Wednesday 30th June 2021 – An Interview With Megan Brooks

 Hello. Don't forget to drink water and rest lots! It's important to look after yourself and your body. 

This week, I had the absolute pleasure and privilege to interview Megan Brooks, who has been my best friend for the almost 23 years of her life. (She turns 23 in less than a week!!!!!) Meg's like a sister to me, she should be my honorary little sister, even though I always think of her as older because, to me, she seems so much smarter and more put-together than I am, which is apparently what qualifies someone as a big sister. 

Anyway, before I ramble on way too much, and dig myself a massive hole, here's the interview. She asked me to edit some things, and I have, but I also may have kept things in. 

Meg's interview: 

Who are you and what do you do?

Hi, I'm Meg. Long-time friend, from childhood, birth. (Our parents have been friends since before we were born.) I'm a recent graduate from the University of Exeter (graduated in 2019), I worked in PR & Marketing for a year in London, but because of the pandemic, I had to quit my job and come home (to Switzerland, allowing us to see each other more, yay!). I'm currently unemployed/self-employed on a couple of projects, just helping people out. Just enjoying my garden and vegetables, really. That's what I'm doing. (You can find Meg's Instagram dedicated to her veggies here.)

How long have you been reading books? 

For as long as I can remember. My mum used to read to me when I went to bed when I was little. I was well-known for being quite irritating when reading to me because if you skipped any pages, I was very aware of this. I think it was when I was five, one of my mum's friends came to visit us, and she went downstairs after trying to put me and my sister to sleep, and she said to my mum: 'Jess, I can't believe how long that's taken me to read. I usually skip pages with Connor, three pages, bish bash bosh. Meg? No. All twenty pages and all the words, please.' So, yeah, from a very young age. I used to read all the time. I used to sleep with a book under my bed until I was about 13, my mum used to have to take the Harry Potter and Twilight books away from me because I wasn't doing my homework or going outside. And then as I grew up, I sort of stopped reading because school got in the way, and then uni got in the way, but now I'm trying to pick it up again. 

What kind of books do you read? 

I'm an absolute sucker for some period drama. (Cue my mum's inevitable comment about how Meg looks like Keira Knightley. The perfect person for period drama.) Get me any book between 1550 and 1950, and I'm right there. Has to be fiction. (Meg's not such a big fan of non-fiction. Says she doesn't like being educated, which makes me laugh when I interview her.) I feel like I learn more in a fiction book that's based on true events or there's some fact to it. (I ask her if she's read the Bridgerton books as we, and basically everyone else, have seen Bridgerton and that is period drama. She hasn't. They're next on her list, though.)

What book are you reading now/have you just read? 

I'm currently reading A Single Thread by Tracy Chevalier. I recently got into embroidery, however, despite the cover having very obvious nods to embroidery (thread, needle and embroidery scissors), I didn't realise it was about that. I just gravitated towards it. I'm only halfway through, but it's post First World War and the main character, Violet Speedwell, is a woman in her mid-thirties and her fiancé's died in the war, so she's kind of irrelevant to the rest of the world. She's lost basically everyone in the war, and it's hard because she feels very out of place. She's trying to be single and live life. Currently, she has gone off on an adventure, she's gone for a walk. She's joined an embroidery group at Winchester's Cathedral, and they make cushion covers and kneelers. This is their way of bringing colour to the cathedral, and they're hoping that it will last. I don't know how much embroidery is going to be happening on her walk, though.

Why did you choose this book? 

Because it's a period drama. (Meg realises two seconds later something about the author.) She wrote Girl With a Pearl Earring, which I have also read, which is possibly why I wanted to read A Single Thread. But it said post First World War, and I was like 'I'm in!'. It has some sewing on the front which kind of gives me old lady vibes, and I was like 'that's me'.

Is there anything you've learned from it? 

I like embroidery. I'm only halfway through, so I haven't actually read much of it. (She may not have reached the big life lesson yet.) Violet Speedwell's just trying to find herself in the book and is an independent woman who doesn't need to be married or have children. Along those feminist lines, I recently read A History of Britain in 21 Women by Jenni Murray. One of the first non-fiction books I've probably ever read. Murray basically takes the reader through different women in history up until modern day Britain and tells us about the time period and what they did. It's nice because it's always been about the men in history. I know the history of Britain through all the kings, so I might as well try to find someone else to tell me another side.

What would you tell someone who wanted to read this book? 

It's really good. If you like period dramas, and a book that seems wholesome and good at getting-to-know-yourself so far, then this is for you. The main character's a woman, so that's always good. (Cheers to the women, and their female protagonists, who are getting the stories told!) (Meg then proceeds to make a joke about how she can see some similarities between herself and Violet Speedwell.)

Meg wanted me to tell you that she recommends the book The Doll Factory by Elizabeth Macneal. It's her debut book, and it's set in the 1800s in London, and it's dark with a little bit of romance.

Thank you, Meg, for letting me interview you (finally)! Hope you're happy with the way this turned out, haha. 

Books discussed: (click on the titles)

The Doll Factory by Elizabeth Macneal

Girl With a Pearl Earring by Elizabeth Macneal

A History of Britain in 21 Women by Jenni Murray

A Single Thread by Tracy Chevalier