A Life with Books by Julian Barnes

Julian Barnes has written a wonderful pamphlet exploring, explaining and celebrating a life with books. He writes: “I have lived in books, for books, by and with books; in recent years, I have been fortunate enough to be able to live from books. And it was through books that I first realized that there were other worlds beyond my own; first imagined what it might be like to be another person; first encountered that deeply intimate bond made when a writer’s voice gets inside a reader’s head…” It was featured in The Guardian on Saturday 30th June.  A Life with Books (£1.99) is published by Jonathan Cape to celebrate Independent Booksellers Week and is available exclusively in independent bookshops. All proceeds from the sales of the pamphlet go to the charity Freedom from Torture. IBW runs 30 June-7 July. For more details go to: www.independentbooksellersweek.org.uk