a favourite place then now may be a good time to go find one, and retreat to it whenever you can and as often as you can. Trust me you’ll find yourself flying through the pages at a rate of knots.

3. Find the most appropriate place/time for reading certain things and exploit it. I find that certain types of reading fit in better at particular times and/or places. Short stories over breakfast, where the reading is quick and the session contained. Flash fiction on the loo (perhaps that should that be flush fiction, eh folks? ), where the reading is even quicker. Thoughtful or difficult reading in the bath, in the evening, where it’s quiet and distraction-free (unless my rubber ducky’s there ). It makes a huge difference fitting particular reading into a particular time/location. Try it and I’m sure you’ll see I’m right.

4. Plan ahead. I tend to get a lot more reading done if I plan it ahead of time. I know planning for reading isn’t for everyone because some people prefer to ‘go with the flow’, but for me, planning ahead is an absolute must, and not just because I’m a book reviewer.

I mentioned in #2 that I read short stories over breakfast. Now I don’t know about you but first thing in the morning I’m a complete zombie (I’m a zombie most of the time but later in the day I’m more of an awake zombie), and decision-making isn’t high on my list of early morning abilities. So I plan the night before what I’m going to be reading the next morning, and I even go as far as to put the chosen reading on the breakfast table the night before too. Then, bleary-eyed and stumbling, I can plonk myself in front of my cornflake’s bowl in the morning, and all I have to do is reach for the book and start reading.

It’s not just breakfast reading I plan out though. I tend to think ahead all of the time, fitting in my reading as best I can. It’s a ‘rule that fits in really well with the previous rule #4, and it also fits in really well with the following rule too.

5. Harness every opportunity. How often do you find yourself hanging around waiting for something or someone, with nothing to do but clock watch? Waiting for a train. Standing in a queue. Sitting in a restaurant waiting for your hot date Sandra Bullock to turn up (I can dream. Just don’t tell Mrs. Rob ). Everyone one of these situations and more, offers an opportunity to fit in a bit of quality reading time (plus it makes you look pretty cool and composed when Ms. Bullock finally arrives, and you can look up at her nonchalantly ). This harnessing of every opportunity is where my Sony Reader has actually revolutionised things for me. The reader is so light and unobtrusive that I always have it with me, and as a consequence it’s helped me to fit in loads of reading. Big queue in the post office? No problem. Out comes the Sony! Train’s been delayed for 20 minutes? Hey, it happens! Out comes the Sony! ‘Mind if we pop into H&M for a look around the clothes Dad?’ ‘No worries, I’ll wait outside.’ Out comes the Sony! Every…opportunity…harnessed, and all thanks to the ereader.

Do you know another great opportunity, provided you don’t suffer from motion sickness? It’s a little activity I like to call ‘walk reading’, which, as the name suggests, is reading while you’re walking (pretty cryptic eh? ). Sure it may look a bit goofy walking down the street with your face in a book (or better still, an ereader because the pages don’t flap about), and there may be a bit of a knack to doing it right without causing injury to yourself or others, but if you do a lot of getting from A to B on foot (or you have a walk-obsessed Labrador like me), then there’s a load of reading opportunity to be gained from engaging in the art of ‘walk reading’.

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So there we have it folks. A quick run through on my own five rules for reading. These may not be as good as Mr. Bhaskar’s (I particularly like his #1), but these are all ‘rules’ which have helped me greatly to increase my own personal reading time. Hopefully one or two of these will be of help to you too. So what about you guys? I’m sure each and every one of you beautiful minds have your own rules for gaining a bit more reading time. And I’m also sure they’re a lot better than mine. So feel free to share them. I’d love to hear if there’s anything else I can do to squeeze out a few more hours in the week, to devote to my most precious of pastimes.

My thanks again to Michael Bhaskar, both for sharing his great ideas and for giving the inspiration for this post.

Disclaimer: Rob takes no responsible for any injuries that may be sustained while engaged in the act of ‘walk reading’. Whilst walk reading the walk reader must take extreme care not to bump into the following – people, prams, small children, dogs, other walk readers, lamp posts, bins (especially important on bin collection day), cars, trees, buildings and any other infinite number of objects.

Picture Credit: The copyright for the image used in this post belongs to Ruben Bos. It has been released under Creative Commons agreement, which allows for the image to be changed and adapted for non-commercial use.

No stranger to RobAroundBooks, I actually reviewed (and enjoyed) War on the Margins back in November 2008 when it was still a self-published work. Eight months later and courtesy of Duckworth, War on the Margins enjoys its release as a fully fledged publisher-backed novel, and I couldn’t be happier.

As much as I like War on the Margins though, it would be a bit pointless for me to completely review it again. I will say briefly having seen it, that the new Duckworth edition is a marked improvement on the original. On an aesthetic level the cover is much more appealing, but more importantly for me a problem I had with the original has been fixed. My gripe centred around the fact that the historical documents and communiques were presented verbatim in the main body of the story. I felt that their length to some extent interrupted the flow of the story, and at times everything just seemed to mingle in. Duckworth have fixed this ‘problem’ simply and elegantly – they’ve used a different typeface for the official documents. Problem solved, and although the documents are still presented in the body of the narrative as before (which makes sense because they are an inherent part of the story), they don’t seem to interrupt to the same extent as they used to.

So going back to what I could do to mark the Duckworth release of War on the Margins, and I came up with the idea of interviewing the novel’s author. I put it to her a few weeks ago and Libby kindly agreed to it. So today I get the delightful opportunity of presenting to you the writer behind War on the Margins. Sit back and enjoy a virtual sit down with Libby Cone:

Rob: War on the Margins began life as your thesis project at university before being adapted into a novel. I understand it was your advisor Professor Davis who gave you the words of encouragement to take things further. What was it about your original thesis that impressed him so much?

Libby: Well, first of all, he was the one who warmed to my idea of writing my thesis as a work of historical fiction. I think he liked the writing I had done for smaller assignments, and he was probably not looking forward to going through yet another long and depressing nonfiction thesis about the Holocaust. I was probably going to write a pretty straightforward nonfiction treatment; I had not thought about doing it in terms of gender or any other interesting angle, because the facts were interesting enough.

Rob: Now that War on the Margins has been published, I assume Professor Davis is delighted?

Libby: Oh, yes, he is! I keep him posted. I’m extremely grateful to him.

Rob: War on the Margins is of course based largely on the real-life diaries of artists Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore. How did you discover these diaries, and what was it about them that made you want to use them so extensively in your work?

Libby: I had not heard of Cahun and Moore before starting the project. They were given brief mentions in some of the sources I consulted. Jewish Lesbian Surrealist artists in the Resistance? If I had invented them, I would have been accused of exaggeration! I was able to get their letters and other materials from the Jersey Heritage Archive; much of the material is available online. Their story speaks to the hidden power of art and the gifts we receive from those considered marginal by the dominant culture.

Rob: Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore both feature in War on the Margins of course. But there are other characters in the novel who come across as just as well rounded i.e. Marlene, Peter, Mrs. Richardson to name but three. Are any of these characters based on real people?

Libby: Peter is based on the many unfortunates captured all over Europe and brought to the Islands to do slave labour for the Germans. I felt it very important to develop his character. So many of the enslaved prisoners died on the Islands, and most were never given a decent burial. When I visited the underground tunnels in Jersey that they built, I kept looking at the trowel marks in the concrete and thinking, “the hand of a slave made this, and he probably died here.”

Mrs. Richardson was a real person. The local authorities actually were alerted to capture her and turn her in for failing to register as a Jew.

Marlene is a fictional character; I just needed to add one more character to the list to propel the story along and to develop the theme of marginality. Most of the characters were real people; Marlene, Peter, Mary Drummond, and Pauline Barrett are composites. People really did try to intercept mail from would-be informants. People really were sent to Ravensbrück and killed for hiding escaped slave labourers. There really was a woman, the lover of a German deserter, who barely escaped execution.

Rob: You acknowledge that you had a lot of help from the Jersey Heritage Trust. I presume they are in full support of your fictional account of the Channel Islands Occupation?

Libby: I don’t know if they ‘support’ it or not; it’s just their job to curate and distribute the archived materials. They have been wonderful in answering my requests for documents.

Rob: Aside from the artist’s diaries, there are a lot of original wartime documents reproduced in War on the Margins. Did many of these come directly from the Jersey Heritage Fund or did you source them elsewhere?

Libby: The documents came from the archive. The BBC and German Overseas Radio broadcasts I described were from various sources who collect the broadcasts on CD’s. I also used three diaries written by people stuck on Jersey during the Occupation, Nan Le Ruez, Leslie Sinel, and Dr. John Lewis. I tried to cross-check everything that wasn’t a primary source. I could have written about more people, but I couldn’t corroborate their stories. Fortunately, I didn’t have to write the thesis with footnotes, but I could have.

Rob: Before Duckworth took up the rights for War on the Margins, the novel was self-published. As most writers know, it’s notoriously difficult getting most bloggers to even glance at a self-published novel, yet you credit your success at getting picked up by Duckworth as a result of you having ‘aggressively marketing War on the Margins on US and European blogs’. So how aggressive did you have to get Libby?

Libby: After coming across an article in the Observer by Jay Rayner about the ascendancy of bloggers in our culture, I took note of the literary blogger he mentioned. I emailed her and every other blogger listed on her site, asking if they ever reviewed independently-published (it sounds better than ‘self-published’) books. I did not get the impression that most bloggers won’t look at indie stuff. About half of them responded, and maybe two-thirds of those reviewed it. I kept looking for more bloggers, both in the US and the UK. I’m a very stubborn person, and when I get an idea, I don’t let it go. But I’m not obnoxious about it. Not everybody wants to read or review your book, not everybody likes it, etc. You have to accept that.

Rob: As well as a writer Libby, you’re also a full-time radiologist. How do you possibly manage to fit both of these time-consuming vocations into your life?

Libby: I’m actually part-time now. My last full-time job ended when our practice broke up after only a year. I was not up for preparing to ascend yet another ladder to partnership, so I wound up doing locum tenens. It helps that my husband and I don’t have kids, we don’t have a television, and we don’t hold impossibly high standards for housekeeping!

Rob: Finally Libby, I’ve heard it on the grapevine that your next book is about a blind kid growing up in colonial Delaware. What can you tell us about that?

Libby: I don’t remember where I got the idea! I surf the Web quite a lot, and somehow I found out about a short-lived Mennonite colony in Delaware whose founder died when the second Anglo-Dutch war came to the mid-Atlantic region of North America and towns like Niew Amsterdam and Niew Amstel became New York and Newcastle. His blind son wound up in an area of Philadelphia known as Germantown at the end of the seventeenth century. I’m interested in identity and its fluidity. In occupied Jersey, Jewish citizens were re-classified as aliens. In the Colonies, people who had always considered themselves Dutch suddenly became British. It’s fascinating.

Libby, on behalf of everyone at RobAroundBooks I thank you wholeheartedly for your time, and I wish you every conceivably success with War on the Margins.

So remember folks War on the Margins is released this week by Duckworth (details below) and is available (no doubt) in all good bookstores.

Duckworth Publishers | July 2009 | £12.99 | HARDBACK | 256 PP | ISBN 9780715638767

If I had the money and I had the space then this is how I’d want every wall in every room of my own home, and I’m sure fellow bibliophiles would to. Thanks for a great shot ooh_food.

So welcome to the introductory post for ‘Reading Journal’, another new feature I’m bringing to RobAroundBooks, and I’ve got to tell you from the outset that this is one I’m really thrilled about, not least because it’s a feature that’s going to help me to provide a more thorough record of my journey through books, which I know will be of huge benefit to me and hopefully of some value to you too.

I’d like to think that I’m already quite intimate when it comes to recording my bookish journey. As many of you know my main book reviews are a two-part process – the first part being a post on my initial thoughts before reading a particular book, the second being my considered judgment on the book once I’ve read it – and these two join together to make an encapsulated whole; an individually-wrapped ‘bookish travelog’ if you will.

However there’s something missing. We have the setting out on the journey (forethoughts), and we have the arrival at the destination (afterthoughts), but we don’t really have anything in between which documents the most important part – the journey itself; no sights or sounds, no off-the-cuff or forming opinion, no outbursts of delight or dismay, no instant reaction to new discoveries, just a silent shrouded bit in the middle, which is of no use to anyone, least of all me. So enter the ‘Reading Journal’ which I hope is going to lift that shroud on the middle bit, and provide a fuller picture on my reading life.

Journaling is no new thing for me. I’ve done it for years and consider it a mainstay of my personal development, and what I love most about it, aside from it giving a ‘life document’, is the rawness of the form; the unedited snaps of thought that are recorded in the instant, and this is exactly what ‘Reading Journal’ is going to be. It’s going to be an unedited, on-the-fly record of the bookish highlights of my day. It’s going to record what I’m reading, when I’m reading it. It’s going to capture fleeting thoughts and opinions, and it’s going to share the discoveries I make along the way, along with anything else that comes to mind in the course of my reading day.

So I really hope you enjoy this new feature, and that you find it of some use to you. I’d like to think it’s going to provide a catalyst for more discussion and debate, for more opinion and commentary, but who knows what will happen? As in the spirit of personal journalling itself, we’ll just have to run with it and see where it takes us.

With Thursday’s ‘Proustian epiphany’ still fresh in my mind, and my ‘patient’ wait for the books to arrive continuing, you can imagine there’s still a lot of Proust fever going on in my head at the moment. My regular reading of course continues, but in the moments of ‘downtime’ I seem inclined to set off on an eager hunt to find out as much information as I can on Marcel Proust.

It was during one of these online forays yesterday that I discovered something known as the ‘Proust Questionnaire’. On first impressions this sounds like a ‘how much do you know about Proust?” kind of thing, but it’s really nothing of the kind. Instead the Proust Questionnaire is more a series of soul-searching and often profound (sometimes even daft) personal questions ; questions which Marcel Proust himself answered during his lifetime (which has apparently been authenticated by the existence of an original manuscript detailing Proust’s answers). The back pages of Vanity Fair now regularly host the Proust Questionnaire with answers provided by various celebrities.

So I thought I’d use the opportunity of this week’s Sunday Salon both to highlight the Proust Questionnaire for anyone who isn’t aware of it, and may be interested in it (which I’m sure loads of you will – Proust fan or not), and to share my own answers to the questions.

I’ve found various sources for the Proust Questionnaire online, but the best seems to be either the one hosted at the hoelder1in.org website, which, aside from showing Proust’s original responses, allows for online submission and archiving, or a more simplified version to be found on the Vanity Fair website, which also has a nice archive of celebrity responses waiting to be browsed through.

So without delaying the excitement any longer (Hey wake up! )), here’s the rundown on my own rather simplistic responses to the questions posed in the Proust Questionnaire (I went with the more ‘original’ version which, along with Proust’s responses I’ve rather cheekily reproduced here). If you do happen to complete the Questionnaire yourself, then please let me know because I’d love to read your own answers. Meantime, I hope you enjoy mine (provided boredom doesn’t set in before you reach the end )):

1. What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery? Not having the mental or physical health to continue in my quest for knowledge. [Proust: To be separated from Mama]
2. Where would you like to live? Two places of wildly different contrast – Bang in the middle of New York (preferably Brooklyn), or in an isolated cottage in the middle of the wilderness. [Proust: In the country of the Ideal, or, rather, of my ideal]
3. What is your idea of earthly happiness? To be surrounded by those I love, along with countless rows of bookshelves (and maybe an endless supply of Turkish Delight too )). [Proust: To live in contact with those I love, with the beauties of nature, with a quantity of books and music, and to have, within easy distance, a French theater]
4. To what faults do you feel most indulgent? Taking on too many things at once. Being easily distracted by other asides, and to a lesser degree – procrastination! [Proust: To a life deprived of the works of genius]
5. Who are your favorite heroes of fiction? Strangely my heroes are the ones who perhaps are not considered to be heroes at all. These are the characters usually struggling to cope in the face of adversity, so characters such as the unnamed writer in Hamsun’s Hunger, or the Joad family in Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath would fit the bill. [Proust: Those of romance and poetry, those who are the expression of an ideal rather than an imitation of the real]
6. Who are your favorite characters in history? There are many whom I admire, perhaps too many to list. But among those who inspire me most would be – Leonardo Da Vinci (for his creative genius and insatiable thirst for knowledge), Christopher Columbus (for his courage and incredible sense of adventure) and John Steinbeck, just for being John Steinbeck ). [Proust: A mixture of Socrates, Pericles, Mahomet, Pliny the Younger and Augustin Thierry]
7. Who are your favorite heroines in real life? Those who stand up and achieve what they want from their life (whether that be dynamic Arctic explorer or mother and homemaker), without buying into any of this ‘subservience to man’ nonsense. [Proust: A woman of genius leading an ordinary life]
8. Who are your favorite heroines of fiction? Rather shockingly I’m not too familiar at this point with that many female ‘heroes’ in fiction. I suppose the most heroic would be those considered independent and stoic under pressure, and the only one I can think of who fits that bill, is Ma Joad (from Grapes of Wrath). [Proust: Those who are more than women without ceasing to be womanly; everything that is tender, poetic, pure and in every way beautiful]
9. Your favorite painter? Undoubtedly Spanish painter Joan Miró. Although I generally shy away from any form of modernist art, there’s something vibrant, refreshing and hugely inspiring about his work, that touches me deeply. [Proust: Meissonier]
10. Your favorite musician? I’m sorry to copy Proust on this one but Mozart is undoubtedly the undisputed master for me. His music helps me to think more clearly and relax more deeply, than anything else I’ve ever tried. I probably owe both of my degrees more to Mozart than anyone of anything else. [Proust: Mozart]
11. The quality you most admire in a man? Humility. [Proust: Intelligence, moral sense]
12. The quality you most admire in a woman? Resilience. [Proust: Gentleness, naturalness, intelligence]
13. Your favorite virtue? Gaining achievement in a silent and non-boastful manner. [Proust: All virtues that are not limited to a sect: the universal virtues]
14. Your favorite occupation? Reading, writing, gaining knowledge. [Proust: Reading, dreaming, and writing verse]
15. Who would you have liked to be? I would not have liked to have been anyone but myself. I would have liked the opportunity of others, such as the fourteenth-century Islamic explorer Ibn Battutah’s freedom to roam, or da Vinci’s freedom to learn, but I would have wished for these opportunities as my own person. [Proust: Since the question does not arise, I prefer not to answer it. All the same, I should very much have liked to be Pliny the Younger.]
16. Your most marked characteristic? Curiosity and an obvious passion for reading. [Proust: A craving to be loved, or, to be more precise, to be caressed and spoiled rather than to be admired]
17. What do you most value in your friends? Honesty, trust and respect. [Proust: Tenderness - provided they possess a physical charm which makes their tenderness worth having]
18. What is your principle defect? Not always maintaining focus in the things I do. [Proust: Lack of understanding; weakness of will]
19. What to your mind would be the greatest of misfortunes? To lose the ability to think for myself. [Proust: Never to have known my mother or my grandmother]
20. What would you like to be? The type of person who always leaves a positive lasting affect on others (I’m working on it )). [Proust: Myself - as those whom I admire would like me to be]
21. What is your favorite color? Orange – Vibrant! Stimulating! Electrifying! [Proust: Beauty lies not in colors but in their harmony]
22. What is your favorite flower? – Snowdrops, because their arrival marks the onset of Spring, which to me is Nature’s time of renewal, of fresh hope and opportunity (wow check me out talking all Proust-y )). [Proust: Hers - but apart from that, all]
23. What is your favorite bird? – It’s easy to say an eagle because of their majestic resonance, but the fact is they are probably my favourite bird, and for that reason. [Proust: The swallow]
24. Who are your favorite prose writers? Need you ask? ) John Steinbeck first and foremost, but you can also add Chekhov and Hemingway to the list, and it looks like Proust will soon be making his way onto it too. [Proust: At the moment, Anatole France and Pierre Loti]
25. Who are your favorite poets? Poetry is a form that has never moved me to any great degree, although I have memories of being somewhat moved by the war poetry of Siegfried Sassoon. [Proust: Baudelaire and Alfred de Vigny]
26. Who are your heroes in real life? Anyone who triumphs in the face of adversity, and all who have the profound ability to enlighten others. [Proust: Monsieur Darlu, Monsieur Boutroux (professors)]
27. Who are your favorite heroines of history? Elizabeth I for the level of respect she built as Sovereign and the incredible presence she projected, and Joan of Arc for her inherent qualities of fortitude and determination. [Proust: Cleopatra]
28. What are your favorite names? A bizarre question which I don’t quite know how to answer. My favourite word though, has got to be ‘vanilla’ ) [Proust: I only have one at a time]
29. What is it you most dislike? Rudeness! Inconsideration! Arrogance! – with a passion! [Proust: My own worst qualities]
30. What historical figures do you most despise? One would obviously have to say all those considered to be architects of genocide such as Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, Milosevic et al. [Proust: I am not sufficiently educated to say]
31. What event in military history do you most admire? The ‘defeat’ of the Persians at Thermopylae (for the bravery of the Spartans and the consequences of the victory), Hannibal’s defeat of the Romans at Cannae (for Hannibal’s genius and sheer audacity), or the Battle of Stalingrad (simply because of its sheer ferocity and utter desperation). [Proust: My own enlistment as a volunteer!]
32. What natural gift would you most like to possess? The ability to easily absorb and remember everything I learn. [Proust: Will power and irresistible charm]
33. How would you like to die? Having lived a full and fruitful life with few regrets. [Proust: A better man than I am, and much beloved]
34. What is your present state of mind? Contented but uncertain for what the future holds. [Proust: Annoyance at having to think about myself in order to answer these questions]
35. What is your motto? Live every day as though it’s your last. [Proust: I prefer not to say, for fear it might bring me bad luck]

That’s the lot folks, and remember if you complete the ‘Proust Questionnaire’ drop me a line so I can read it.

See you next Sunday, Saloners!

**This post has been specifically written for Sunday Salon participation**

I’m always keen to hear what book titles other authors like to recommend because there’s just something about their ‘insider’ literary position that make their recommendations seem all the more worthy (plus you get a voyeuristic gawp into their reading practices )). Bearing this interest in mind I thought I would use this week’s RobAroundBookLists feature to highlight a recently constructed recommended reading list from author Nick Hornby, which was compiled as part of an uber-creative ongoing promotion being run by UK retailer Waterstones right now, which features writers selecting the books which have had the most influence on them, and their writing.

I’ll make it clear from the start, as I always do when I’m writing around the shaky ground of specific retailers, that I neither wish to influence your choice of book retailer, or to create features solely so that I can deviously exploit them as a way to embed affiliate links. RobAroundBooks is and always will be advertisement and affiliate-link free, so relax and just enjoy this article without thinking there’s any ulterior motive, because there isn’t! )

Anyway back to Nick Hornby and as a matter of convenience I’ll list Nick’s chosen selection here in ‘vanilla format’ but I recommend to get the most out of Waterstone’s feature, that you click through to their feature page. There’s a succinct paragraph from Nick under each of his chosen titles, giving his reasons for choosing each title, and you can even read the hand-written ‘review’ as Nick originally wrote it. Also note, if Nick’s 40 recommendations aren’t enough for you, then there’s also the same kind of feature already been created for the series by Sebastian Faulks and Philip Pullman.

Without further ado then, here are the 40 books that Nick claims have had the biggest influence on his writing:

• Field Notes From a Catastrophe by Elizabeth Kolbert
• Samaritan by Richard Price
• Brilliant Orange by David Winner
• This Boy’s Life by Tobias Wolff
• Sweet Soul Music by Peter Guralnick
• Scenes From a Revolution by Mark Harris
• Naples ’44 by Norman Lewis
• What Good are the Arts? by John Carey
• Spies by Michael Frayn
• Birds of America by Lorrie Moore
• The Child That Books Built by Francis Spufford
• A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews
• Stasiland by Anna Funder
• The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon
• The Republic of Love by Carol Shields
• Random Family by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc
• Skellig by David Almond
• Fingersmith by Sarah Waters
• The World’s Wife by Carol-Ann Duffy
• The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut
• Sixty Stories by Donald Barthelme
• David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
• Father And Son by Edmund Gosse
• The Accidental by Ali Smith
• The Invisible Woman by Claire Tomalin
• The History of Mr Polly by HG Wells
• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
• Molesworth by Geoffrey Williams and Ronald Searle
• Chronicles by Bob Dylan
• Mystic River by Dennis Lehane
• Fun Home by Alison Bechdel
• The Railway Man by Eric Lomax
• The Giant’s House by Elizabeth McCracken
• Empire Falls by Richard Russo
• Selected Poems by Sophie Hannah
• The Wife by Meg Wolitzer
• Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant by Anne Tyler
• Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson
• The Blind Side by Michael Lewis
• How to Breathe Underwater by Julie Orringer