Megan Wood started at Readings in late 2019, stepping into the role of Human Resources Manager for the company. Here, we ask her about her about some of her favourite authors, and which fictional world she’d choose to live inside of.

Describe your taste in books.

I find my taste varies quite a lot. I wouldn’t say I have one particular genre or style of book that I favour, it really depends on my mood at the time. I do read fiction most of the time. I love escaping into a story and switching off from the real world. I enjoy dystopian novels, but there does have to be some element of reality to it. Stories that are a little bit odd always appeal to me, I recently read a book about a woman who was given a sourdough starter from a local restaurant owner, and who then started to make bread for an experimental market housed in a disused bunker using a robot arm… (Unsurprisingly, the book was called Sourdough).

In the past few years I have taken to re-reading favourites, and it has been such a great experience. I have found I get more from a book each time I re-read it. Margaret Atwood and A.M. Homes are two favourite authors, and I have read nearly everything they have both written.

If you were cursed to be trapped inside the world of a book, which one would you pick – and why?

I don’t think it’s a curse, but it would have to be Harry Potter. I am one of those people, and have been obsessed with the world of Harry Potter since I was 11. Perhaps it’s the escapist in me, but I love the idea of a whole different society, living with the help of magic, and all the weird and wonderful creatures and adventures this would include.

If you were going to host a dinner party with authors, who would you invite?

Margaret Atwood, Christopher Isherwood, A.M. Homes, Anna Funder and Roald Dahl. They say you shouldn’t meet you idols, and I probably would lose the ability to talk having so many of them in the one room, but I imagine the conversation would be fascinating.

What’s the best book you’ve read lately and why?

Normal People by Sally Rooney. I was in a deep reading slump and desperate for a book that I could fall in to. I was complaining about this at my book club, then went home that night and started reading Normal People. I think I finished it in three days, I just loved it so much. It was fresh, relatable and simply very well written.

What books are sitting on your bedside table right now?

• Stasiland by Anna Funder – This will be the third time I’ve read it, but I just love it and how much I learn every time I read it.
• Play it as it Lays by Joan Didion – I borrowed this from my sister after she was telling me how brilliant it is.
• Dear America by Jose Antonio Vargas – I picked this up from a small bookshop in California and was glad to see it displayed so prominently, I feel like it will be a very important book.
• The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood – Another re-read, but I love this series and re-read Oryx and Crake last month.