Journalist and former TV producer, Samantha Brick was recently castigated for her Daily Mail article suggesting that some might be intimidated by her good looks. But since we’re always game at Shelf Life, we invited her to reveal which books she would read during solitary confinement, where she wouldn’t like to find herself with Patrick Bateman and what she used to read under the covers.
Samantha Brick has a personal website.
1) What are you reading at the moment?
Lots of ex-pats-who-have-relocated-to-France type memoirs. I’ve just negotiated a deal to write my own warts’n’all version of living the French ‘dream’, so I thought I really ought to read the others in this genre too. My favourites so far are the Carol Drinkwater series, she writes exquisitely. I’m also reading Anne Tyler’s latest novel. She is a superb writer, my favourite one of hers has to be Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant.
2) As a child, what did you read under the covers?
Anything I could pilfer from my Mum’s bookshelves: Erica Jong, Marilyn French, Shirley Conran (my sisters and I are massive Lace fans) and of course Jackie Collins. I literally did read under the covers with a torch, which was slightly thrilling as I was always scared I’d get caught out reading material which was clearly not meant for my eleven year old eyes.
3) Has a book ever made you cry, and if so which one?
Nothing springs to mind, but Barbara Kingsolver’s The Poisonwood Bible has always stayed with me. Writing my memoirs has resulted in tear-stained cheeks of late. There have been moments over the last ten years when life has thrown some rather thorny situations at me which, at the time, I thought I’d never get out of.
4) You are about to be put into solitary confinement for a year and allowed to take three books. What would you choose?
Oh that’s easy – fun material that I could read and re-read. Anything by David Sedaris (although if I really had to choose one then it would have to be Holidays on Ice), Watermelon by Marian Keyes (the best chick lit novel ever) and probably the Anna Wintour unauthorised biog. When I worked in TV in the US, a girlfriend bought it for me from Book Soup (a brilliant store for book lovers) in LA. Ms Wintour comes across as an extremely impressive operator. At the time I was juggling millions of dollars in programming budgets and I found myself living by the mantra: ‘What would Anna do?’ when it came to tricky situations. I imagined re-reading this would come in handy for solitary confinement.
5) Which literary character would you most like to sleep with?
Rupert Campbell-Black bien sûr. But not after he married Taggie because that would be wrong. Every good girl knows that married men are off-limits.
6) If you could write a self-help book, what would you call it?
I would have loved to have written The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. Self-help books come in for a lot of flack, undeservedly so in my opinion. I have a book case full of them. What’s not to love about improving your life?
7) Michael Gove has asked you to rewrite the GCSE English Literature syllabus. Which book, which play, and which poem would you make compulsory reading?
The very nature of making the written word compulsory taints its appeal. A choice of certain books, plays and poems would be the better way to go. Not too much of a choice though, my sister and brother-in-law are teachers – I know how tough their jobs are.
8) Which party from literature would you most like to have attended?
Any of the parties from the Brett Easton Ellis novels. Although I wouldn’t like to be left in a room on my own with Patrick Bateman.
9) What would you title your memoirs?
That depends on which era of my life I’d be writing about. ‘TV bitch boss in kitten heels’ for my years in the media maybe?
10) Which literary character do you dream of playing?
I answered this one last and I still can’t think of anyone. The conclusion I’ve come to is this: I really enjoy my own life – why would I want to inhabit someone else’s?
11) What book would you give to a lover?
I’ve just given my husband a book he’s hankered after for ages: on identifying animal tracks. Not very romantic, but watching him pour over it has made me realise it was a good choice.
12) Spying Mein Kampf or Dan Brown on someone’s bookshelf can spell havoc for a friendship. What’s your literary dealbreaker?
Ugh, there are loads. Where’s Wally? (who cares) instantly springs to mind though. My other bugbear is people who buy books for public display on the coffee table which primarily serve to reflect on their owners impeccable ‘taste’: you know they’ll never crack the spine open. Television is littered with such poseurs; I was undoubtedly one of them at one time.
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