Books to be read

I mentioned in my previous post that I had a pile of books to read and these would be the ones to start with this year.  In fact, I have many, many more books than this, waiting to be read, but these are the chosen few at the moment (until something else distracts me...)  I am pleased to announce that I have read the first one, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd since Christmas. So, in case you can't see what they are, we have from the top:

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (it is always interesting to see how much a dramatisation of an Agatha Christie story changes from the book - this one did).

The second book is a craft book I received for Christmas, Mandalas to embroider and initially, I was a little dubious when I opened it as I have not done that much embroidery and don't really like too many complicated stitches.  However, on looking at the book, the mandala patterns are pretty and straightforward, with only a few different stitches needed, so I think, on reflection, this book will suit me very well. I look forward to having a go at some of these.

The next is a book I had had for years, but never read, so 2021 is its time!  A History of English Food by Clarissa Dickson Wright.  I am interested in social history, which is probably why I bought it in the first place.

The Diary of a Modern Country Gardener is a book I am in the middle of enjoying, but I kept getting distracted by other things and so it kept getting put down.  I will finish it!

Written in bone is the second book by Sue Black and I really enjoyed her first book.  I did an online course in Forensic Archaeology and Anthropology last year, which was a bit over my head at times, but was very interesting.  If nothing else, the course gave me a new respect for what these people do, which is incredibly complex.

The Well Gardened Mind is another book I have started, but then put down. It deserves my concentration and I will read it this year.  I bought a copy as a present for a colleague at Christmas so it will be interesting to compare notes when we have both read it.  Gardening is a wonderful hobby and its effect on mental health cannot be underestimated.

So, there are my first few books for this year. No doubt there will be many more to come...

Christmas Holiday (and into 2012) reading and my thoughts on Kindles

Here is a lovely pile of books, just waiting for me to dive into them.  This is the plan over the next two weeks!  There's an interesting mixture of fiction (mainly Elizabeth von Arnim, but also including Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel) and non fiction, such as The Lady's Maid (servant to Lady Astor), A History of English Food (which looks fascinating) and Roy Strong's Visions of England (which will hopefully be a positive view of things to be proud of).  I am hoping that Chris is going to buy me a Kindle for Christmas, as there are lots of free classics which I haven't got, but are downloadable, and e-books which aren't available any other way.  My friend in the Netherlands has just epublished her second novel so I am looking forward to getting hold of that too.
I would just like to add that there is no way at all that the Kindle will usurp my precious real books.  I love the feeling of a real book and being able to dive into it and escape totally.  There is also the physical-ness of books (not sure that is actually a word, but I like it - it probably should be physicality) with the feeling of being able to turn proper pages and hold the book. These books are like old friends who it is a joy to meet again, no matter how long it is since you last saw them. Then there is the art, craft, children's books etc. issue - a Kindle would be absolutely useless for any of these, not to mention the large glossy books filled with good quality photos, and... you get the picture?  My Kindle will just be an additional tool to help me enjoy reading even more.  For that reason, I am really looking forward to receiving it.