Wednesday 29 January 2014

Read A Book A Month For a Year

At the beginning of the year, one of the things on my list of what I wanted to achieve this year was to Read A Book A Month (at least).  The main reason for this is the size of the pile of books by my bed which I still need to read.  It was getting a little silly and I'm trying not to buy any more for a while.  Here's a picture.


After taking this photo I rearranged them into fiction and non-fiction which helps me when deciding what to read next as I tend to read according to mood.  They now look like this:



Fiction - A definite preponderance of chick lit here, but there is some more serious fiction in there too.

 
Fact - More factual reading which I'm in the mood for at the moment.

I counted them and there's currently over 40 waiting to be read.  I just keep on finding them in charity shops or borrowing them from the Little Free Library down the road.  I know one book per month won't really make a huge dent in the pile, but it is a start and is at least realistic, as I don't often take the time to read, except when I get into and before I get out of bed or if I know I'm going to be sat around waiting somewhere or travelling and need something to pass the time.  Very occasionally, if I'm really enjoying a book, I may sit down with a cup of tea and read, but it is pretty rare.  I'm hoping that I will manage to read far more books than just 12 this year, but for the moment I am keeping my ambitions real.

Today, however, I read about a very similar blog challenge created by Laura at Circle of Pine Trees and so have thrown my hat in the ring and joined the challenge, if a bit late.  I have, however, started well enough and in January I managed to read this book by Bea Johnson, which I posted about a few weeks ago.



It was an interesting read and has made me think a lot about waste, overconsumption, repurposing and how to generally simplify life.  It has inspired me to do some more de-cluttering this year and maybe be a bit more brutal.  It has also made me think about how I could reduce the waste created in our household and whilst I haven't put too much into practice as yet, I am constantly thinking about it and thinking before buying more 'things', to consider whether I am going to use them well or whether they will last and are fit for purpose, which is no bad thing.

I must admit that I do tend to enjoy reading self-improvement type books early in the year, when my mind is full of good intentions, so the next book that I'm looking to read is this one. 

 
This book has been in my pile for a long time now, bought new like a few in my pile from a local market stall for £1 or something similar, so I'm finally looking forward to delving into it.  Numerous visits to France mean that I have long admired the 'savoir faire' of some French women, which is what attracted me to this book.  I've already read a couple of books about the attitude of French women to their appearance, clothes, bodies, exercise, families, children, etc. and I find the cultural differences quite interesting.

This book is written by Mireille Guiliano the writer of French Women Don't Get Fat and who has in her esteemed career famously worked at the luxury Champagne brand Veuve Cliquot. (I may have spelt this wrong).   I have read the above mentioned book previously and enjoyed her writing style which I found very easy to read, but this book has a more work orientated subject matter, which I'm hoping might help me be a little more motivated in a work sense.  I started reading it this morning and so far am enjoying it.  I'll post a bit more about it when I've read a little more.

8 comments:

  1. I NEED to find some books I want to read - I've been shying away from fiction as I just get way to involved in stories and can't put a book down meaning I end up staying up to the small hours. But on the flip side I've been reading 'Just my Type' a book about fonts which is really interesting but is taking ages as I keep dropping off while reading it (but it is interesting... just not gripping)!

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    1. I bought that book for a friend who was studying graphics. She liked it too. I imagine it is very interesting to find out the background to some of the fonts out there. It would give you a whole new understanding.
      It is difficult to find time to read, especially when you have children. As my daughter has got older I've managed to get back to it a bit more, but I prefer books I can dip in and out of pretty easily.

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  2. The Guilliano book looks interesting, I remember the hype about the why french women don't get fat. Good luck with your challenge!

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    1. Thank you. I've read a few chapters now and I'm really enjoying it.

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  3. I spy "Watching the English" by Kate Fox on your non fiction pile. It's excellent. I think I sent my copy off to the charity shop, almost wish I hasn't now. Loads of fun.

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    1. I've been meaning to read it for a while now. I love those books about the nuances of our nation and that expose the snobberies too.

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  4. Well thank heavens, I am not the only one with teetering piles of books by the bed waiting to be read! And more fiction than non-fiction too. Hurrah!
    Great idea, this year in books, lets you poke your nose into blogs you otherwise might never see, and hopefully discover new authors too. The Kate Fox sounds interesting... I've just read something similar...'The English... A Field Guide' by Matt Rudd, laugh out loud funny at times.

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  5. Hi, I'll have to look out for that one. I need to take a look at some of the other blogs taking part but I've had a few connectivity problems of late and have been using the dongle. Thanks for dropping by.

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