Into the 21st century

It has been four years almost to the day since I last blogged. For several months I have been thinking about it because for around 9 months my reading has increased exponentially, and here I finally am.

Lots has changed since my last blog post.

I have met someone, got engaged to him, moved cities, got married, started a new job working part time. Big life changes! And because I basically wasn't working between May and September of last year, and because I am working less (and have a much more manageable workload at my current school), I have been READING.

In recent years and months, two things have revolutionised my reading habits: Audible, and Goodreads. I have joined the 21st century! Though I still have no eReader. My husband has one but I prefer real books. The only time I wish I had an eReader is when it's time to pack for holidays!
A few years ago some friends bought me a gift subscription to Audible, knowing that I enjoy being 'read to'. Audio books were very much part of my childhood, and family conversations still reference some of our favourites from many re-listens during family holidays (Michael Morpurgo's The Butterfly Lion was my mum's favourite). As I began teaching and needed something to distract me during marking, I discovered BBC Radio 4, especially on the catch-up website, and all the fabulous radio dramas they produce. Then followed borrowing audiobooks on CD from the library for long car journeys. D and J (who bought me the subscription) were often amused on returning home when we shared a house to discover me cooking along to P.G.Wodehouse.

I went a little crazy when I first got the subscription, especially as it was Audible's Christmas sale - I immediately bought the first four Harry Potter books, then spent my first credit on Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Stephen Fry brings these stories to life beautifully, and I have listened to him read these books more times than I have read the physical copies. They provided some much-needed distracted during a dark period.

Since then, I have been a little more restrained - though the £1.99/£2.99 'Deal of the Day' has been taken advantage of on more than one occasion! There are now some series which I have only ever listened to on Audible.


I listen while walking (I walk at least 50 mins a day when I'm at work, 25 mins each way), while doing housework (not while hoovering, obviously!) and while cooking - times when most people would be listening to music. If I am driving far I will listen then, too, but that's quite rare these days. Generally the husband and I have a book we are listening to together. So far these have included 1984 by George Orwell, the incredible Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel (I had already listened to it, but listened again with him to make sure he heard it!), and various Agatha Christies (I already own them all in paper version and am accidentally forming an audiobook collection too!).

My top recommendations are:

The Chronicles of St Mary's series, by Jodi Taylor, narrated by Zara Ramm. These fast paced, entertaining, history-fantasy-sci-fi books tell of Max's adventures of being an historian visiting key historic moments for research purposes. A few 'fruity' scenes in some books, but so entertaining. I have just finished A Trail Through Time, which might be my favourite yet. Lots of short stories are available for free, which are also recommended. Zara Ramm's narration is fantastic.

The Shardlake series by C.J. Sansom, read by Steven Crossley. I am looking forward to spending this month's credit on Sovereign, the third of these mysteries set in Henry VIII's England and solved by social misfit lawyer Matthew Shardlake, who is an excellent character.

Any BBC Radio dramas. We have 'Poirot's Finest Cases', More of Poirot's Finest Cases', 'Lord Peter Wimsey Vol 1 and 2' - all excellent value - as well as the dramatised Chronicles of Narnia, complete Jane Austen, and The Diary of Samuel Pepys with the excellent Kris Marshall.

David Suchet reading the NIV Bible in a year, if that's your kind of thing - each day there is a short section from the Psalms or Proverbs, a New Testament passage, and an Old Testament package. It averages at about 15 minutes a day. Both the husband and I listened to this last year and really enjoyed it (though Ezekiel was a bit of a slog!). Again, great value, especially if bought with a credit.

The Complete Sherlock Holmes, by Arthur Conan Doyle. We have the version read by Simon Vance, who does a great job (though his Scottish accent leaves a lot to be desired!) but I might have gone for Stephen Fry's version had I noticed it first. Again, amazing value for a credit.

And Goodreads. I now have this as an app on my phone, and really use it to track what I am reading and what I want to read. If I come across a book in a bookshop, or on a blog, I just search for it on the app and save it to my 'Want to read' list. This means that when I go to the library (which I do regularly now), I can scroll through my 'Want to read' list first, then potter about for surprises. I'm fortunate in that my library has a great selection, and I usually come away with three or four books from my wish list. I generally have at least two books on my 'Currently Reading' list - one physical book, and one audio book.

At the start of this year I set myself a Reading Challenge for 2018 of reading 50 books. So far, three weeks in, I have read 10! Three of those are audio books (2 of them St Mary's ones). My work situation is a bit precarious still, so that pace may well slow down throughout the year.

Here are my current reads:

Paper book - Closed Casket by Sophie Hannah

Audible - Villa in Italy by Elizabeth Edmondson (a 'Deal of the Day'!)

Audible with husband - The Time Traveller's Guide to Resoration Britain by Ian Mortimer

Up next: Emma by Alexander McCall Smith, The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King.