What makes a book a favourite? One that you wish you could read again for the first time? A book so good that you want to hug it? I guess the answer will be different for every reader, but for me it’s all about character. Do I know these characters? Am I in their heads? Can I understand their motivations, their hopes, their reasons for doing things? If I care about the characters, even if I don’t particularly like all of them, the tension that arises will create that urgency to turn the page. I have several favourite authors who write books for grown-ups, including Helen Garner and Ann Patchett, but a relatively recent addition is Colm Toibin who wrote Brooklyn and Long Island (as well as many others). They all share that rare gift of creating worlds where the characters are so real that it’s hard to believe they were the work of the imagination. Plot lines don’t need to be action-packed, filled with guns, rockets or natural disasters to have consequences that can rock the core of those characters that we get to know so personally. As a writer, I gained so much insight into the decisions he made regarding the direction of his characters, and which aspects he chose to highlight and which he chose to ignore. Truly, Colm writes with such restraint and insight, and he encapsulates the ‘show don’t tell’ and ‘less is more’ fundamentals of writing.It was a treat to hear Colm, who came all the way from Ireland, when he spoke at the Sydney Writers Festival on Friday. And it was made all the more fun to attend with two dear friends from my Book Group. @colm.toibin_oficial @sydwritersfest