I loved reading from about seven or eight, when I discovered Enid Blyton's Famous Five books. We lived near the edge of a cliff [in Sydney] where there was a lot of wildlife and when I was about 10 the cockatoos ate the TV aerial. I remember mum saying "Right, that's it - no more TV." I think reading probably filled a bit of the void that the TV left.

I still don't have a television. My husband's not an avid sports watcher and we have created a reading room in our house instead, with really lumpy chocolate brown leather lounges, lots of cushions, an open fire and wall-to-wall bookshelves. It was about creating a space where our kids [aged nine and 11] would want to read. Several nights a week the family all reads together. But both my sisters live close by and they have big flat screen TVs.