bFM book reviewer Lily Richards. Photo / Babiche Martens
Radio personality and bibliophile Lily Richards tells her story to Viva.
I've only ever worked in bookshops, the thinking being that at the end of the day I can be certain that, even if I sold someone some cheesy romance, I'd still have been helping people read, and that's fundamentally a good thing."
Lily Richards is a dedicated bookworm, surrounding herself with stories as the brand manager of Auckland's Unity Books, and reviewing titles for TV channel U and bFM show fMorning Glory. "I love doing the reviews; I love the chance to ... not proselytise but espouse maybe ... on what a book can do to the reader," she explains. "Books are unique in the arts; they're accessible, on every possible topic known to man, inspirational, thought-provoking and democratically available to all. And they make you more intelligent, wise and thoughtful. Basically, they're awesome."
Her interest in books and story-telling developed at an early age via creative parents with a natural interest in literature - her mother is an artist, her father an architect - and an appreciation for writing ("I have always written, and there's no writer in the world worth their salt who doesn't read. It's like breathing, the in and the out."). Her favourite tale hints at this early appreciation for stories: "My favourite tale, as it is, would be Rapunzel - the radishes, everyone forgets about them, they just remember her hair - I've always been haunted by that witch and the mother's insatiable craving for radishes."
This love of tales has extended further to True Stories Out Loud, a live story-telling initiative Richards is co-directing with the New Zealand Book Council's Susanna Andrew. Inspired by themoth.org, a New York based live story-telling association, the pair have organised various local True Stories Out Loud events already this year, with the next to be held as part of this month's Basement Fest. The idea is simple: three evenings, three themes and various Aucklanders getting up to tell a true story no longer than 10 minutes. Actor Michael Hurst will talk about rebellion, Labour MP Jacinda Ardern about family, while others telling tales will include comedian and writer Jesse Mulligan, comedian and TV host Rose Matafeo, playwright Arthur Meek, actress Morgana O'Reilly, actor and director Chris Molloy and more. It's a charming and almost old-fashioned premise, in an age of seemingly artificial, Twitter-Facebook-text message inspired miscommunication. As Richards explains, she got on board because of "how perfectly strange it is".
"It's totally unlike anything else I've seen - and at that point I was a theatre reviewer, I've reviewed films and of course books - it's both awkward and inspirational, honest and funny. There's something about total, or near, strangers standing in front of you, without anything to hide behind, just telling you (often amusingly or heart-warmingly or alarmingly) the truth inside some private anecdote.
"I also really adore the imperfections, the ums and ahhs, the stutters and tangents; it's what makes them ... real. I find that they pull away the layers of defence we've been putting up without noticing. Without notes or screens or music to amplify, it's just us. For the first time I found I was really listening and I'm sure for the first time in a while the speakers felt they were really being heard."
Lily's top reads
Best reads, as recommended by your friendly bFM book reviewer
1. Inside Scientology by Janet Reitman: Super-engaging exposé.
2. Just My Type by Simon Garfield: A history of font.
3. Return To Earth by Jim Harrison: A novel about living and dying.
4. The Maytrees by Annie Dillard: Bohemian love story.
5. The Face on Your Plate by Jeffrey Masson: About eating animals.
* True Stories Out Loud, October 8 (theme: family), 15 (rebellion) and 22 (love). 5pm, at The Basement. Tickets $10, from iTicket.co.nz.