From bookmobiles on camels to bookmobiles at Buckingham Palace, it's amazing the places books can take you. My latest suggestion is a lovely little book called An Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett. This novella is the story of what happens when a British queen (never identified) stumbles upon a bookmobile on the grounds of her palace whilst walking her corgi dogs. She happens inside, meets a kitchen page who is an avid reader of novels by gay authors and has her entire world turned upside down. Really, this is a delightful book about the transformative power of the written word, both as it is read and as it is written. Funny, in a BBC drama sort of way, I highly recommend this book.
1 comment:
That sounds like just the sort of book I'd love. I'm putting it on my list.
BTW, have you read 84 Charing Cross Road, by Helene Hanff? It's this precious, tiny collection of correspondences between the author and a British book seller in London. I think you'll like it. It made me fall in love with second-hand books. And it made me cry.
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