My reading taste in a picture

There have been some fascinating posts over this last week as bloggers have responded to Simon at Stuck in a book's challenge to sum up personal reading taste in a picture that doesn't include a book! I have been wracking my brains all week over this; really I wanted to post the above picture of my own library (actually quite out of date as I have many more Persephones now, and three tall bookcases as opposed to only two) - the shelves holding a huge assortment of books of all shapes and sizes really seems to sum up my liking for diverse books, and the familiarity of my own book collection would reflect my desire to read reassuring literature and frequent revisiting of the books that I love.



But this was not permitted, so I had to find another picture. I've come up with a picture taken on holiday last year in Polzeath. Whilst it is obviously a "room with a view", I'm not implying that my reading taste is EM Forster! I chose this picture because being on holiday is an escape, and that is something that I try to find in my reading, something sunny that cheers me up when I am feeling down. It's also a very familiar view to me - I spent 20 years holidaying and looking at that view for 2 weeks at a time, so it is reassuring, and I like to be reassured and comforted and find the familiar in my reading. And finally it is in Cornwall; regular readers of my blog will know that I love to read books set in the county.


(And as a bit of a cheat, I'll share the picture I nearly chose - me, baking in my Persephone endpapers apron - this sums up a different aspect of my reading taste - it shows the domestic streak in me, and portrayals of domesticity are something I seek out in books. Obviously it reflects the fact that I adore Persephone books which themselves often centre around the domestic. And I thought that the presence of the biscuits reflects the importance of children's books to me - how many children's books involve picnics, cake and eating!)