I’m going on holiday in approximately 65 hours time. See ya! Jill will be left holding the fort while I do absolutely nothing for two weeks. When I say do nothing, I plan to go swimming at least 5 times a day, and read for 8 hours a day. I’m also planning to become an expert at backgammon. But while Grazia et al would have you believe that this pre-holiday countdown is all about waxing, fake tanning and buying one last bikini, I have to say the thing weighing most heavily is, what am I going to read? I’ve allocated an extra suitcase for books, but as yet have very little to go in it.

A holiday reading list should, to my mind, include at least one of each of the following: long novel, short novel, short stories, book of essays, biography or other long-form non-fiction, and a wildcard. For my wildcard this year I’d like something design-y, and I think I’ve found just the thing for inspiration. Aram, the iconic contemporary furniture store hidden away on Drury Lane, is celebrating it’s 50th anniversary this year. To celebrate they’ve had the charming idea of asking influential figures from the work of design to each nominate a book to add to Aram’s ‘library’. The list includes Paul Smith, Norman Foster and Thomas Heatherwick. The picture at the top is from The Art of Looking Sideways by Alan Fletcher, chosen by Henrietta Thompson of Wallpaper*. It looks good but a bit heavy (in the literal sense). Maybe I’ll go with Max Fraser’s choice of De Stijl by Paul Overy. Or Delirious New York by Rem Koolhaas (Zaha Hadid’s choice) sounds like fun.

The books – plus a short explanation of their choice from each contributor – are all on show at Aram for the rest of the year. I love this idea. And as someone who asked for £100 on tic at the local bookshop for her 18th birthday, I might consider celebrating my own milestone birthdays by requesting my age in books.