HIT THE BOOKS

Whether you’re heading to university, sending kids off to school, or simply setting your own personal goals for what some of us consider the real new year, September marks a time for study, contemplation and meditation. Over the following pages, you’ll find lots to inspire all aspects of life. But before you turn the page, let us pay homage to screen siren Jean Simmons, pictured here reading intently between takes in The Hollywood Book Club by Steven Rea (Chronicle Books, approx €14), a collection of rare photographs of film stars and their favourite tomes, out September 10.