Thanks to Joe over at Simply Being Mum I was inspired to focus on reading this summer for myself. I created some bucket lists for the family for the summer and facilitated their summer reading by attending the library every Wednesday for story time and book borrowing. We enjoyed visits to the book shop, I read to the boys endlessly and even read one book out loud to the girls (these days they are more interested in reading their own books in the evening than having James or I read to them). Reading Joe’s summer schedule post at the start of the summer gave me the push I needed to make time for my reading too. It worked!
I discovered a new author, Peter Pezzelli, whose books I am enjoying. I like Francesca’s Kitchen the best of the two and both were light feel good summer reads.
When summer rolls around I find myself wanting to read travel biographies. This summer I decided to reread two of my favorites, both set in France. One related to Normandy where I lived one summer as a teenager, the other was set in Provence an area I’ve longed to visit.
Last month, while researching whether there were any new books out from some of my favorite authors I spotted that Maeve Binchy wrote two novellas that I hadn’t read. So I ordered them, thrilled that there was still some of her work to enjoy. Tragically, I learned of her death just before my newly ordered books arrived from Europe. I read them feeling sad that one of my favorite authors and fellow country woman was no longer in the world. A new novel will be published post-humously in October and then there will be no more. The sad passing of a lovely lady with a wonderful talent. What I loved the most about her books were her characters. She had an amazing ability to create people who stay with me long after I finish one of her books. They seem like real people, resembling people I knew, or could expect to bump into, in Ireland.
The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe
I never read this series and have wanted to read it aloud to my children. I had an opportunity in August to read this out loud as the girls while they were helping my friend Laura by punching out some appliques that will be used for her Glittersweet bags. Even Ethan at 3 years old really enjoyed the book and would ask me afterwards to read to him from “the wardrobe book”. Very sweet.
I reread this excellent parenting book this summer. I’d first encountered it at the start of the year. It continues to inspire the efforts I have been making to ensure that our family life is as simple as we can make it, without lots of stuff or activities complicating our home life and lots of down time to enjoy together.
I am now contemplating what I might read for the rest of the year. I’m particularly looking forward to getting back to the Martin Beck series that I started reading earlier this year. I stopped because they weren;t the kind of books I felt like reading over the summer. I have some books on the go at the moment and a nice pile of unreads to choose from. Oh, the excitement of it all. I’m consistently reading again!
Emperorp 