Just before I left, I thought that perhaps I should have run some competitions in my absence where you could place bets on a) how many books I read while I was away, b) how many books I bought while I was away and c) how many books arrived at my house while I was away. The answers are 18.5 (I've got a half read book to finish tonight), 0 (unless you count the map I bought of the Bude area so we could do a walk at Boscastle without getting lost), and 2 (1 expected, and 1 a surprise from Canongate).
Of the books I took with me (here they are piled up in the holiday home, next to my boyfriend's reading pile)...
...I read....
- Fortnight in September (Sheriff) - last Persephone week read.
- Head girl's difficulties (Brent-Dyer)
- Zennor in Darkness (Dunmore)
- Fixing Kate (Murphy)
- Excellent women (Pym)
- Maiden's trip (Smith)
- Well tempered clavier (Coles)
- The tent, the bucket and me (Kennedy)
- Surf Nation (Wade) - from my boyfriend's pile
- A chiltern adventure (Allen)
- A cast of smiles (Brookfield)
- The great lover (Dawson)
- Flight of the maidens (Gardam)
- The sea lady (Drabble)
- Tales from an island (Atkins)
- Guppies for tea (Cobbold)
- School on cloud ridge (Allen)
- Guernsey literary and potato peel society (Shaffer)
- Summer's Day
I hope to write about some of these in due course...
I also read a wonderful book called The well and the mine, which Virago sent me to review the night before I left, and I will DEFINITELY be writing about that this week.
The b files will continue to be a little sporadic - I'm off to a Rare Books conference in Cambridge Weds-Fri and then off to the Lake District for my Great North Swim which I'm quite nervous about as I haven't had a chance to have a proper swim all week, although I have been battling with my wetsuit and acquiring a warming layer of fat by consuming plenty of clotted cream. But I shall post when I can and look forward to doing some more baking soon!
Wow...18.5 books...wow! Look forward to seeing what you thought of them. Best wishes for the swim.
ReplyDeleteWelcome back! That is quite the reading quote; I don't read that many in a month.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the swim! The clotted cream indulgences will come in so handy and perfectly excusable in their practicality ;).
Welcome back! Looking forward to reading what you have to say about the books that you read. Best of luck to you on your swim, very clever thinking regarding the clotted cream. The conference sounds quite amazing as well Verity!
ReplyDelete18.5 !!
ReplyDeleteI am in awe!
It was good; the first three days we didn't do very much as my boyfriend was so tired, so I got off to a good start. I'm never going to manage to blog about all of them though!
ReplyDeleteWow, 18.5 in that little time! Don't know how you do it.. welcome back!
ReplyDeleteVerity HOW do you manage to read so many books so quickly?! I only manage one a week these days!
ReplyDeleteGlad you had a lovely time and that you got lots read!