<p>How long have you lived in the Czech Republic? What’s your job here?</p> <p>I’ve lived in Prague for about 3 years now, though it feels more like a year and a half. Time seems to pass very quickly in the Czech Republic. I’ve tried to persuade scientist friends to study the country to see if time in the country does in fact move faster than in other parts of the world (laugh). I earn a living in Prague teaching English. Recently, I also started working for a new British website called ‘More Thought’ (www.moretht.blogspot.com [2]), interviewing authors about their books.</p> <p>Where do you come from?</p> <p>I come from a small village in the North East of England called Nafferton.</p> <p>Why did you move to the Czech Republic?</p> <p>My contract for teaching English literature and film at the University of Hull ended and I wanted to get away from the UK for a while. I can’t remember exactly why I chose to come to the Czech Republic and not some other European country. I think my decision, however, was probably influenced by many of the Czech New Wave films I’d seen and liked, such as Miloš Forman’s ‘Lásky Jedné Plavovlásky’(1965) and Juraj Herz’s ‘Spalovač Mrtvol’(1969). It was also probably influenced by many of the films I’d seen and liked by the surrealist Jan Švankmajer.</p> <p>How did you come up with the initial idea to setting up a reading group in the café and English-language bookstore ‘The Globe’? What kind of literature do you talk about there?</p> <p>Well, I didn’t. Someone else who used to work in ‘The Globe’ started the reading group before I did back in 2008. I attended most of the meetings he hosted, and started running it myself when he left in June 2009 to go back home to America. I never expected to one day be managing the group when I first joined it. However, when the manager of ‘The Globe’ asked me if I’d manage it, I immediately said yes. Since July 2009, I’ve probably hosted over 50 meetings! We talk about all kinds of literature. In the past, for example, we’ve read fantasy books (e.g. ‘Wyrd Sisters’ by Terry Pratchett, ‚Kafka on the Shore‘ by Haruki Murakami) etc.</p> <p>How often do you hold a reading group meeting and how many members usually attend?</p> <p>Reading group meetings take place once every two weeks, on a Wednesday, and begin at 7.30pm. The average number of people who attend a meeting is about 15. 1/4 are Czech and the rest are foreigners (for example: American, German, British, and French).</p> <p>It costs nothing to join your reading group or become a member. Do you run any other free cultural activities?</p> <p>Not at the moment. In 2012 I’m hoping to set up a free Film Society in Prague with the cinema expert Csilla Barkász, the aim of which will be to show a film and then talk about it afterwards. In 2012, I’m also hoping to organize a free exhibition of the work of photographer Anna Kazanova, who lives and works in Prague and who many think is a great artist (you can view some of her beautiful photographs here: http://www.annakazanova.com/ [3].</p> <p>What is your favourite kind of literature?</p> <p>That’s a difficult question to answer as I read and enjoy all kinds of books. I can, however, tell you what I think the five best books we’ve read at the reading group have been: (1) ‘The Castle’ by Franz Kafka; (2) ‘Moravagine’ by Blaise Cendrars; (3) ‘The Dispossesed’ by Ursual Le Guin; (4) ‚The Story of the Eye’ by Georges Bataille; and (5) 'A Minor Apocalypse‘ by Tadeusz Konwicki. This will probably give you a good idea of the kind of books I like.</p> <p>What do you think about the future of paper books in this era of e-books and e-book readers?</p> <p>I’m not sure. I’ve nothing against e-book readers. If you’re someone who travels a lot, an e-book reader with four e-books loaded onto it that you want to read is obviously a lot more convenient to carry around with you than paper versions of the same books. Personally, I prefer reading paper books if I can and a lot of people I’ve spoken to feel the same way. This suggests, I think, that bookshops or bookstores won’t be disappearing anytime soon.</p> <p>To join the reading group, all you need to do is come to one of the meetings having read, or at least started to read, whatever book we’ll be discussing. Membership and attendance is free.</p> <p>Link:<br /> http://www.globebookstore.cz [5]</p>