Simon T. has tagged me for a meme which involves choosing ten books at random and using them to say something about yourself. Read Simon's post and you'll see that cheating is allowed, so having selected a bunch of books myself - very hard to do, actually - I then asked my husband to find some which represent me either obliquely or obviously. Interestingly, we had a couple of books in common, but I've chucked one of Mr. C's other choices which I felt didn't quite fit and substituted one of my own.
In size order, then, from the bottom of the pile:
The Isle of Man: A Book About the Manx by Christopher Killip. Extraordinary black and white photographs of the people and landscapes of the IoM (which is where I come from). I was flabbergasted to note the current price.
Jane Grigson, Good Things - food!
Alexander McCall Smith, The Right Attitude to Rain.
I love rain, so presumably my attitude is the right one.
Matthew Kneale, English Passengers. Have you read
this tour de force? No? Why not? Do so forthwith! Seriously, it is a marvellous novel and it features a Manxman (see above).
Mr. C. chose The Mitfords: Letters Between Six Sisters for my Mitford mania, although I'd already plumped for The Pursuit of Love & Love in a Cold Climate, my most often read book(s).
Muriel Spark, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. Mr. C. seems to think it represents my Edinburgh girls' school education.
Molly Keane, Good Behaviour. His choice
again as I am rather keen on good behaviour. Oh! (Maybe that's connected to said Edin. girls' school? - I think not).
Bernadette Murphy, Zen and the Art of Knitting.
And finally, Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird. Again, we both chose this as Atticus Finch has a lot to answer for; I became a lawyer because of him.