A three day week is an excellent thing, affording some solid naps and some good reading time – although my reading over the week has degenerated from some quite good crime novels to some absolutely rubbishy magical romances, which I have thoroughly enjoyed in a frothy sort of way. I use Kindle Unlimited and also subscribe to BookBub which sends me a daily email with lots of 99p offers, where many of these things pop up. Fairies, dragons, dashing heroes who start off extremely bad-tempered and then become reluctantly heroic. Feisty heroines. Bridgerton with mythical beasties. Jane Austen with jinxes. Alliterative titles. That sort of thing.
This is whole-box-of-Ferrero-Rocher-to-yourself sort of reading, if you know what I mean. Indulgent. Nothing that requires any brain power at all. On the other hand, I’ve also been reading a Japanese classic recommended by a colleague, set in Osaka just before the Second World War which focuses on manners, Japanese societal expectations of women, and doesn’t have cats or books in. It’s not frothy at all, and probably bears more resemblance to Austen in the way characters and society are drawn than any of the Regency-set froth I’ve been reading. One of my VI form teachers, Mr Bradley, introduced us to Austen by declaring that he’d have married her.
One of my cousins asked a few weeks ago whether he was the only person in the family who read more than one book at once, and the answer was a fairly unanimous no, we’re all at it. I always have an upstairs book, a portable book and a downstairs book on the go and quite often one I’m dipping in and out of – short stories or poetry, for example. Sometimes I’ll put a book down and circle back to it, especially if its one that takes thinking about. But one book at a time is never enough.
Other things making me happy this week
- A family outing to Audley End. Pretty spring flowers, a walled garden, a large screw embedded in the tyre – the car jinx strikes again. Last time the suspension went.
- Making my annual Simnel cake. I could make them more often, but I don’t.
- Finishing the first five of the sea creature commission. I like this turtle best so far.
- Being kidnapped by Miriam and Jill on Saturday afternoon – they were a bottle of prosecco down, I stuck to tea.
- An excellent walk to Ongar this morning. I saw a large stag, a sparrowhawk and some baby bunnies – went to Sainsburys and got the bus home with tomorrow’s roast!
- Binging a series called North of North which we laughed like drains at – and which led to Northern Exposure nostalgia so now I’m watching that and remembering how excellent it was (especially Chris in the Morning). I’d really like to go to Alaska. I may have to reread all the Kate Shugak novels (which all seem to have arrived on Kindle Unlimited if you haven’t read them).
Today we’re being descended on by the TTs and the GTs for an egg hunt in the back garden, which will be lots of chaotic, sugar-fuelled fun.
Another four day week to come!
Kirsty x
What I’ve been reading:
The Dark Wives – Ann Cleeves
Underscore – Andrew Cartmel
The Makioka Sisters – Tanizaki
Spells, Strings and Forgotten Things – Breanne Randall
The Geographer’s Map to Romance – India Holton
Talismans, Teacups and Trysts – K. Starling
Sourcery/The Lost Continent – Terry Pratchett (Audible)
What Kirsty did next 