Saturday, August 31, 2013

"145 Days in Space" with Linda Grant

Following on from my recent blogpost "145 Days in Space", we've asked some fantastic authors to let us know what six books they'd take with them if (like astronaut Chris Hadfield) they were sent into space for 145 days. 

To kick off, the brilliant Booker shortlisted, Orange Prize winning Linda Grant has cheekily sneaked in an extra book without anyone noticing.  


"145 days isn't that long, and I assume I would have duties of various kinds 
on the space station, or maybe I am lost in space and using literature to 
save myself from going mad. There's nothing to look at in space.

So here's my choice." 

  • Lampedusa, The Leopard;  Haven't re-read this since I was in Sicily in the late 80s 
  • Dickens, Bleak House; for the umpteenth time 
  • Proust A la Recherche du Temps Perdu. in the hopes that finally I will finish it 
  • Dodie Smith I Capture the Castle; Pleasure 
  • Jean Rhys Good Morning Midnight; (to work out how she manages to do what she does with a sentence) 
  • Amos Oz A Tale of Love and Darkness; Longing for a re-read of this 
  • Claudia Rosen The Book of Jewish Food: An Odyssey from Samarakand and Vilna to the Present Day The history of the Jews through eating

Thanks to Linda for sharing this with us. 


Linda will be appearing with novelist Charlotte Mendelson at the Wood Green Literary Festival on Sunday October 13th in conversation with journalist Alex Clarke. 

More information can be found HERE

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