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On Monday evening we held our Booker Book Group discussion. We've been running this for a number of years now, and on each occasion I've wondered how we'd all feel about investing our time and the price of a hardback to investigate the longlist of 13 titles chosen by the Booker judges.

We've not really had a great opinion of the judges' selection in the past. Novels which make the grade for Booker have always seemed to have focused on grim, bleak subject matter in a challenging format!

However this year we had our biggest interest for the meeting yet - even before the longlist was released. And it proved an appealing and accessible collection of novels.

There were 24 people signed up for our meeting, so almost all of the books were allocated two readers to give us their evaluation ('Enlightenment', 'My Friends' and 'Playground' had only one reader each and for 'Creation Lake' we had to rely on a 'Guardian' review as the book wasn't published before our meeting).

By having more than one presentation for each book, we had a lot to get through in our time and it was fascinating to find that many of the novels had opposing viewpoints from our readers. It meant that discerning our favourites from the list was more difficult as we heard such a clear explanation of differing opinions for each title.

There were a couple of exceptions - four members of the group had read 'Orbital' and all enjoyed the title, recommending it highly for its subject matter and originality but with the caveat that it had no plot and 'wasn't really a novel'! And our two readers for 'Held' by Anne Michaels agreed that the prose, though beautiful at times, was largely impenetrable and the story disjointed, so neither of them recommended it. 

After hearing all the reviews, we drew up our shortlist of the six titles which we felt should be considered for the overall prize. We selected the following:

'James' by Percival Everett
'Orbital' by Samantha Harvey
'My Friends' by Hisham Matar
'Wandering Stars' by Tommy Orange
'Playground' by Richard Powers
'The Safekeep' by Yael van der Wouden

Will the judges agree? They might choose 'Enlightenment' by Sarah Perry instead of 'The Safekeep' perhaps, we felt.

And the overall winner? 'Orbital' and 'James' both had the most supporters wishing it to triumph, but any one from our shortlist would be a worthy winner, we felt. It will be interesting to hear the judges' announcement on Monday 16 September to find out whether or not we're in agreement with their assessment.

Thank you for reading.

Today is officially the first day of autumn (meteorologically speaking).

And next week the schools go back.

And that can feel as though we're set for a rapid descent into the end of the year...

But the new term also signals a fresh start. It's a time to get down to business again after the summer break (whether or not we got away).

It's an opportunity to think of goals, ambitions and resolutions but with less pressure than January's New Year ritual.

And it's also a time, for me, to have a bit of a purge, a 'spring' clean in order to refocus on what is important.

However, in ransacking the wardrobe and the attic, I've been confronted with memories so I'm finding myself looking backwards instead of forwards! 

This has coincided with some research I've been doing for a magazine article - about typewriters.

When I was at journalism college we were still using portable typewriters, but it wasn't long before they became completely redundant and cast aside. 

Now, in the past 10 years, they have had a resurgence and particularly with journalists, scriptwriters and novelists who are eager to steer away from the distractions of websites, emails, and the all-too-easy delete button of computers. It seems many of them are finding their creativity is best channelled through using the manual typewriter, a machine invented 200 years ago.

For all the speed and efficiency of technology, there are some things that cannot be replicated - we prefer holding a book and turning its pages with our fingers; we want to take a record out of its sleeve and place it on a turntable; and we like to hear the metal keys of a mechanical machine pounding onto the page.

I wonder which of the authors in this year's Booker longlist use a typewriter? Perhaps we'll find out in tomorrow night's discussion. I'll let you know!

Thank you for reading.

This weekend I spent a couple of days staying with an old friend in her beautiful home on the south coast.

We packed in an extraordinary amount of activities - eating and chatting, visiting shops, museums and galleries. Undoubtedly I'll be recommending some of the titles I've collected from the various exhibition bookshops!

But above all, it was wonderful to be welcomed into my friend's home. Her decor and furnishings, her collection of ceramics and artwork, and her bookcases full of fascinating titles collected over the many years of our friendship, caused me to feel uplifted, inspired and re-energised.

Of course I was here on invitation and she delighted in my taking books from her bookshelves to browse and discuss.

Unlike a situation in Rome recently.

The news reports have stated that an individual entered a flat in the city with the intent of robbing the residents. He'd already filled a bag full of expensive clothing from an earlier raid. But shortly after entering this property, he was distracted by a book on a bedside table.

It gave an account of Homer's 'Iliad' and apparently proved so compelling that the thief found himself confronted by the homeowner who had subsequently woken up to discover the intruder lost in the book.

The thief was arrested - and the author of the book has offered to provide him with his own copy so that he might finish reading it!

I suppose you never know where you will find your next good book.

Thank you for reading.

It's been a lovely weekend for festival-goers at FolkEast. Just the right amount of sun and shade, a little light rain overnight but nothing to spoil the fun of camping out in the fields at Glemham Hall listening to the music, eating the great food, watching the various crafts and activities and meeting with friends. 

The author events I hosted for Halesworth Bookshop went wonderfully well. Taking place on The Stage at the Far Side of the Woods and in the book tent itself, the audiences were attentive and appreciative and the speakers were beautifully eloquent, open and honest as they talked with passion and enthusiasm about their books.

Though I was rather focused on my interviews, it was still a lovely break from routine to be out in the open air and following a different schedule for the day. Time seemed altered in some way too, and the demands of emails and messages felt less pressing! I didn't go so far as to be without my phone though. One author arrived realising that she had left home without hers and felt very much in limbo, and reliant on others to relay messages about rendezvous and so on! 

It was interesting to hear from Matt Gaw then, as he talked about his book 'In All Weathers'. He encouraged us to turn off our devices and to pause in our busy lives to become more attuned to the natural world, particularly the weather. If we stop and appreciate the wind and the rain, the fog and the ice with all our senses, and become present in the moment, it can be a very powerful and restorative experience, he said. Though, on this occasion, it felt a little like we were humouring him as we sat there enjoying glorious sunshine.

Thank you for reading.

We're due some good weather this week, so it feels like summer finally, doesn't it? No need to get on a plane and jet off to a distant shore for some sunshine, then.

But I was interested to read of a new 'trend' getting a profile on social media where people, mainly men, challenge themselves to do nothing on a long haul flight.

Passengers spend hours looking straight ahead. They have no stimulation at all - no films, no phones, no food or water even, sometimes no toilet breaks (yes, really, and that has brought opprobrium from medics), and certainly no books. The longer you do it, the tougher you have proven yourself to be, apparently.

Some commentators have acknowledged that, while this behaviour is rather extreme, it is good for us to have time away from our phones and devices, and we should recognise the value of boredom in encouraging creativity, and having an opportunity to recharge mentally.

But imagine all that time when you could have been reading a book!

I haven't done much reading this weekend because the weather has been so good. I was out on the river yesterday morning and have been trying to catch up in the garden. 

Next weekend, though, I'll be immersed in books again as I'm taking part in the author events at the FolkEast festival at Glemham, just up the road here from Woodbridge.

I hope you'll think of coming along. There's such a friendly, easy atmosphere there, and lots of space. I always think of the fields, woodland and country house bathed in sunshine for the weekend of music, crafts, food and books. And the forecast is looking good.

On Friday I'll be talking to Harriet Constable about her debut novel 'The Instrumentalist' (scroll down for details). And on Saturday, the nature writer Matt Gaw will be discussing his latest book 'In All Weathers' while in the evening I'll be hosting a panel with no less than five novelists. They'll all be sharing details of their latest published books and their current projects. If you like reading Kate Sawyer, Margaret Meyer, Polly Crosby, Sarah Hardy or Saskia Sarginson, come along!

Thank you for reading.