World Book Night Recommendations

For World Book Night, an impromptu post. 

I would like to recommend the following:

something old: 

The Old Order: Stories of the South
by Katherine Anne Porter

something new:

Building Stories
by Chris Ware

Something Blue:

The Fault in our Stars
by John Green

And....

Something about sewing: 

Sew It Up
by Ruth Singer

If you're interested in what I've been sewing (I've been writing too), follow me on twitter @debjfielding

Libraries I have known: Four

While I was at secondary school I don't remember frequenting any libraries apart from the school one, which seemed only to contain Career Advice.

Four: Lancaster University Library

Lancaster was the next library I knew. This was the first library where I felt the excitement of reading and learning new things. I learned to skim-read at Lancaster and pick out juicy bits from a big stack of books. I had Ideas at Lancaster University Library. I would often be forced to sit with friends who, looking back, I didn't really want to sit with. I liked sitting on my own in the library with my Ideas and my Thoughts. 

It was while I was at Lancaster that I discovered how much I loved writing. I remember realising one day that I could, in fact, do whatever I wanted. 

Being a student meant time - time to sit on a kick stool in the stacks and flick through peoples' brains.

The start of something longer

The start of something is often scary and exciting. This one is weighing heavily on the scary side at the moment: I've said I'll write a short novel.

Three big things to be nervous about :

• Research - will it be thorough enough? How will I do it?

• Quantity of words - 2-3000 has so far been my limit. This will be significantly longer.

• Quality of words - what if it's rubbish?