Sam Neill almost crushed my dog. Well, to be honest, it wasn’t actually the actor’s fault. I might have been culpable, looking back. But, your honour, I couldn’t help myself.

“Books are everywhere in my new home, groaning on shelves, piled up as makeshift coffee tables, peeking out of handbags.” Credit: ISTOCK

You see, next to my bed is a stack of books so high that when I added Neill’s biography, it turned the pile into a Jenga-like debacle, toppling the lot. My French bulldog, Roxy, whose snooze was rudely interrupted by the crash, gave me a death stare as if to say, “I told you so.” I could have sworn she even rolled her eyes.

Books are everywhere in my new home, groaning on shelves, piled up as makeshift coffee tables, peeking out of handbags. Cookbooks lie open on my kitchen bench, the photos of exquisite dishes teasing me, and I also keep several by my bath to savour during my next soak.

There is always a novel in my car to entertain me should I ever arrive somewhere early (i.e. never) and books friends have written that are so precious I would grab them in a fire before anything else (other than Roxy, of course!).........

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