Reading in bed

I used to do most of my reading in bed, but since I acquired a boyfriend, we started going to bed a lot later, and my reading suffered quite badly - either I was ready to put the light out straight away or I just couldn't concentrate. I now have a new routine, where I read whilst I am waiting for him to get home from work. I still read in bed to try to help me switch off, but I tend to read much lighter books, which can be read whilst holding a conversation or with only one eye open. This gives me the chance to keep up with and enjoy recent girlie books without feeling guilty that I am not reading one of the many more literary tomes that I want to read. Mainly these fall into either the chick-lit, mummy-lit or country middle-aged-lit categories.

Authors and titles that I have enjoyed this year who fall into this category include Jill Mansell, Carrie Adams (The Godmother, and The Stepmother), Polly Williams (The rise and fall of a yummy mummy), The Rebecca Shaw Village books, Chris Manby (Flatmates), Sophie Kinsella (Remember me?), Eve Houston (Secrets from Pryor's Ford), Madeleine Wickham (A desirable residence), Sam Holden (Diary of a Hapless househusband). I don't tend to buy these titles or even reserve them at the library, I just pick up whatever I find when I am browsing. And if I don't like the book, I don't struggle through it, it goes back to the library.

I have just finished reading French Kissing by Catherine Sanderson. Sanderson is a blogger, who came to fame with her Petite Anglaise blog which described her life as an ex-pat living in Paris. This was published as a book which I read earlier in the year, so I was pleased to find this one in the library. Although a novel, it is strongly based on Sanderson's own experiences as a single-Mum and felt incredibly believable. Definitely a good bedtime read.