It ‘s a rather embarrassing admission but the last book I read was last year.
I do read every day - mainly the news, a few blog posts that catch my attention or imagination - but actually settling down to read a book - well that’s quite a different thing altogether.
I feel a little disappointed in myself – I don’t mean to sound dramatic - but I have always loved to read. As a child I never went anywhere without a book; and as a mother, I read constantly to my kids from the minute they were born, to the day we stopped doing bedtime stories.
Anyway, I am off on holiday soon so it’s the perfect time to rectify my lack of reading. So with that in mind, here are the books I have picked so far:
“The Mandibles: A Family 2029-2047” by Lionel Shriver: I have only read one of Lionel Shriver’s books – “We need to talk about Kevin” quite a while ago. But I remember really enjoying her sometimes uncomfortably, straightforward way of telling a story. But I haven’t read any of her work since. “The Mandibles” appeals because it is about the American economy and is set in the future. It follows the lives of an affluent American family (The Mandibles) whose fortunes turn to nothing due to the dollar collapsing.
“The Female of the Species” (also) by Lionel Shriver: This is about a woman, Gray Kaiser, a single 59-year anthropologist, who goes to Kenya to make a documentary. Her middle-aged assistant, Errol McEchern, accompanies her; he has been secretly in love with her for years. When a young graduate assistant - Raphael Sarasola arrives on the scene, Gray falls in love. McEchern watches in dismay, as Gray changes completely through a cruel and calculated manipulation...I have to be honest, I prefer my love stories to be more conventional – but I am curious to see how the story unfolds. Not 100% sure this is my kind of thing.
“Blame” by Simon Mayo: This is about a brother and sister who are put in a new kind of family prison for a crime their parents committed. None of the inmates are actually criminals, but wider society wants them to do time for the unpunished ‘heritage’ crimes of their parents. This is actually a young adults novel, set in the future too. Again a little left field for me...but it's good to try new things!
I think I may also take a couple of old classics that I read at school – something like “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee or “Catcher in Rye” by JD Salinger.
I have to say I’m really looking forward to settling down to a bit of chilled time just reading, and hopefully I will have cemented the habit of reading by the time I get home!...By the way, if you have recently read something you loved – please let me know – always room in the suitcase for a good book :)