* YOU BEEN SNAP * KAMA HUJASOMA VITABU VYAKE KAVISOME NOW..HIS ONE OF FLORA BAHATI LYIMO BEST VITABU "BLESS YOU JEFF" Bestselling author, Jeffrey Archer takes us on a tour of his reading room!!

*MKILETEWA HAPA NA FLORA LYIMO DESIGNER*

Up-to-date: Although author Jeffrey Archer has a reading room he is an avid fan of the Kindle!

1 RARE READ

This book is one of my most prized possessions because it’s very hard to find. It is by S N Behrman and is about the early 20th century art dealer Lord Duveen. It depicts the pieces he traded in and the people he met. I got my copy years ago at auction – I can’t remember how much I paid but it was a steal! I also collect art and go to a gallery at least twice a week.


2 PICTURE PERFECT

I adore this painting of my wife, Mary, by Bryan Organ. It’s a beautiful portrait of her with our cat, Ollie, on her lap. Bryan also painted Diana and Prince Charles. He and I met at Lord’s cricket ground and formed a friendship through our love of art, cricket and snooker. He kindly agreed to paint the portrait, which I gave to Mary for her 50th birthday.

3 MOBILE LIBRARY

My Kindle is very useful when travelling. It means I don’t have to take bulky books – I just download them. I’ve just finished a book tour of 16 cities, in places as far apart as Australia and India, and it was great to have the Kindle with me. I read One Day by David Nicholls, which I loved, and The Hare With Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal.

4 HOWZAT!

Freddie Flintoff gave me this bat after I did a charity auction that he hosted. It’s particularly special because he used the bat at Lord’s. He wrote on it, ‘Thank you for giving up your time to raise an unbelievable amount of money, which will change the lives of many children. Cheers, Fred.’ We raised £100,000 for the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital.

5 LOVEY DOVEY

I bought this gorgeous painting 30 years ago. It’s called Deux Colombes, or Two Doves, and it’s by Pablo Picasso, one of my favourite artists.
I bought it from a private gallery and it’s in crayon and oil, with flowers around the doves. As soon as I saw it, I fell in love with it and I knew I had to have it. Aside from paintings, I also collect Moorcroft porcelain.

6 GOING, GOING...

This is the campest thing I’ve ever owned. The people who make A Place In The Sun gave it to me one Christmas. God knows where they found it, but it’s a giant painting of a chandelier and when you flick a switch all the lights on the chandelier come on. It does go slightly against the room’s calming, peaceful tranquility, but it’s so outrageous I love it.

As told to Paula Kerr.

Jeffrey Archer’s latest book, Only Time Will Tell, is published by Pan Macmillan, £18.99.