‘In recommending a book to a friend,’ said Henry Miller, ‘the less said the better. The moment you praise a book too highly you awaken resistance in your listener.’

I have to admit that I’ve shamelessly stolen that quote from the latest Crime Writers’ Association magazine – I hope they’ll forgive me. I haven’t time to go hunting down quotations for myself, since Downie Towers is currently in a state of upheaval for reasons that seemed good at the time. Similarly, I haven’t time to sit around reading. What a delight, then, to have books that read themselves to you as you rush about doing less interesting things.

Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been accompanied by an invisible Simon Slater, reading ‘Wolf Hall’.

Great book.

Great reader.

Enough said.