Lara's Book Blog

Lara has just started her first ‘9 to 5’ in London. She is a magnet for luxurious fabrics, and loves following and playing tennis.

She enjoys reading fiction that evokes another time or place...and consequently is a fan of the classics, especially Russian authors Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy. She also adores Louis De Bernieres, Ian McEwan and can’t resist a bit of Penny Vincenzi.

For beautiful dresses that last forever and fit perfectly she loves Baby Ceylon. and as a skin fanatic couldn’t live without Space NK.

Re-kindling a Love of Literature...

Published on Wednesday 17th March 2010

I am a bit hesitant about unveiling this information but here goes... I LOVE MY KINDLE! Usually when I reveal this dark secret the reaction is unfathomably uppity – (Gasp) “Oooh no, no Siree, not for me thanks,” followed by (smug face) “I like curling up with a real book.”

Truth be told, I used to be part of the crew. I wanted to hate the darn thing; I wanted to see it as a harbinger of destruction to all the things I adore. I stroke books for kicks, I stare at bookshelves for the head rush, and my monthly pay cheque relies on the printed word!

Problem is, it’s just too convenient. Instead of lugging around heavy book + newspaper + magazine +files + whatever, it’s compressed into one very slim (just over 1/3 of an inch) little screen, that reads like paper, and weighs a meagre 220g. The text-to-speech feature allows the Kindle to read newspapers, magazines, blogs, and books out loud to you. It can hold up to 350 books, all delivered wirelessly to your Kindle at a significantly lower price.

Enough about the facts though, back to the snobbery. Of course, anyone who has ever visited the Bodleian or the London Library can’t deny that rows upon rows of beautiful books, old and new, promote a sense of peace that isn’t accessible by simply looking at a metal screen.

However, to shun technological progress would be to emulate King Canute in his attempt to halt the rising tide, and I have chosen to join the surfers! The fundamentals are the same - the journey is the same, the characters sound the same, the landscapes look the same, and the pleasure to be derived from a fantastic twist, or an exquisite sentence is unaltered no matter how it’s communicated.

There is, however, ONE thing I will mourn. Currently every carriage of the London Underground is a rolling library, each passenger laying themselves bare to judgement. We’ve all felt that jealous pang at the lucky reader just embarking on the rollercoaster of Anna Karenina, or the latest Harry Potter. Or the kindred spirit clutching their tattered, finger-worn version of The God of Small Things - if only we could strike up a chat – the romantic fantasies abound!

Most of all I love those who defy stereotypes; the city business men leafing enthusiastically through HELLO, the model devouring the FT between castings, the hoodie gripped by Pride and Prejudice, or the Vicki Pollard reflecting on Proust’s Remembrance of Things Past! Despite the loss of such moments I really hope that, like me, people really will re-Kindle their love of books.

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The Help by Katherine Stockett

Thursday 18th February 2010

I am very lucky; I have a fairy godmother who invites me to Jamaica every New Year... Lying on a sandy beach, or on a ‘lounger’ by the pool - depending which side of the pool-versus-beach debate you take - is, undeniably one of the few moments when even the most illiterate...

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