So, we are off again!
I’m really looking forward to meeting up with some seriously nice bloggers over the next few weeks. The plan is…
I’m hopping about blogs over the summer, it started off with just one a week, but I have a feeling it could grow – which is super news!
Today, I’m dropping in on the best publishers in the world!!!
Aria Fiction, where the lovely Blake has me chatting about summer books!
I did mention that My Husband’s Wives is proving to be a very popular summer read:)
til tomorrow…
Here is a link to the blog post:
And here is the post in case the google gremlins decide to gobble it:
Summer Reading: Have You Picked Yours Yet?
By Faith Hogan.
You have to admit that all the best Secret Seven adventures happened in summer time! I think, that’s probably what set most of us, eternally on the trail of ‘the summer book.’ And, as I get older and talk to more people about reading, a great number of us, select our holiday reads with consideration to what is hot, what is not and of course, what we can talk about afterwards and ultimately what might sustain us through the dark cold winter months ahead.
Now, I’m finding the topic of the summer read particularly fascinating. I’ve written a book you see, a book that some people are buying to read on their summer holidays. Or at least that’s what they’re telling me. For some, they can’t wait until they take a plane to somewhere warm, for long hot days of guilt free reading. So they’re just reading it now – which is lovely too!
For me, over the years my summer reading habits have changed – I could say evolved, but I’m not sure that’s necessarily the case. Summer is inclination reading. It’s time to kick off the sandals (or wellies if the last few years are anything to go by!)and read all day if the fancy takes me. In summer, I can dive into a book without any compunction to read what is good for me, rather I read for unadulterated pleasure.
Back in the days, when I was a more earnest reader, school holidays were long and I desperately wanted to read all of the greatest books ever written. Summer was a time for taking down the classics, interspersed with biographies. So, I did manage to devour a couple of distinguished names from C.S. Lewis to Jane Austen. I fell in love with more than one hero. Many of them, long since committed to paper, but destined to live on in my imagination for a lifetime. Somehow, in between these forays, I managed to slip in the occasional Mills and Boon, the James Herriot collection and of course, anything I could get my hands on by Agatha Christie. Oh, the bliss of having more than one book on the go – it’s still a mystery to non-readers, but already I can see my own children are beginning to get the habit.
The summer book is hardly a new phenomenon – a few years ago, I remember sitting on the tube in London, surrounded by E.L James readers. I can date many of my holidays by the books that were ‘big’ that year. For example, I remember heading off to America for the first time and there were half a dozen of us reading the Da Vinci Code – that must be twenty years ago. Coming back from Monte Carlo, a decade later, we were all submerged in the goings on at Hogwarts. There is something about going on holidays that makes you feel entitled to read something popular, something that you wouldn’t necessarily read at other times of the year.
If I’m heading off during my normal working week, I will always have my kindle in my bag, but if I’m waiting to see someone, more than likely I’m reading to be informed, as opposed to being entertained and I bet I’m not the only one.
This year, I’m looking forward to a selection of light summer reading. Over the last few years, I’m not so much reading the block busters – true, after I’ve read them, they’ve gone on to hit the best sellers list (although I’m not taking any blame for that!) Now, I’m selecting my reading based on a number of things.
The first is, what appeals to me – and invariably I’m going for something with good characters, good writing and a story that uplifts. If possible its setting is somewhere warm, so I can pretend that weather conditions are seasonal.
Next up, it has to be on my e-reader. The e-reader has completely revolutionised reading on the go for me. I can bring any number of paperbacks, or hardbacks in my case without having to worry about weight. I can flip from one book to another – yes, I’m still reading three books at a time. I can replace my book at any time, without have to read in French, because the local book shop doesn’t have English titles. Finally, if I forget to bring my reading glasses – ta dah – bigger print in an instant.
And my books for this summer…
Well, that would be telling, wouldn’t it! But let me say this, I have set aside at least two Aria books for my growing Aria Addiction!
Bye for now and if you haven’t already picked up a summer book, have fun choosing something good!