Tomorrow morning I’m off to Paris to see my lovely friend Lorna, and probably eat a baguette or two, but fear not – I shall not be abandoning you. Rather, I will be setting in motion a week of interviews with the great and the good of the blogging world!
Lots of us in the UK recently enjoyed the TV series My Life in Books where authors and other notables were asked to tell about favourite reads from different points of their lives. It was a great idea for a TV series, and really entertaining viewing – but I can’t have been the only viewer thinking “I bet bloggers could do this just as well.”
My original plan was to do my own Life in Books, and then I thought… firstly, you can probably guess most of them, and secondly… I’m only 25. It’s a bit previous (as my mother would say) to talk about my life in books. And so I turned my attention elsewhere… Of course there aren’t a lot of nonegenarians around the blogosphere, so all the people I’ve asked to contribute have plenty of books left to enjoy in their lives. But I decided it was just silly to ask anyone under forty to talk about their lives in books, because we’ve barely started our lives. (Apologies if I asked you and you *are* under forty, and I got my wires crossed!)
So, over the next week a selection of bloggers and blog-readers (who don’t get enough fanfare!) will be choosing five books for our very own bloggy My Life in Books series. They’ll be up in pairs, starting tomorrow. Even more fun, each participant was told the choices of their co-participant anonymously, and asked to surmise something about their co-participant from those choices!
I’m not going to spoil the surprise of who’s turning up on which day, but I suspect there will be some names you’ll know… and lots of suggestions for you to follow up afterwards! Have a fun week…
(And apologies to those of you who spotted Day Four’s answers up here for about an hour yesterday, they weren’t supposed to appear just yet!)
I love this idea, and having been lucky enough to spot Day Four, I know we're in for a treat.
Have a lovely time in Paris!
What a fun idea! I can't wait to read these :)
Simon, a couple of exhibitions I thought you might be interested in (probably you are already off to see them):
Chagall and the Bible at the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire du Judaïsme
Richard Prince, American Dream at the Bibliothèaque Nationale François Mitterand
Have a wonderful time!
Paris in the spring — perfect! Have a wonderful time. Excited about the series.
My Life in Books is a great idea and I am really looking forward to it. Thank you.
I'm sure you will have a lovely time in Paris. Did you see the map of Literary Paris in yesterday's Guardian? It has made me keen to visit some of the places mentioned and I'd love to hear if you take up any of the suggestions and what literary connections there you explore.
Have a wonderful time! Hopefully there is a post and a photo or two once you're back.
I am so looking forward to reading the books everyone has chosen! No small feat on your part, Simon, so thank you.
You're only 25!!!
I've suddenly realised I am old enough to be your mother.
Have a great time in Paris — and enjoy the baguettes!
Name a book that you didn't like at first reading but now like after reading it again…:-)
Have a wonderful time in France! We're looking forward to the series here.
Looking forward to an account of your visit to Paris! :-)