March 2020 – Fi Phillips

With all the worry over Coronavirus in 2020 and the massive upheaval of self isolation and social distancing, we can often forget to check in on each other. So first off, how are you?

A lot of people in the UK, in fact around the world, have found themselves forced to stay at home and outings have been limited to the necessary. Even where, like me, you work from home, this can still leave you with time on your hands.

If you’re a reader, then that extra time can be a gift. Suddenly you have all the time in the world, or a little extra at least, to read.

Of course, having so much time to read can quickly eat up all the reading material you have at home. That’s where this blog post comes in, to help you get your hands on more ‘stuff’ to read.

Your bookshelves

Yes, I know I said I’d help you find books to read when you ran out of books to read, but have you really read everything on your bookshelves? If you’re anything like me, then you’ll have a habit of buying new books when you’re still working your way through one or more current reads.

What books do you have at home that you’ve never got around to starting? With a family of four readers in the Phillips household, we have a whole universe of books to choose from. Some of the reads I intend to get through this year from our bookshelves at home include:

the rest of the Dark Tower series by Stephen King (so far, I’ve only read the first 4 books)
a collection of short stories by Ernest Hemingway
The Raven’s Knot by Robin Jarvis
The Golden City by John Twelve Hawks
The Prisoner of Heaven by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Otherland by Tad Williams
The Binding by Bridget Collins

And that’s only a few of them.

Then there’s the novels you’ve already finished that you’re more than happy to read again. For me, those would include Frankenstein, the Word and the Void trilogy by Terry Brooks, and The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.

Save your pennies and look at what you have at home before you even think of looking elsewhere.

Authors and Publishers

Many author and publisher websites will feature free reading material to download, and their social media is a great place to find out about special offers like price reductions.

Subscribe to their newsletters to get the latest news on book releases, book deals, competitions, and all kind of freebies.

For instance, if you follow me on social media, you’ll have seen that the Haven Wakes e-book is currently priced at only 99p or cents.

Free books online

There are so many websites that offer free reading material, either to download or read online. A lot of the books available are classic fiction but not all.

This list isn’t exhaustive, but all of these sites provide free reading material:

If you have any other sources of free reading material that I haven’t mentioned above, let me know and I’ll add them.

Mary Shelley

I came to Mary Shelley through studying her novel Frankenstein as part of my Literature degree course and while the novel itself and Mary’s writing have always been a source of inspiration for me, her personal life – supporting her husband, bringing up her child mostly as a single parent and carving out a career for herself as a writer and editor – was even more inspirational.

Here was a woman who wrote science fiction long before it was commonly recognised as a genre. She wrote extensively, not just in the number of works but in the formats they took – novels, plays, travel writing, children’s stories, articles – but sadly she is only really recognised for Frankenstein.

Sheri S Tepper

I can’t actually remember the first book I read by Sheri S Tepper because I’ve read so many of her novels. Sheri was another prolific novelist, but also a writer of novellas, short stories, poetry and articles.

The main genre she wrote in was science fiction but in my favourite novel of hers, The True Game (actually a trilogy bundled into one physical book), she skilfully combines science fiction with fantasy.

Sadly, Sheri died in 2016 but she left a lengthy collection of fictional works that I’m still working my way through.

Erin Morgenstern

I’m a slow reader. This isn’t down to the speed of my reading but rather the juggling act between work and family. I snatch reading time when I’m waiting at school to collect my son and just before I go to sleep.

So when I had a whole week to read The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern while away on holiday with my family in Corfu a few summers ago, it was an absolute joy.

Hands up, this is the only book I’ve read by this author, but The Night Circus grabbed me by my swimsuit straps and wouldn’t let go.

Erin’s writing is as magical as the story that unfolds in her novel, and I have high hopes for future novel.

What about you? Which female authors have inspired you?

Month: March 2020

Help for self-isolating readers