Reading on holiday with prosecco |
Summer is
over (in the UK), and it’s time to kick those autumn leaves; to dig out the coats and boots
and to put the flip flops away. The kids have returned to school, and I'm getting back into the swing of things with a few busy weeks coming up, but I don't want to go back to reading as little as I did in the first half of this year.
As Stephen
King says in my favourite how-to-write book, On Writing,
‘If you want to be a writer, you must do two
things above all others; read a lot and write a lot.’
This year I
haven’t been getting through as many books as I’d like to, so I decided to
rectify that in August when I went on holiday with my family. I took a good look at the TBR pile by my bed and
selected a novel which had been gathering dust for more than two years: The
Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan, winner of the 2014 Man
Booker Prize. I picked up The Dark Circle by Linda Grant from the table in Waterstones (have read most of her books), and the cover of Zadie Smith’s, Swing Time really stood out in Tesco (plus I'd read about it in an article online that week). Each book has taken me on a different journey and I love the way all three authors write (still reading Zadie Smith, almost finished).
Since returning from holiday, my reading speed has slowed down, and I do want to get to the next book in my TBR pile. Usually at home, I only read before sleeping, but I have a new way to get through my books more quickly. When prompted to finish the sentence, 'I love my mummy because...' at nursery aged three for a Mother's Day card, my daughter said '...she's always in the kitchen'. When my kids were younger, I was always in the kitchen, but even now, I do spend a lot of time waiting for food to cook. So instead of checking social media on my phone whilst waiting for the timer to go off, I shall aim to read instead.
The next
book on my TBR pile is How To Stop Time by Matt Haig. I’d planned to wait for
the paperback, but when I saw the hardback in Tesco, I read the first page, and
continued onto the next and then the next; and then I bought it. And so, I hope
to get through a few more books than in the first part of this year-I’ll be
reading, in the kitchen.
Update on my writing: I've almost finished the latest 10K words for my mentor, to send off by the end of this week. It's moving forwards, little by little...and update on my alter-ego, neetsmarketing's new ten week course, Social Media for Writers and Bloggers at Richmond Adult Community College here.
I love that you read in the kitchen Anita. I do too, particularly when there is a book that I am loving that I can't put down! Hope you love Matt Haig's book - it's been one of my favourites from this year.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for visiting, Cathy! I can't wait to read Matt Haig's book, such an interesting idea.
DeleteReading in the kitchen is my dirty secret, Anita! Usually when there are lots of things clamouring for my attention but I'm nearing the end of a novel and can't wait until bedtime to finish it! Enjoy xx
ReplyDeleteHa, Rae! (don't worry, I won't tell anyone). x
Delete