Let Us Praise 90-year-olds. . .

Is 90 the new 70?

A couple of weeks ago, I was lucky enough to see Dave Brubeck in concert during the Toronto Jazz Festival. If I can move anything when I'm his age as fast as he can still move his hands over the ivories, I'll be fairly astonished. He turns 90 this December. And next month, two beloved authors also hit 90. Ray Bradbury just did a reading via Skype, in New York's McNally Jackson bookstore. He was interviewed by his biographer Sam Weller, and reading about the event in the Wall Street Journal nearly brought a tear to my eye. I would so love to have been there. I love this quote of his, summing up his work:

“I’m a great big pomegranate that exploded all over the place and now my seeds are everywhere."

Do run out and get your hands on a copy of Listen to the Echoes: The Ray Bradbury Interviews, by Sam Weller, it really is a marvellously inspiring read.

Then there's the awesome P.D. James. Look for lots of media coverage of her 90th birthday next month and she seems to be as busy as ever. There's a great interview with her in The Telegraph here. In celebration, we're repackaging some of her backlist - I love the new covers and it makes me want to hide away in a cottage for a week and do nothing but read all her books again.