Weeknotes: Reading Week

Last month, I took myself on holiday with one aim – read as many books as possible. My wife and I tend to alternate our holidays – one relaxing break then one adventure break.

Our previous trip was a 3 week road-trip through Australia, so this time I opted for an all-inclusive break in the Canaries at an adults-only hotel. I spent a week lying in the sunshine, eReader in hand, pausing only for the occasional cocktail.

I thoroughly recommend this sort of holiday. If you have a “staycation”, there will be all sorts of little jobs to distract you. Laundry, phone calls, making your own food. Having nothing to do, no commitments, is a superb way to read without distraction. I often find that if I read a book over several days, I get confused. I forget characters, or can’t remember the conclusion to an academic argument. Reading all at once is such a joy.

(Aside: yes, I know I’m privileged. I have the resources to fly somewhere warm, a generous leave policy at work, and am happily child-free.)

Something I discovered about reading books in quick succession is that I need to alternate my reading. If I read two fiction books in a row, my mind treats them as a single novel. So I flip between fiction and non-fiction. I also swap fonts between books to help with the transition.

This year, I’m only reading books by women. Looking back over my previous reviews, I mostly read male authors. So this is an attempt to correct this imbalance.

(OK, I’ve cheated once this year by reading Terry Pratchett’s Discworld Imaginarium – but that’s a picture-book, so doesn’t count. Right?)

If you’d like to see what’s on my to-read pile (or want to buy me a book) my reading list is on Amazon.

Anyway, here are the eleven books what I read…

[rcno-reviews id=34027]

[rcno-reviews id=34034]

[rcno-reviews id=34038]

[rcno-reviews id=34041]

[rcno-reviews id=34044]

[rcno-reviews id=34048]

[rcno-reviews id=34052]

[rcno-reviews id=34060]

[rcno-reviews id=34067]

[rcno-reviews id=34070]

[rcno-reviews id=34056]