MONDAY, 19 JANUARY 2009

People often ask me what I like to read. I should say that what I like to read and what I usually end up reading are two different things. Has anyone tried reading the notes from the film council on filling in an application? That's an hour of your life you'll never get back. And then the children usually come home bearing reams of paper, advising us that there's a football match tomorrow ('Mummy, I need shin pads?' 'not if you run away from the ball') or that there's a play this week ('Mummy I need a 1960's top', 'I don't think people wore tops in the 60s sweetheart') or that someone in school has head lice. A far cry from the romance and sweeping drama of literature. By the end of the day I usually collapse into bed and enjoy just looking at the cover of the book I am intending to read (currently Ronald Harwood on screenplay adaptations). As for online reading...well, I have no time, it would have to be brilliantly written, and laugh-out-loud funny would help too. One daily blog makes the cut. www.peachesandcoconuts.com I declare an interest. Deborah Goldstein is an old (but incredibly well-preserved) friend of mine and Hanan's. The woman can write. Check it out and let me know what you think. When you've finished this...