WHATBOOK..?

. . . are you reading?

AT THE Existentialist Cafe by Sarah Bakewell, who has an ability to make complex ideas comprehensible, entertaining and funny.

. . . would you take to a desert island?

BREWER’S Dictionary of Phrase & Fable. This is a wonderful volume for dipping into and I can never get to the definition I’m looking for without being distracted by others.

. . . gave you the reading bug?

THE Hole In The Hedge. Published in 1948, it was written and illustrated by Grace Lodge, who also did illustrations for Enid Blyton’s books.

. . . left you cold?

MIDNIGHT’S Children. I found Salman Rushdie’s style painfully over-elaborate. I used to finish every book I’d started. But after struggling up the north face of Page 150 of Midnight’s Children, I gave up. Now, if a book doesn’t engage me in the first 50 pages, I stop. So thanks, Salman, you’ve saved me a lot of time. n Seriously Funny And other oxymorons, by Simon Brett, is out now (robinson £9.99).