This year has not got off to a good start.
I began 2023 with damage to my car caused because someone couldn’t be bothered to angle their vehicle correctly when reversing out of the parking space. They pranged by car and then scarpered without acknowledging their fault. I came out of the coffee shop to find dents and scrapes all along one side of my car that I now have to pay to repair.
Then same car needed two new front tires and a replacement for the remote control gizzmo — the cost of which runs into hundreds of pounds. When I recoiled from the quote and challenged the dealership guy, he basically said I should be glad I don’t have a BMW because their replacements are four times the price of my Mazda version. i suppose he thought that would make me feel better! It failed.
On top of all these woes, there was a family health crisis to deal with (all resolved now thankfully).
All of which is a long winded way of saying that my energy levels were at a low ebb, affecting my enthusiasm and appetite for reviewing/blogging/commenting. So if you’ve been wondering why I’ve been so quiet on here lately now you know.
Reading Update
I have been reading; just not as much as I would typically. I’ve read more crime fiction than usual, mainly because it doesn’t require as much brain power.
My favourites from the past two months are:
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier: the plot is so familiar from all those views of the film version but the book version has a lot more depth in the character.
Fox Fires by Wyl Menmuir: superbly atmospheric novella of a girl’s search for her father in an unknown town where everyone is being watched
Old Wives by Arnold Bennett: what a surprise this was. Yes it’s wordy but it’s a fascinating portrait of the fortunes of two sisters and a changing community
Project Update
Amid all the gloom there were some glimmers of good news.
The biggest news is that I finished my World Of Literature project in January. The Nordic FINDS reading event hosted by Annabel took me to Iceland which was my 50th country in this project. It took me several years but was well worth the effort. I’ll do a more detailed wrap up on my experience in a few days
I managed to read two books from my Classics Club list: The Old Wives by Arnold Bennett which was my spin book, and Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier.
Fox Fires enabled me to tick off another square on my Wanderlust Bingo card: the setting is a fictitious city called O (I get the idea it could be in Eastern Europe) through which the main character walks without the aid of maps since these are outlawed by the state.
Looking Ahead
Though all the dramas of the first two months have come to an end, I’m still finding it difficult to settle back into a reading routine. March is always challenging because it features reading events celebrating writing from two Celtic nations.
I’m duty bound to contribute something to the Reading Wales event (Dewithon) hosted by Paula) but so far haven’t found anything that has grabbed my attention. I’ve given up on three books so far (two non fiction and one short story collection).
Ideally, given my Irish heritage, I would love to read something for Cathy’s Ireland Reading Month and do have These Days by Lucy Caldwell lined up in readiness. I might just be able to squeeze this in at the last minute.
I’m going to try and catch up on some reviews soon but am making no promises!