At my mini shopping spree at the Exclusive Books sale last weekend I found I had only chosen kiddies books, which just shows you how life changes. I used to need a forklift to get to my car after one of those sales not so long ago.
The books I've been reading over the past few months are really quite a strange and varied selection, if I say so myself. I used go through novels like mad, but find I've become a little bit more selective as my time for reading has become more limited. But if you know of any good novels, please do recommend (I'm still a bit undecided whether I'm going to brave 50 Shades of Grey...)
1 Man's search for meaning Viktor Frankl
I've just started reading this, about Viktor Frankl's experience in the WWII concentration camps. It is extremely well written and very good, but don't read it just before bedtime as it can be quite vivid.
2 Ghost Train to the Eastern Star Paul Theroux
I have a thing for travel books, and Paul Theroux's are intelligent and substantial. In Ghost Train he retraces a journey he took 30 years ago from London to the East, travelling by train through Europe. It's very good, but can be slow at times.
3 Mating in Captivity Esther Perel
I read this after hearing a radio show which discussed the book. It's all about passion in long term, domestic relationships. A bit psycho-babbly for me, but interesting none the less.
4 Celebrate: The art of the special occasion Lucia van der Post
This was my one and only non-kiddie book buy at the above mentioned Exclusive Books sale last week. Really enjoyable, and I think I'm going to re-read it with a highlighter and some Post-It notes just to capture all the menu suggestions which sound amazingly delicious and impossibly simple.
5 How not to F*** them up Oliver James
Ha! I bet you thought there would be more Mommy books on this list! How not to F*** them up is a very straight-forward, no nonsense type of book on what the best decision is regarding your under-three and the type of care they need, so as to not, ahem, F*** them up. Just a word of advice, don't take this on holiday with your family in-law. Every time someone asks you what book you are reading, you will have to go into a very long explanation as to what it actually is, and isn't, about.
6 The Corfu Trilogy Gerald Durrell
As mentioned, I have a thing for travel books. The trilogy contains three books set on Corfu during the 1930s and tells the story of the eccentric English family who moved there. Perfect reading for lying on a lovely warm beach. Or wishing you were.
(All pics from Kalahari)
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