Okay, there must be something you read that’s a guilty pleasure . . . a Harlequin romance stashed under the mattress. A cheesy sci-fi book tucked in the back of the freezer. A celebrity biography, a phoned-in Western . . . something that you’d really rather not be spotted reading. Even just a novel if you’re a die-hard non-fiction fan. Come on, confess. We won’t hold it against you!
Absolutely! I’m a complete sucker for crime fiction, particularly Agatha Christie. It took me about ten years to collect every one and I have read them all dozens of times. Curling up with a Hercule Poirot favourite is like lazing around in your jammies or having a whole packet of tim-tams to yourself - it’s comfort food. The thing is, as discussed last week, new books steal my sleep and make me late. They damage my relationships (”Huh, yes dear? You’ve been calling my name for three hours? Really…?”) and deplete my knitting time. Hence the re-reads which I can put down at will.
So, do I read them in public? Well … on the tube I tend to carry a French translation. No-one can ever tell ;-)
Bedside Table: “The Historian” by Elizabeth Kostova (new)
This was first recommended to me by Kate and I have seen it mentioned several times since. It kept me up. My fault for picking what I knew was a gripping read in a week when I had deadlines to meet.
I felt the ending was a bit rushed: The story moved solidly along with plenty of meat to it, and then the climax suddenly came and went with a speed unequalled by teen first-timers. I catch myself thinking occasionally that I’m still reading it - as if there were more there that I somehow missed out on. Apart from that though, it was worth the very late nights, grab yourself a copy soon!
Holiday Reads: I picked up a copy of “The Game” by A.S. Byatt the other day and thought I might take it along as it’s nice and small for carry-on. Anyone read it? There’ll also be “Wuthering Heights” in my iPod and maybe even a French AC or two ;-)
Au revoir!
Entries (RSS)