Q. What is the correct thing to say to a writer friend whose book you haven’t read? I buy most friends’ books out of loyalty but there have been so many in the last few months that I can’t think when I will have the time, if ever, to read them. So what feedback can I tactfully give?
— Name and address withheld
A. You might take a tip from Sir John Betjeman. Derwent May has given me permission to repeat his own account of taking Caroline Blackwood to lunch and finding John Betjeman in the restaurant. Kind Betjeman sprang instantly to his feet to announce, ‘I’ve just ordered several copies of that book!’
Says Derwent May: ‘It was a brilliant utterance, it carried a heavy load of charming flattery to Caroline while committing himself to nothing.’
Q. A week ago I asked a woman I don’t know very well to dinner as I want to return her hospitality.
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