Thursday 29 August 2019

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



24 comments:

  1. Good for Suky. She obviously knows her place - and Alan's!
    xx

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  2. Your little garden area is lovely, I love to see Suky (and Mavis of course), it's lovely how you have one each for company when you are apart.
    Reading and relaxing is on the agenda for the future for me, I think I have the Happy Pear in my Amazon wishlist. x

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    1. This is just the decking area, the garden is down the steps ... and has real grass 😀

      All three of their books are well worth having.

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  3. Swop you one of my days for one of yours - we have a viewing next week, and currently cleaning the 20-pane window in the Dining Room (inside and hanging outside to reach!), then the Rest of the Windows inside and out, then general cleaning the entire house (19 rooms but some just need a flick round with a duster) and then the autumn clear up in the garden continues. Oh, and back to back Fairs as well! Fortunately Eldest Daughter has elected to travel down tomorrow and help out. Enjoy your book and the sunshine - with all the recent upheaval I think you've earned it.

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    1. We are doing similar to you at home, but first with building works ... so time here at the Van I all about relaxing.

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  4. I love reading about your time at the van, Sue. It's always been a dream of mine to own a static caravan....will never be realised, but I can still dream!

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    1. This was a dream, until I made it happen ... so you never know!

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  5. Like you I love the feel of a book in my hands. I do use an ereader, but it just isn't the same.

    Love Suky's attitude.

    God bless.

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    1. I have hundreds of books on my tablet but I never seem to read them. Maybe when I run out of 'real' ones 🙂

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  6. Love that photo of Suky. I love to read while sitting in the sun. It's one of my favourite things. I read The Girl Before a couple of summers ago and really enjoyed it.

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    1. Pugs are very photogenic aren't they ❤

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  7. Surely pugs were put into this world to spoil weren't they?

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  8. I agree, it is far too easy to spend too much time on our phones or computers. Our electronics have a way of drawing us in, although I do love my blogs! A good book is always an enjoyment. I love spoiling my animal babies and for all the love they give us they deserve it!

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    1. I love it when I find a REALLY good blog that I can go back to the beginning of and read like a book. Suky is just a little love-bomb ❤

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  9. I hear you on the rabbit hole when you were just checking your emails! I love the Happy Pear book we had tea from that book last night, I love that I have yet to find a bad recipe from all that we have tried. Hope you enjoy another three weeks of reading, you are right there is nothing like a book between the fingers.

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    1. I find their recipes a but spicy, but now I know that I just use a bit less than they say to, and like you I'm enjoying everything I make.

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  10. I too have always preferred the real book as opposed to the virtual one. But I'm slowly coming to terms with they both have a place in my life. I love the astro turf and Sukys face!

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    1. Real books still have the edge, but my tablet is handy on holidays etc. The Astro-turf is brilliant, it feels very strange when it's soaking wet and you have bare feet though 😂😃🤣

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  11. It's so easy to waste a few hours once you pick up your phone or log on to the laptop. I seem to go in fits and starts with my reading, I can easily get through a book in a few days but then at other times I have the same book on the go for a few weeks, I suppose it depends on what I'm reading and if it's 'grabbing' me.

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    1. I'm exactly the same. I love it when a book really grabs you and even stopping to make a coffee seems a wrench.

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  12. We have some great libraries in our cities, and I haven't brought a book in years. As I get older though I have found it hard to just sit and read, whereas years ago I used to be able to sit and read a book in just a few hours, I find it takes me a couple of days now.

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    1. I love libraries and use ours as often as I can. I'd hate for them to vanish just as I run out of my own books!

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