Three Weeks, Three Books and a Spoilt Pug

Hot, sunny days are very conducive to sitting out on the decking with a good book and a little bit of company.  Not that I like sitting in the sun at all,  I stay in the relative cool of the shadow cast by the Van until it runs out as the sun moves overhead, then like a vampire scared of the light I scurry down onto the bench in the little garden as happily, just as I run out of shade in one favourite spot, it creeps along to the next.

Suky is on the chair as the Astro-turf was ringing wet after a few days of heavy rain.  She sat in the doorway of the Van for a few minutes looking sad and abandoned until I realised what she wanted.  Then later that day she was loathe to hand the comfort of the chair back to Alan when he arrived ... she is now the mistress of the withering 'I was here first' look.

Anyway back to three books in three weeks ... something that only a couple of years ago would have been just a regular occurrence, nothing special to write about and well, just normal. 

 These days though, it seems I have let my reading of books slip, slide away from me without me even noticing.   I haven't even been reading magazines since I let all my subscriptions fizzle out one by one.  Living simply and without even a letterbox for them to plop through means magazines through the post are a bit of a no-no.

So over the last couple of weeks I made a concentrated effort to reach for a book instead of my phone.  It's oh so easy to tumble through a warren of YouTube clips, blogs, Instagram Stories and Facebook comments when all you meant to do was check your emails.  So much time can so easily be wasted if you're not careful.

And I wasn't being careful!!

The Girl Before was a very unusual choice for me.  I haven't read a mystery/murder book for years and over the past year or so I haven't read any fiction at all.   For some reason though this one grabbed my attention from the Tesco charity book sale table, so I deposited my pound coin in the box and popped this in my bag.  It is a very good book, highly recommended,  but as I now know the outcome it's no good to keep and re-read so it's in the car boot sale pile.

It took me a while to get hooked on this, and if I'm honest I almost gave up.  I think the problem was that it has a great beginning, a so-so and quite drawn out middle but then I discovered Emma is a fellow blogger and my interest was piqued once more.

It was good but not good enough to stay, so it's in the car boot sale pile.   I have, however,  saved Emma's blog address and added it to my sidebar so I can pop by and check it out. 

While I read through the two books above I had Stephen and David Flynn's second 'Happy Pear' book on the go at the same time.   I like to have a recipe book that I can dip into when I've only got a few minutes to spare ... inspiration for meals along with glorious photos of the foods that I love to eat what better way to pass the time while waiting  for the kettle to boil. 

So three books in just under three weeks, can I do the same again ... it will be interesting to see.  With the days and nights suddenly cooling down and SO much rain it should be easily possible.

I just need to stay off my phone, tablet and computer a bit more and remember how much I love the weight of a book in my hands, the feel of pages in my fingers.  Remember how easy it it to pick up and put down a book and how wonderful it is to vanish into a whole new world while curled up in a cosy corner with a big mug of coffee ... and a snoring Pug.

Sue xx