The Sharp Words podcast

A ‘shelf-help’ question struck a chord recently. Think about what you most enjoyed doing when you were a kid, the book said, and do that thing.

So I thought about it. And I realised my childhood ‘thing’ was reading. School was right next door to the local library and I'd be in there at every opportunity, ploughing my way through the children’s section like The Very Hungry Caterpillar. I'd max out my library cards and humph my haul home, a pleased-as-Punch primary-aged pirate with a swag bag full of story booty.

I got into a bit of bother for my bookworming. So rapt in reading was I that it damn-near drove my mother crazy. Every day I'd come home from school to find her cooking at her Creda Carefree and, a little later, she’d call me to the kitchen table by knocking on the serving hatch and piping brightly: "Tea's ready!"

But I’d be deep in another world, gripped by a thrilling narrative, determined to finish the chapter before dinner. And as the mince and tatties cooled on my plate, mum's tone heated in equal measure until, finally, she'd lose her rag at this errant no-show child.

Fast forward five decades and I'm allowing myself to curl up in my favourite chair, discovering writers old and new, delving into their stories, and sharing the ones I most enjoy with you. Dinner? It can wait.