Leaver's Post ...

Sadly, this term sees the retirement of Mrs Aslett, who's been school librarian at St Paul's since 1999: that's almost twenty years of gently guiding Paulines around the library's vast collection of resources, helping them to host author's visits, put on exhibitions, and discover the treasures of the archives and rare books room (as well as issuing the occasional fine).  She oversaw the seamless transition from the Walker Library (now, alas, mere rubble) to the new Kayton Library, and very kindly took the time during the busy last week of term to answer the book blog's questionnaire.

What sort of books were you reading when you were a teenager?
As a teenager I was into detective stories for recreation – Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers while also reading a lot of the classics.

This developed out of the texts I was reading at school eg a love of Dickens came from reading David Copperfield and A Tale of Two Cities. We studied Thomas Hardy's The Mayor of Casterbridge so I read almost all of the Hardy collection and still have some copies. My eldest daughter has my school copy of Pride and Prejudice.

What are you planning to read in your retirement?
I would like to catch up on all the books I have not had time to read recently. I bought Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker for the library but will have to read it as an ebook now. I also hope to read some of the Booker list which again I haven't yet had time to read.

Who is your all-time favourite book/writer?
Charlotte Bronte – I have read all her novels. My favourite author/book in the library is Leo Marks's Between Silk and Cyanide.

Who's your favourite fictional character?
Years ago it was Hercules Poirot and more recently Hermione Granger – the bookish girl in Harry Potter. 

Do you have a favourite line or quote from a book?
My favourite line is from A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens: Sydney Carton – “ It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.”

If you had to recommend a book that everyone should read, what would it be?
That is a really hard question for a librarian as we see so many books that we would recommend but if I had only one it would probably be David Copperfield by Charles Dickens, as it contains many of life’s ups and downs which happen still today.

Many thanks to Mrs Aslett for taking the trouble to answer our questionnaire, as well as for all her support for the book blog over the years: and we hope that her retirement turns out to be a 'far, far better rest' than chasing up Paulines for overdue books!