Me…….

I’m a hairdresser who loves to read. Ever since I was a child I’ve always had my nose in a book, often being told by my Mum to put my book down and go outside to get some fresh air. My love for books has never abated and a few years ago I was part of a PanMacmillan/Picador readers panel and got to read some amazing books and meet some incredible authors. This fuelled my love even further.

And then I discovered Twitter and all these people on it that were shouting about their love for books and reading and I, became one of them. I shout loudly about the books that excite me and authors I admire. I adore discovering a debut as much as reading an author’s fourth novel. What I love is that authors interact! That double take when someone like Judy Blume, who was so influential in my teenage reading choices, tweets back. If I were younger I would have definitely done many a cartwheel whereas *does cartwheel* suffices plenty.

I’ve been a hairdresser for eons and I still throughly enjoy it, not only is there immense satisfaction when someone is happy with their hair but also my clients know that I read so much so I’m always being asked for book recommendations, be it as a gift for someone they know or a summer reading list. Two things I love being combined, so you can imagine my utter delight when a very lovely Communications Director asked me if I would snip the hair of a very very lovely novelist, *does cartwheel, forward roll, and backflip* A whole hour to talk, gush, ask them serious and silly questions, and they get a haircut!

This is ‘Notes from the Chair’.