The summer was a strange one. It was slow and relaxing but with bouts of chaos punctuating it throughout. We had a wonderful holiday in Minorca, which was a blur of sunshine, sightseeing, swimming, and reading interrupted by ‘Mum, watch this!’ every few minutes – which, to be clear, I did not mind in the least: I know I will be sad when my not-so-littles no longer ask me to ‘watch this’. Although saying that, I did chuckle when I was in the pool one day and a girl in her twenties, on holiday with her parents, asked them to ‘watch this’ before executing a lovely forward roll in the pool so maybe they will never get too old for that! I also found myself journalling lots on holiday which is something I was able carry on throughout the summer – and I even write some of my novel while we were away.
A new work client arrived on the scene in July, which has been wonderful but also an adjustment. It has been a new challenge of figuring out the whole “working from home with kids around” thing.
Reading-wise, I have had some 5 star books this summer! I reread We Were Liars by E. Lockhart and was reminded just how good it is. The sequel, Family of Liars, was also a decent read (although maybe just 4 stars). I also devoured Jean Hanff Korelitz’s The Plot, which was absolutely brilliant – I saw the twist coming but I think you were meant to. More 5-star reads were Riley Sager’s The Only One Left which was fantastic – so twisty turny! I sprinted through Carley Fortune’s One Golden Summer – perfect summer reading, and, of course, a new Emily Henry is always a treat, so I was thrilled with Great Big Beautiful Life. It was almost my favourite yet (although Book Lovers probably remains my all-time favourite). Finally, I listened to Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir on audio and it was just as exciting and wonderful.
The one book that left me with an audible groan was Never by Jessa Hastings. It was just awful. Based on Peter Pan, I had such high hopes but even early on I struggled to get into it. I should have DNFd it, but I find that hard to do when I have invested time in reading a book, and I was hopeful it would improve. It got worse, and in fact, it was just horribly problematic and creepy.
As a family, we watched the whole extended version of the three Lord of the Rings filns and I was so delighted to see how miuch the kidos loved them. It has made me want to reread the books and when I saw a creator on Substack share that she was doing a LOTR readalong, I signed up! If you want to join me, you can get a month’s membership free using this link.
Now that the school routine is back in full swing (well, it is back; I am not sure ‘full swing’ is accurate), I’m starting to think about autumn. And you know how I feel about autumn! The wreath is on the front door, and this weekend I’m planning on getting out all the rest of my decorations to make the house feel a little cosier. I will be making my reading list for autumn and planning my autumn viewing.
Currently:
- Reading: September by Rosamunde Pilcher
- Listening: Hedgewitch by Skye McKenna
- Watching: Resident Alien on NOW TV – Alan Tudyk is the best!
- Eating: This potato and sausage soup – absolutely delicious and enjoyed by the whole family! Comfort food is back, people!!
- Drinking: Biscuit Brew by Yorkshire Tea
Notes From My Day 