Homeland

I'm rubbish at reading. I mean technically I can read well enough it is just that I really don't get a lot of pleasure out of reading.

And it bothers me. It bothers me because I really want to read books. I know that once I do actually get into a book I really quite enjoy it and I can even get like those people so focused on finishing a chapter, or the book itself, that I can't do anything else until it is done. But it happens so rarely. I wouldn't dare admit just how few books I have read cover to cover in my adult life to date.

Anyway, every holiday I try again with another book and this summer I was persuaded by my lovely husband to read 'One Day' as he had enjoyed reading it earlier in the year. I started at the end of July and finished last week. I guess that tells you something straight away. To be honest I found it a bit of a chore. I didn't particularly like either of the characters and subsequently wasn't really bothered about what happened to them apart from a vague interest in whether, no how, they would eventually end up together.

However I did enjoy the reading itself and getting into the habit of sitting still for a bit, switching off, and escaping into another world. So, with One Day finally finished, yesterday I started Homeland by Barbara Kingsolver, the only author whose books I have consistently enjoyed in recent years.

Incidentally, since we moved house I have been dreaming of winter evenings sitting in my green chair by the wood burning stove, chatting with Iain or reading. The reality is this never happens because the boys never get to sleep at a reasonable hour and there are always countless numbers of jobs to get done.

This coming winter, this will be the winter for this, surely?