Sarah Jessica Parker is to judge the Booker Prize

She told the New York Times: "Well, I certainly wasn't saying it with any hope or thought that it was going to be considered a serious offer. I would never be so bold, nor do I think I'm equipped. I just thought the idea of reading all of these books that would be in serious or thoughtful contention would be the thrill of a life.

"I think of judges as academics, learned, experienced in ways I'm just not. I didn't pursue higher education. I don't have any degrees. I separate my devotion to reading from those who can talk about it, criticize it, make judgments, have feelings that are worthy of public discourse. All those ideas seem anathema to my relationship to books. Even when I went into publishing, I felt very nervous about people taking me seriously. I felt like an interloper, and that I was constantly in a position of having to prove myself.

So to be a judge on the Booker, which is the greatest literary award bestowed - it felt very daunting."

The former 'Sex and the City' star explained that her approach to the whole thing will just to be to "listen a lot" to those around her.

She said: "I'm just going to listen a lot. That's the way I've probably created a career outside of acting: just being surrounded by people who are expert and listening, listening, listening.

And I'm assuming that all of the judges are going to be kind and excited, and also feel the weight of these conversations. We're talking about people's work. I want to be really thoughtful."