Shelf life

Published on Sunday 2 July 2006 01:32

Eddie Gibbons

Born in Liverpool, Eddie Gibbons lives near Aberdeen. His latest book, Game On! - an affectionate and humorous look at football and poetry - is published by Thirsty Books, priced 6.99.

What books are on your bedside table?

Doctors And Nurses by Lucy Ellmann. Being a novel, this book has been on my bedside table for several months, but it's one of the few I will finish. Throw In The Vowels by Rita Ann Higgins, one of Ireland's finest contemporary poets. Plus a stack of poetry books with titles like Do Not Stand At My Grave And Wee and 101 Poems That Will Change Your Wife, interspersed with books of football trivia.

Which books have you been unable to finish?

Ninety per cent of all novels I've attempted to read. The fault is in my attention span, not the novels. Well, not all the novels. OK - it's mostly the novels' fault for being so boring.

What was your favourite childhood book?

The Hobbit. I chose it because I liked the cover - Tolkien's original - with blue snow-capped mountains.

Which book would you buy as a present and why?

Test Crashing For Dummies, because it would be a good follow-up to Teach Yourself To Read.

What literary character would you like to meet?

Mr Mxyzptlk, the evil imp from Superman comics, so I could ask him how to pronounce his name.

Which authors do you most admire?

Those who earn a living by writing.

Bookmark or page-fold?

I fold bookmarks into intricate origami shapes which I then spring-load and place on the page I want to return to. A simple tap on the cover then opens the book and the beak of a paper swan or the point of a cardboard hypodermic needle will point to the word I read last.