My life in books

This last few months I've really reconnected with reading - maybe it's getting used to the longer commute, or the fact that I cracked and bought a Kindle, or maybe these things just go in cycles...

On moving here last year I set out to join as many groups as possible in an effort to construct a social life in a new city, pretty much from scratch - oh and my other aim was to try and not base my social life around alcohol.

Some of the groups were good, but the times or locations didn't work with commuting, other groups just didn't work for me for other reasons, the alcohol avoidance didn't really work either - us Brits are pretty pub-centric after all!

My big success was The Brighton Book Club found through meetup - a highly recommended site for anyone looking to find out what's going on in their area.  The group is large and lively and meets monthly in an upstairs room in a pub.  After just the first night I felt welcome and at home, over the following months we read:

Work commitments and holidays meant that I missed a few others along the way...

I can honestly say that I wouldn't have chosen any of the above books, and to be fair I haven't enjoyed all of them, but they have got me back into the habit and routine of reading again - meaning that I've also read lots of other books in between.

Inspired by reading books I wouldn't otherwise choose, I then started to search for book blogs to further pique my interest - my favourite is Savidgereads and I love forward to Simon's (almost) daily updates dropping into my inbox!

This then led me to Goodreads - an amazing site, where you can record and rate your entire library, post reviews, engage in discussions or simply browse recommendations - you can even link to online sites to buy a copy if you're inspired to buy.

I also obsessively managed to collect a full set of vintage Agatha Christies from ebay - my favourites are the wonderful Pan paperback editions from the early 1950s.

                                                           

Finally I found that through my Pinterest boards I can celebrate my love of beautifully designed book covers!

So what have I discovered?

• I love books now as much as I did when I read my first Enid Blyton over thirty years ago (The Secret of Moon Castle since you ask)
• I am a bit geeky and get a soothing satisfaction from cataloguing things
• I can get as much pleasure from a beautiful old book cover as from the story inside - mid century 'Saul Bass' style ones are my favourites

... and what am I reading currently?

         ... Patrick Gale for pleasure 

                           ... and Iris Murdoch for the Book Group