Ann Giles was born in Stockholm. She studied at Gothenburg University and has a degree in English and Swedish. She moved to England in 1982 to marry her husband David. They lived in Brighton for a spell, and moved to Stockport in 1987. Ann claims to have done nothing useful other than give birth to two children and make them bilingual and reasonably nice. She now blogs as the Bookwitch and chases authors everywhere.
Why do you blog? > Because Meg Rosoff told me to.
What has been your best blogging experience? > When readers are falling over each other making comments and generally having a discussion; often about something other than what I wrote about.
What has been your worst blogging experience? > Technical hitches, such as the post just disappearing into cyberspace.
What would be your main blogging advice to a novice blogger? > Write regularly so your readers don't disappear because there's nothing new to read.
What are your favourite blogs? > Crime Always Pays; Guardian Arts Blog.
What are you reading at the moment? > Sonya Hartnett, because she just won the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, and I knew nothing about her books.
Who are your cultural heroes? > Victor Jara.
What is the best novel you've ever read? > How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff.
What is your favourite poem? > 'Officer's Mess' by Harold Monro.
What is your favourite movie? > The Philadelphia Story.
What is your favourite song? > If it's sung by Roger Whittaker, I'm very likely to love it.
Can you name a major moral, political or intellectual issue on which you've ever changed your mind? > Inexplicably, I once had nothing against nuclear power. And as a child I thought voting conservative might be a good idea.
Who are your political heroes? > Salvador Allende and, belatedly, Olof Palme.
If you could effect one major policy change in the governing of your country, what would it be? > Bring back the railways and make them work.
What do you consider to be the main threat to the future peace and security of the world? > The stupidity of our 'leaders'.
Do you think the world (human civilization) has already passed its best point, or is that yet to come? > I'm afraid we have passed it.
Do you think you could ever be married to, or in a long-term relationship with, someone with radically different political views from your own? > No.
In what circumstances would you be willing to lie? > About that shirt you're wearing today.
What commonly enjoyed activities do you regard as a waste of time? > Getting drunk.
What, if anything, do you worry about? > Nearly everything.
If you were to relive your life to this point, is there anything you'd do differently? > I'd try to be nicer to people.
Who would play you in the movie about your life? > Beth Ditto?
Where would you most like to live (other than where you do)? > The Swedish seaside.
What would your ideal holiday be? > By the Swedish seaside, reading and sleeping and swimming in the sea.
What do you like doing in your spare time? > Spare time? OK, daydreaming.
What is your most treasured possession? > Sadly, my Macbook.
Who is your favourite comedian or humorist? > Victor Borge.
If you could have one (more or less realistic) wish come true, what would you wish for? > To be free from phobias.
How, if at all, would you change your life were you suddenly to win or inherit an enormously large sum of money? > I'd buy more shoes. Other than that it would be nice to feel I could go where I liked, when I liked. First class.
If you could have any three guests, past or present, to dinner who would they be? > Joan Aiken, Siobhan Dowd and Dina Rabinovitch.
[The normblog profile is a weekly Friday morning feature. A list of all the profiles to date, and the links to them, can be found here.]