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From Melbourne beaches to the publishing houses of London, Carmen Callil reflects on the role of books in her life. From January 2012.

Passionate, funny, revelatory and inspiring, this series is a mission statement about the transformative power of reading; about the way it inspires us, the tangible impact it can have on our well-being and the importance it holds for us now and will continue to hold in the future.

Stop What You're Doing And Read This! features five of our finest authors and advocates from the world of publishing. Michael Rosen, Jeanette Winterson, Tim Parks, Carmen Callil and Mark Haddon, are all united here in a passionate belief in the distinctive and irreplaceable pleasures and powers of reading. Their essays argue that reading literature is, and must continue to be, a fundamental part of our daily life, as it directly improves our mental health and well-being, enriches our experience and broadens our imaginations.

As the ways people read, what they read, where they buy their books and in what format are all changing rapidly, this series argues unapologetically for the paramount importance of books and reading in a fast-moving, dislocated, technology-obsessed world.

From a childhood on Melbourne's beaches to a publishing career in London, Carmen Callil has been surrounded by and immersed in books. In 'True Daemons' she describes the guiding powers of books and the enrichment she has enjoyed from reading.

Producer: David Roper
A Heavy Entertainment production for 大象传媒 Radio 4.

15 minutes

Broadcasts

  • Thu 12 Jan 2012 09:45
  • Fri 13 Jan 2012 00:30
  • Thu 10 Nov 2016 14:45
  • Fri 11 Nov 2016 02:45

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