Well here we are safely back home. After a day of frantic activity unpacking, washing, shopping, inspecting the garden and lottie visiting I am ready for a rest ! Time perhaps to unwind with a glass of wine and a read. My favourite part of holiday preparations is choosing which books to take with me. I generally do not read as much in the summer months when outdoors is calling but holidays are different. This major decision takes me longer than deciding which clothes to take. This year's selection went down very well. My only regret as usual was that I did not take another couple of books as I finished them with time to spare.
This year I took the delightfully titled "The Guernsey Literary And Potato Peel Pie Society" by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows, "The Behaviour of Moths" by Poppy Adams and "The Lady Elizabeth" by historian Alison Weir. The latter seems to have been swallowed up somewhere in the vast recesses of the camper van. Hopefully it will resurface sometime along with a jar of chestnut honey that we bought on our travels. My gardening book was a re-read of Elspeth Thompson's "The Urban Gardener". I probably enjoyed this more than I did first time around, as I can now relate to some of the author's experiences of the joys and pitfalls of having an allotment. With possibly another break later in the year I am intrigued to know what other folk are reading this summer and might recommend.
I took Millennium, a history of the events surrounding the year 1000, by Tom Holland. I also read Revelation, the latest Elizabethan whodunnit by C J Sansom. They both explore the prophecies of the Book of Revelation, so I was a bit Revelation-ed out by the time I'd finished both of them. Good, though.
ReplyDeleteI also read Nightingale Wood, by Stella Gibbons, who these days is only known for Cold Comfort Farm. I'm a huge fan of hers, and I loved this - it's just been republished in paperback by Virago.
And inspired by Emily at Emily's Garden, I also took the Father Brown stories, which I'm still dipping into in between other things (such as falling asleep).
Rose put me onto "The Guernsey Literary And Potato Peel Pie Society" and I quite enjoyed it (had no idea the idea had been occupied!), though the ending was a titch predict-a-plot (but can't complain!).
ReplyDeleteHi Anna
ReplyDeleteTrust you've enjoyed your travels.
Things flat out in this corner of France. When I holiday it's usually in the UK so reading is inevitably BBC's rather excellent Gardens Illustrated mags.
cheers