A mishmash from the sofa

I seem to have succombed to some sort of seasonal bug and have been confined to the sofa since being sent home from work yesterday. I feel achy and exhausted but otherwise well enough to be quite bored, and have at least had the chance to do quite a lot of reading. I'm expecting a number of books in the post (no, I haven't been breaking my bookban - they are a pre-order aid for before the ban, and a couple from publishers as well as a few remaining Christmas presents), so I hope they arrive later to cheer me up.

Here's some of the things I've been reading:

Waiting (Ha Jin). This has been on my TBR for ages since I picked it up for £1 in a charity shop, and was absolutely fascinating. Set in post-revolutionary China it tells the story of a love affair between a doctor and nurse at the hospital, complicated by the fact that the doctor is already married and his wife refuses to give him a divorce.

Winter Term at Malory Towers (Pamela Cox). Pamela Cox has written a whole 6-book-series sequel to Enid Blyton's Malory Tower's series, following the fortunes of Felicity, Enid's Blyton's heroine Darrell's younger sister when she arrives at the school, and I was intrigued to see what they were like. They're not quite Blyton, lacking something that I can't quite put my finger on, and are a bit more dense, but still a very enjoyable easy read.

Solace of the road (Siobhan Dowd). This book was published posthumously to great acclaim and has just been shortlisted for the Costa book awards. It is a teen novel and absolutely gripping. It follows the story of Holly, who is brought up in a care home and eventually fostered, who runs away to try to find her mother, and herself. Using the name of Solace the book describes her journey. This was a wonderful book.

Today I want to read some of A very great profession by Nicola Beaumann as I am hoping to go to hear her speak next Monday evening. I also have an interesting autobiography called The locust and the bird and another Cox Malory Towers book..

Apologies for the lack of a picture, that requires a little bit more effort and energy than I have to spare at the moment.

The exciting news which I wanted to highlight today is Virago's publication of The group today, which I have written about over on my other blog. I do really recommend this book, hence flagging it up here too!