BEST AUTHOR BEST : TILDA SWINTON

DURING her eclectic career - the actress [ whose new book, '' Ongoing,'' accompanies a museum retrospective on her work ] has appreciated reading recommendations from Derek Jarman and David Bowie.

.-  Describe your ideal reading experience [ when, what, where, how ]

In or on my bed

Morning 

Window open

House quiet.

Preferably having mislaid my phone.

A third of the way through.

Dogs adjacent.

.-  How do you organize your books?

They organize themselves.

.-  What book might people be surprised to find on your shelves?

I have no idea what they might expect, so even less what might surprise them. Maybe they might have an instinctive feel for my love of sheepdog trials and my half a shelf of books on the subject.

.-  What's the best book you've ever received as a gift?

Definitely Richard Scarry's '' What Do People Do All Day?'' I reckon in my fifth year - in exchange for my welcome to a new baby brother - and an encouraging introduction to society for a rural child brought up among more animals than humans.

I have yet to find a city I prefer - outright - to Busytown.

.-  You went to university as a poet and then discovered performance. Have you written poet since?

Very rarely.

.-  Do you read poetry now?

Very often.

.-  What's the last great book you read?

'' The Silver Book,'' by Olivia Lang. A portrait of a certain kind of renegade filmmaking life that some of us recognize as timelessly familiar.

.-  Have you reread '' Orlando '' since starring in Sally Potter's film?

I read it about once every four or five years. To check my evolution against it. It's a magic mirror of a book, which I first tucked under my pillow when I was 15 and which, somehow, reliably keeps reflecting back each phase of life at me, leaf by leaf.

.-  Can a great book be badly written?

If by badly written we mean short-circuiting connection, It's unlikely.

.-  What other criteria can overcome bad prose?

Engaging poetry?

The Publishing continues to Part [ 2 ]. The World Students Society thanks Scott Heller.