I could say that I read to improve my ability to work with the written word, but that would not be true. The real reason I read is because I love to read. It doesn't matter what I've done during the day, or how exhausted I am when I go to bed at night, I will always pick up a book, magazine or newspaper (sometimes even the latest batch of junk mail) to read. Some nights I only last a minute or two, but most nights I'll spend at least 30 minutes reading.
Right now, I have the following on my beside table:
* 'House and Garden' (March 2009) - for renovation ideas
* 'Lilian's Story' by Kate Grenville - which I am very close to finishing. I recently read 'Dark Places', the companion novel to 'Lilian's Story'. Both have been excellent. In fact, I've nominated 'Lilian's Story' for my bookclub later this year when I am scheduled as discussion leader.
* 'The Regeneration Trilogy' by Pat Barker. Reading this one has been an ongoing project. At present, I'm close to the end of the second book, 'The Eye in the Door'.
I've found myself needing to have breaks from it since I began reading it in October last year, but I am compelled to finish it - sometime...
* 'The Other Hand' by Chris Cleave - I've finished this, but haven't yet put it onto the bookshelf. It's an amazingly well-written story. In fact, it was my first choice for my bookclub nomination this year, but someone else in my group nominated it first!
* 'Count me the stars' by Kylie Johnson - a beautiful collection of poetry which I received from a very close friend for my most recent birthday.
* 'Twilight' by Stephanie Meyer - my daughter has just finished reading this and tells me it is the best read she has ever had! With such a recommendation, how can I NOT read it?
* 'The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Society' by Mary Ann Shaffer - a Christmas gift from my son which I have not yet opened, with every intention of doing so very soon. Sitting closed, the book has one of the prettiest dust jackets I've seen for a long time!
http://www.wordwriteforsuccess.com.au/
New Cactus and Succulent Fabrics
8 years ago
That's a serious pile of books! Do you read all of them at once or do you concentrate on one at a time? Farida always has several books on the go but I can only ever concentrate on one at a time. I just finished 'The Idiot' by Dostoyevsky on Farida's recommendation actually. THAT was a marathon and a half. Fortunately I'm getting some light relief now - 'The World of Karl Pilkington' which is our latest book club selection.
ReplyDeleteThe Regeneration Trilogy is pretty heavy going but I love the way Pat Barker writes. Her characters are so well developed and the link between Sassoon and W H Rivers is so powerfull. Currently reading Jose Saramago's book Blindness after having finished This Book Will Save Your Life by A. M. Homes and David Mitchell's Black Swan Green (another author who I highly rate)
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