I have actually already met him - I would just like to meet him again and again and again...
I love music - I was brought up on classical music and opera - my Dad played nothing else. I hated the opera back then but I loved the classical music - still do. Tchaikovsky was my favourite. Mum was into all the old musicals and I am still a sucker for the old Barbra Streisand films - esp Funny Girl. Then I discovered boys and along with them ROCK - Genesis, The Police, AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Floyd, U2... Then came Marillion, who were my all time favourites for years until a Thief stole my heart! The Pineapple Thief are Britain's best kept secret – I hope that soon they will get the recognition they truly deserve. Now as well as the Thief and still Marillion of course, there are tons of others I love to listen to depending on my mood. From jazzy stuff like Michael Franks to Kate Bush, Tori Amos and Sarah McLachlan, from David Gray, Damien Rice to, recently, Nine More Lies and of course Satellites! There are just too many to list!
I have loved and read all John Irving, but my favourite is still ‘A Prayer for Owen Meany’, the Brontes have been favourites of mine for years – I am a sucker for Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. I loved studying Le Petit Prince and Madame Bovary for A’ Level and always wanted to read Papillion in French (still to do that, I have managed it in English though!!). If I am feeling low Harry Potter cheers me up – such good escapist fun. I also love Pullman’s ‘His Dark Materials’ – I love his idea of parallel worlds! The Jasper Fforde series has been compulsive reading as were the two books about Sarah Prine - ‘These is my words’ and ‘Sarah’s Quilt’ by Nancy E. Turner. One book that changed my thinking on some issues (always a good and amazing thing) was ‘The Poisonwood Bible’ by Barbara Kingsolver – fantastic!! There are so many others – I just love reading. I read a fabulous book recently, 'To say nothing of the dog' by Connie Willis which was hilarious. At the moment, 'The Historian' is certainly different.