Reading During Lockdown

 

I’m just wondering if the kind of books you read changed during lockdown? I think mine did.

 

For Christmas I received the book, Just My Luck by Adele Parks, which was a book I very much wanted to read after listening to Adele Parks’ interview on the Richard and Judy Podcast.

 

However, when I did sit down, looking forward to a satisfying read, I’m afraid I was disappointed. 

 

Don’t get me wrong, I’m a big fan of Adele Parks and the book was well written, as to be expected, but I actually found the subject matter to be quite uncomfortable.

 

The story centres around three couples who have known each other since their children, now teenagers, were born. They were part of a syndicate, buying a Lottery ticket using the same numbers each week, and gathering at each other’s houses on a Saturday night to see if they had won.

 

However, the week before the story begins the friends fell out and two couples dropped out of the syndicate. The woman who had always been responsible for buying the tickets, though, bought a ticket the following week, using the same numbers. And of course, this week, the numbers came up and the winning ticket was worth £18 million.

 

Naturally, after all the years they had invested in the syndicate, the other two couples felt that they were entitled to a share of the winnings, but the husband of the winning ticket, in particular, felt that they were not entitled to anything and a Lottery investigation ensued. 

 

So, what made me feel uncomfortable when reading this book was how winning that kind of money changed people’s personalities and broke down relationships – more than just the three couples involved. I’m sure that’s exactly what Adele meant to convey but I found that I didn’t like reading about such greed and the lengths people were prepared to go to, to get what they wanted and felt they deserved. I did read to the end of the book although I had to admit that I turned the last page over with a sense of relief.

 

My reaction made me think about the types of books I’ve been finding enjoyable recently and it was only then I realised that during lockdown I have been seeking out books and authors to make myself feel happy, rather than books that present a challenge. I’ve even revisited books I’ve previously read and enjoyed to be certain of a happy outcome during such uncertain times.

 

Don’t get me wrong, I have read a few thrillers and particularly enjoyed Blood Orange by Harriet Tyce, Invisible Girl by Lisa Jewell and The End of Her by Shari Lapena but on the whole I’ve tended to favour more feel good books by authors such as Lucy Diamond, Debbie Johnson, Fiona Gibson, Cathy Bramley, Veronica Henry, Erica James and Karen Swan. That’s not to say the characters in these books don’t experience hardship or emotional trauma, it’s just that I know that it’s all going to come good in the end.

 

I did read some new authors and enjoyed The Flatshare and The Swithc by Beth O’Leary and In Five Years by Rebecca Searle, but overall I’ve felt that I needed to find comfort in my reading matter.

 

What about you? What have you been reading over the last year and have your tastes changed during lockdown?

Time Travel

Those of you who are regulars to my blog post will know that I love novels which are written with a dual timeline. So here are a few I have read recently:

A Week In Paris - Rachel Hore

I'm a big fan on Rachel Hore so was delighted to download this one onto my Kindle.

As the name indicates this is set in Paris.  The timelines are 1961 and in the run up and during World War II.

In 1961 Faye is visiting Paris as a violinist in a concert tour.  Fay’s mother, Kitty is in a home and Fay is at first reluctant to leave her mother, if only for a week, but is assured that her mother is well enough for her to leave her. Another reason for her to visit Paris is that she has found an ancient rucksack with an address in Paris in a trunk in her mother’s home.

Intrigued Fay decides to investigate and this introduces the timeline of a young woman living in Paris in the run up to war and in a country which is being overrun by the enemy.

If I’m honest I’d say that I enjoyed the story set in the war more than that of the early 1960’s and could have quite happily read that story alone but I still enjoyed the novel greatly and was genuinely afraid for a woman living in occupied France.  Rachel Hore certainly brought this period of history to life in this book.

The Dandelion Years - Erica James

Another of my favourite authors is Erica James.  I love the way she examines the relationships between her characters – you can’t help fall in love with most of the characters she writes about and that, for me, gives her books real page turning quality.

I also love the fact that she sets most of her books around the area where I grew up, which often gives her books an extra likeability for me.

The Dandelion Years is a bit different as it is set both in Suffolk and in the famous Bletchley Park.  It also switches between the present day and 1943/44.

In the present we see Saskia living in a beautiful house called Ashcombe, with her father and two grandfathers.  Saskia and her family have had to overcome a dramatic trauma and over the years it has led them to band together for support, to the extent that they live rather insular existences.

Saskia’s father is a bookseller and Saskia restores old books.  It is through this that she finds an old notebook in a family bible.  The diary tells the story of Jacob a Russian Jewish immigrant working at Bletchley during the war and the woman he falls in love with, Kitty, who is from an aristocratic British family.

Weaved in between this story of the past is the relationship which develops between Saskia and Matthew – a young man who has inherited a mausoleum of a house from a man for whom his mother used to keep house.

Sometimes within dual timelines like this you find yourself becoming more involved with one or the other story, but both stories here were fascinating and worked really well together.

There are tragedies in both but each party learns from them.  A truly satisfying read.

Lazy Sunday Mornings

Easy like Sunday morning is something I’m not familiar with.  Sundays mean homework, football matches and running around getting ready for the week ahead.

Last Sunday however, my husband was playing golf, one son was at a sleepover, and the other had his football match cancelled and was practising being a teenager by staying in bed as long as he could.

So I decided that, “if you can’t beat ‘em, you should join ‘em” and stayed in bed too.  Only my lie in included a cup of tea and a good book.

Normally I read in short bursts when I get the time, but on Sunday I decided to indulge in a long luxurious read.  It was bliss!

It’s a long time since I’ve read any Erica James books, but my mum passed some of them on to me the other week, and I’d made a start on A Sense of Belonging, earlier in the week.

Erica writes about strong, independent women, who, whilst ambitious, aren’t afraid to fall in love. Her books are also set in Cheshire, close to where I grew up, which adds an extra interest.

I forgotten how much I enjoyed her books, and this was no different.  I can honestly say I didn’t want to put the book down, so guess what? I didn’t.  I was sad to finish it though and can’t wait to start on the next when I get a minute.