Books have a way about them that tell stories that other media like kindles and tablets do not. Apart from their contents, which can be replicated, a book has a personal history that is apparent in its construction and use - how and when it was read, where it was kept, who owned it and where it has been since. School texts are different but essentially still tell that same story, albeit under different conditions. When I was teaching, books in our faculty typically had a school stamp inside the front cover with a list of the names of students who had used the book. The list usually grew longer as the book grew tattier and more prone to graffiti and other misuses.

Yesterday I received a second hand copy of Larkin's The Less Deceived from the UK. My original copy had gone walkabout and rather than buy a new one, I went for pre-loved, as they say in the motor trade. The book was in good condition, about 25 years old and had a tell-tale plastic laminate cover that is often a clue to where it has come from. Inside the front cover was, yes, a school stamp and a single name in the entry section. I am not going to reveal the name of the school or the student, which would be unfair without consent, except to say that the school is an independent school in Surry (a large pile in beautiful grounds) and the student is now a well-known London socialite.

I found this out in a few minutes thanks to Mr Google and toyed with the idea of sending the former student a message on Facebook (she has at least two separate pages). Then I thought the better of it, for what would a wealthy London gal(and former reality TV star) want with such information? She probably thought Larkin was an old fuddy-duddy. Then again, after a quarter of a century of adult life, a messy divorce and children, well maybe she would like to have another read. I don't know and I am not going to find out.