Susan Hill is a professional
writer and the author of 38 books of both fiction and non-fiction. Early one
summer afternoon, in pursuit of an elusive book on her shelves, she 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 own personal library – forsaking all new purchases – in
order to get to know her collection again.
Wandering through her home
that day, Susan Hill’s eyes were opened to the potential delights of
retrospective reading. Considering everything from Macbeth to Virginia Woolf,
Dickens to Roald Dahl, Susan Hill’s Howards
End is on the Landing charts the journey of one of Britain’s most
accomplished authors as she revisits the conversations, libraries and
bookshelves of the past that have informed a lifetime of reading and writing.
In similar vein, the Room To
Write and Read Reading Group exists to introduce the delights of retrospective
reading and to celebrate the work of writers who may not currently be held in
the esteem they deserve.
Books
are everywhere; and always the same sense of adventure fills us
Second-hand
books are wild books, homeless books; they have come together in vast flocks of
variegated feather and have a charm which the domesticated volumes of the
library lack. Besides, in this random, miscellaneous company we may rub against
some complete stranger who will, with luck, turn into the best friend we have
in the world.
Virginia Woolf
Why not join us? I guarantee
you won’t be disappointed.
Gillian
