Little Boots has been a busybee of late. Not only is she out and about promoting some brilliant new tunes, but she’s found the time to attend the Orange Prize for fiction event in London. This all came about after the singer was picked as one of six celebrities to review a book for the event. Along with reading The Wilderness by Samantha Harvey for the Orange Prize for Fiction, she also gave an interview on the subject of books and reading, which is a subject she obviously enjoys waxing lyrical on.
Many thanks to the TVC Group for letting us publish the interview, which I hope you will all enjoy.
Q: Which book made you fall in love with reading?
A: Probably Enid Blyton. I was obsessed with anything that involved fairies or wizards or secret societies so she pretty much had that covered. I’ve always had a thing for fantasy and escapist literature.
Q: What are you reading at the moment?
A: Some short stories by Martin Amis and Drowned World by JG Ballard who sadly died recently. Touring a lot means a lot of stop start reading so the short stories are great for that, then when I have more time I can get stuck into a proper book.
Q: Do you have a favourite book or author?
A: I do really love Ballard, especially his more unusual ‘alternative history’ based stories, I love the idea that the way things have turned out is just random and could have happened a million other ways. I also like more modern writers like Will Self and enjoy reading music biographies as I can relate to them, and poetry as its great inspiration for lyrics.
Q: Where do you most enjoy reading?
A: Probably in bed when I should be sleeping but stay up till 3am finishing a book. When I was little I used to hide a torch under my pillow to keep reading after my mum turned the lights out but she’d always catch me! There is actually one picture of us on a family day out to a theme park where I am sat on a wall reading whilst my brothers are on a rollercoaster, its quite funny.
Q: Which book would you take to a desert island?
A: Maybe Swanns Way by Proust as I have started reading it about a hundred times and never managed it so if I had that long maybe I eventually would!
Q: Have you ever read a book in one sitting? If so, what was it?
A: I think I almost read Brian Wilson’s autobiography ‘Wouldn’t It Be Nice’ in one go. He is a fascinating artist with an incredible life and so many great stories.
Q: Which fictional character would you most like to be?
A: When I was younger I always identified with the mischief makers and the dreamers… I like strong female characters. Very cliché but I’ll always have a soft spot for Elizabeth Bennett.
Q: What was the last book that that made you cry?
A: I don’t cry that much from reading… I remember the first time a book made me cry, it was one of the Anne of Green Gables series when I was about 11 when her son dies fighting in the First World War… so sad!
Q: Is there anything on your bookshelf you consider to be a guilty pleasure?
A: My mum bought me the Celine Dion autobiography once for Christmas. I have never read it but hang on to it for comedy value.
Q: Any books that have particularly inspired your work?
A: A lot of poetry books, in particular ‘Love Is A Parallax’ by Sylvia Plath inspired a song on my new album called ‘Mathematics’.
Q: Best or worst film adaptations of books?
A: I thought the film adaptation of Atonement by Ian McEwan was very good. Memoirs of a Geisha is a very beautiful film, but I didn’t think it communicated some of the emotions and themes of the book very well.
Q: Have you ever lied about reading a book when you haven’t?
A: I remember in my interview for reading English Literature at UCL – I was reading The Rainbow by DH Lawrence and pretended I’d read lots of his other work, which resulted in me talking myself into a massive hole and not being able to dig myself out!
To find out more about the Orange Prize for fiction, and who won, visit www.orangeprize.co.uk. More on Little Boots and her music can be found at www.myspace.com/littlebootsmusic