Reading about reading may not be as satisfying as reading about everything else, but it's a useful prod in the right direction. It's all enjoyable enough, but by the end of Hill's book, you're eager to throw it aside and start tackling all the works of genius she talks about. Roald Dahl comes across as a cantankerous grump, Edith Sitwell is described as "Queen Elizabeth the First reincarnated" and Ian Fleming makes a suave cameo, leaning against a mantelpiece with a cigarette holder in one hand and a cocktail beside him, all "high cheekbones" and "high style". The result is a discursive ramble of great charm. "Oh good, here's Possum!" she overhears as a young writer entering a party alongside an elderly TS Eliot. After rummaging for a lost title in her book-packed house, Hill vowed to spend a year reading only the titles on her shelves. In her long career as a novelist, Hill has rubbed shoulders with lots of literary heavyweights. Howards End is on the Landing: A year of reading from home. There's a fair bit of meandering as she documents what is on her shelves and uses it as a chance to reminisce, but Hill's style is vivid and measured and the book is both a passionate reminder of the importance of reading and a revealing glimpse of a writer's life.
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