Meet Guy Somerset: the New Zealand Listener’s arts and books editor

Renée Lang - writer for The Read - talks to Guy Somerset, the New Zealand Listener’s arts and books editor, about what he’s been reading and about his recent travels.

Not long back from a six-week sojourn with his family in Britain and Europe, Somerset is about to undertake the New Zealand Listener’s annual round-up of the 100 best books of the year.

When I talk to him he’s also contemplating the piles of ‘to read one of these days’ books awaiting his attention – and for a few moments briefly indulges in a fantasy in which he’s suffering from a temporary condition that allows him to do nothing but read.

‘I’m quite catholic in what I’m interested in, but for pleasure I tend to read twentieth-century English novels, Muriel Spark and Beryl Bainbridge among others,’ he says.

‘Despite what I do for work, I’m not always entirely convinced by books that are anything less than 10 years old because there’s a lot of hype around books.’

For Somerset, the enjoyment of books in their traditional form is still a very tangible and deeply satisfying experience, although he’ll readily admit that e-books have their place when packing for a long trip and weight is an issue. Nevertheless this, he carried with him several books, including The West Pier by Patrick Hamilton (this one especially chosen because the family was planning to spend some of their time away in Brighton) along with his recently acquired iPad.

Born and brought up in Britain, Somerset only came to New Zealand with his young family 10 years ago, however he’s pretty happy to be living here. But he couldn’t resist buying a few books while he was back in the UK recently.

‘Despite my best intentions I did come back with rather too many books.’ He happily admits to a great fondness for what he refers to as ‘obscure English-type books’ and when pressed for specific titles he brought back with him he mentions Modernism on Sea: Art and Culture at the British Seaside and Lectures on Russian Literature, a book by Vladimir Nabokov that he’s been trying to track down for 30-odd years.

Being able to buy these books without having to place an order and wait for many months obviously gave him great pleasure, but what really surprised him were the prices.

‘I was very shocked to discover just how much cheaper books are in Britain.’

Obviously he’s aware of how much influence the exchange rate has on these prices, not to mention the big discounting that goes on in that part of the world. He also feels that modern day economics has driven – and will continue to drive – many people towards e-books.

On the move for much of the six weeks the family was away, Somerset found his iPad to be particularly useful for those times when the family had to share a hotel room as of course it’s possible to read the screen without any extra artificial light. ‘When you’re getting over jetlag you can just read quietly without turning on the light and waking the kids in the middle of the night.’

When asked what – other than the price of books – he noticed about the book scene in Britain during his recent holiday, Somerset commented that he was sad to discover a number of long-established second-hand bookshops in London had disappeared without trace.

The sight of a burger bar now flourishing on the site of one of his favourite bookshops near the Charing Cross Road was a salutary reminder of the ongoing changes in the world today.

As for his interest in local publishing, Somerset says that as he’s only lived in this country since 2001 ‘I have a more impartial interest in twentieth-century New Zealand history, especially social histories’.

In his pile are two in particular he plans to find time to read sooner rather than later: Francis Pound’s The Invention of New Zealand Art & National Identity, 1930-1970 and Paul Millar’s No Fretful Sleeper.

Meanwhile, he’s looking forward to a brief summer holiday here in New Zealand during which he hopes to make a small impression on his ever-growing pile of books. And if that Lotto win ever comes to fruition, he’d be happy to be a gentleman of leisure and devote most of his waking hours to the pleasures of reading.

Writer Renée Lang is standing in for Jillian Ewart who is taking a well-deserved break.