sunday-salon-2I was going to do a whole what I read during July post here but to my shame realised that I haven’t been reading very much at all and in fact haven’t finished a book since 17th June. So I looked at those books I had started and decided to put them aside for the moment (they all looked great and I want to read them when my brain is working a little better) and pick others that I could come to fresh and hopefully kick-start my reading mojo again.

I’ve long recognised that my ability to read is at its best when I have a range of books on the go at once and can dip in and out as I please, so I have come up with the following:

  • Non-fiction – Inventing the Victorians by Matthew Sweet “delving into such Victorian passions as advertising, interior decoration, sex scandals and serial killers”
  • Kindle – Osiris by EJ Swift – book one of the Osiris Project, dystopian sci-fi (and I have met the author who is just a lovely person)
  • Hard copy fiction  – The Collini Case by Ferdinand von Schirach – a legal thriller translated from the german; I’ve seen several good reviews of this and have the added frisson of having stayed at the hotel in Berlin where the murder takes place
  • Re-read – for the Horror Book Club meeting in August I am re-reading The Shining by Stephen King. It’s been a while so looking forward to re-acquainting myself with young Danny Torrance.

And though I may not be reading I am still buying books; I had an especially productive spending spree after the Super Relaxed Fantasy Club meeting on Tuesday last, where there were readings by Sophia McDougall, Emma Trevayne, Gareth Powell and Alex Lamb. All very different but all very enjoyable.