reading – Fi Phillips

25th November 202225th November 2022

Looking back over 2022

It’s that time of year again, when I take a moment to look back over 2022 before I dive into the festive season. It has been a marvellous year for me on so many fronts. Here’s why:

Haven Wakes was reborn

My first fantasy novel, Haven Wakes, received a make-over. The clever people at Burning Chair came up with a fresh new book cover design. I loved the original but to me, the new design reflects the novel so much better.

Magic Bound was published

This has to be the highlight of the year. The second novel in my fantasy series, Magic Bound, was published in the summer. It’s a continuation of Steve’s journey into magic and takes him far beyond the city walls of Caercester. I even made an unboxing video.

Here’s the blurb:

The magic returns.

When Hartley Keg and Blessing go missing, Steve Haven, the young heir to the Haven Robotics Corporation, once again finds himself plunged back into the chaos of the hidden world of magic.

Teaming up with the darkling, he finds himself on the run from the Council and their enforcers, the Hidden, as he seeks to keep safe those whom he holds most dear.

Things are complicated further when a new player emerges: Parity, a clandestine organisation who are far too keen in the Haven Corporation and the magical device which almost led to its destruction.

What follows is a race not only against time but through a series of locations, each more fantastical and dangerous than the last, as Steve and his friends attempt to stay one step ahead of their pursuers.

I read a lot of fiction books

Well, it was a lot for me anyway. So far in 2022, I have read:

I meant to read a lot more than this, but life got in the way. My current read is Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro. As usual you can find my book reviews on my Instagram channel.

My blogging habit

I publish a new blog post every month. In 2022, these were my personal favourites:

I also appeared in a couple of guest blog posts in 2022. The first is on the Whispering Stories blog, The writing life of Fi Phillips. The second was an interview by my lovely publisher, Burning Chair.

The Life of Fi

As far as my personal life goes, 2022 has also been kind. My son passed his A levels and got into the university of his choice (that’s both of my offspring at university now).

I also went on a cruise of the Norwegian fjords with my husband. Obviously, clothes had to be bought for the posh nights and the Norwegian summer temperatures (chilly).

So that’s it, my wonderful year. Now if you don’t mind, I’ve presents to buy, celebrations to enjoy, and book three of my fantasy series to write. There’s no rest for the writerly.

18th October 2022

5 books to hide away with this Halloween

woman reading amongst candles and pumpkins

The last time I blogged about scary reads was back in 2020 so I thought it was time to do it again. I’ve found five more books whose frights have stayed with me long after I’ve reached the end of the novel. Whether you want scares for youngsters, full-on horror, dark fantasy, or something old, there’s bound to be a book in this list that’ll grab you by the throat.

Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy

I came across the Skulduggery Pleasant novels through my children. I can remember reading the first novel to my son and thinking, ‘this is a bit scary for kids’. Derek Landy initially decided to finish the series at ten (I think), but then couldn’t leave the characters alone and has written several more since.

Here’s the blurb:

Meet Skulduggery Pleasant: detective, sorcerer, warrior.

Oh yeah. And dead.

Stephanie’s uncle Gordon is a writer of horror fiction. But when he dies and leaves her his estate, Stephanie learns that while he may have written horror, it certainly wasn’t fiction.

Pursued by evil forces intent on recovering a mysterious key, Stephanie finds help from an unusual source – the wisecracking skeleton of a dead wizard.

When all hell breaks loose, it’s lucky for Skulduggery that he’s already dead. Though he’s about to discover that being a skeleton doesn’t stop you from being tortured, if the torturer is determined enough. And if there’s anything Skulduggery hates, it’s torture.

Will evil win the day? Will Stephanie and Skulduggery stop bickering long enough to stop it? One thing’s for sure: evil won’t know what’s hit it.

Black House by Stephen King and Peter Straub

Black House is the second book in a duo by Stephen King and the late Peter Straub. The first book is The Talisman. I read these books several years apart, but as soon as I dipped into Black House I was taken back to The Talisman and young Jack’s adventure. There are definite tie-ins to other novels by King, especially the Dark Tower series.

Here’s the blurb for Black House:

A comfortable, solid, middle-American town – inhabited by a serial killer…

Children are disappearing, lost to the world, horrifically murdered.

The best clue the detectives have – a serial killer from a century ago.

Jack Sawyer, retired from the LAPD at 35, plagued by visions of another world.

As a child, Jack visited the Territories, a menacing place of violence and madness, to save his dying mother. Now, if the latest child victim is to be saved, Jack must retrieve his lost childhood memories, and revisit the one place he hoped never to see again.

Cabal by Clive Barker

I went through a phase of binge-reading Clive Barker novels and Cabal is one of the shortest but it gives a wonderful flip-side to other Barker novels like Weaveworld. It was even made into a film called Nightbreed.

Here’s the blurb:

Cabal is the story of Boone, a tortured soul haunted by the conviction that he has committed atrocious crimes. In a necropolis in the wilds of Canada, he seeks refuge and finds the last great creatures of the world – the shape-shifters known as the Nightbreed. They are possessed of unearthly powers – and so is Boone. In the hunt for Boone, they too will be hunted. Now only the courage of this strange human can save them from extinction. And only the undying passion of a woman can save Boone from his own corrupting hell…

Moon by James Herbert

Okay, maybe I have a book problem because I also went through a reading binge of James Herbert novels. Moon is probably the scariest novel I’ve read by him and it’s one of the few books that I’ve re-read (hence the battered copy on my bookshelf).

Here’s the blurb:

The nightmare begins before you sleep .

By the Master of Horror, James Herbert’s Moon follows Jonathan, who fled from the terrors of his past, finding refuge in the quietness of the island. And for a time he lived in peace. Until the ‘sightings’ began, visions of horror seeping into his mind like poisonous tendrils, violent acts that were hideously macabre, the thoughts becoming intense.

He witnessed the grotesque acts of another thing, a thing that glorified in murder and mutilation, a monster that soon became aware of the observer within its own mind. And relished contact. A creature that would eventually come to the island to seek him out . . .

The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

I found The Woman in White in an old book I inherited from my parents, entitled ‘Novels of Mystery’, that also includes the story of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. It’s a battered old hardback book with a plain cover that was published in 1945. So the blurb below is from the Amazon entry (sorry):

In love with the beautiful heiress Laura Fairlie, the impoverished art teacher Walter Hartright finds his romantic desires thwarted by her previous engagement to Sir Percival Glyde.

But all is not as it seems with Sir Percival, as becomes clear when he arrives with his eccentric friend Count Fosco. The mystery and intrigue are further deepened by the ghostly appearances of a woman in white, apparently harbouring a secret that concerns Sir Percival’s past.

A tale of love, madness, deceit and redemption, boasting sublime Gothic settings and pulse-quickening suspense.

Now I just have to decide which book I’ll read this Halloween.

21st September 2022

My favourite places to buy new reads

When I lived in York in my pre husband and offspring years, one of my favourite ways to spend a lunchtime was to browse the city centre book shops. I had a choice between a Waterstones, where my favourite genres and non-fiction reads lived in the basement, and another book shop that began with ‘O’ (can’t remember the full name) nearby that was spread over several floors and had comfy armchairs dotted amongst the book-cases. I would enjoy a magical half hour perusing books (that I mentally added to my to-buy list) and breathing in the bookish surroundings.

The time I spent working in London saw many weekends spent in Foyles bookshop on Charing Cross Road, partly because it was such a wonderful shop to spend time in but also because my father had been a weekend regular there too when he lived in London in the 1950s. Visiting Foyles felt like spending time with Dad.

Nowadays, the O book shop in York and Foyles in London have both been asbsorbed into the Waterstones empire. While each Waterstones store is supposed to be individual in the books it stocks and the character of the physical premises, it’s been good to see the number of independent book shops that have sprung up both on the high street and online, offering a welcome alternative.

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy visiting my local Waterstones with its quirky layout, but I want to decide what to buy rather than be pointed to what Waterstones want me to buy. I want a book shop that opens up the world of books to me, whoever those books are published by, instead of simply focusing on the celebrity and traditionally published reads.

That’s why it’s encouraging to see the increasingly wide range of places I can source new books from beyond the big names like Waterstones and W H Smith. So here are my favourite places to find out what new reads are out and buy a few (or more):

Walk-in independent book shops

There are so many brilliant and characterful independent book shops in the UK. While they still have to make a profit, they do seem to be more open to stocking books that aren’t by celebrity authors or from big name publishers. They’re also more than happy to hear from local authors. What’s more, most of them sell books online too. So if you can’t physically visit your local indie book shop, you can still browse what they have to offer and buy a book or two.

Publisher websites

Of course, there are the big publishing websites like Penguin Random House but for a different slant on new reads and trends, why not do a search for smaller, independent publishers like Burning Chair Publishing or Valley Press.

Author websites

I like to keep up-to-date with the latest releases by my favourite authors by visiting their websites. Even those authors who don’t directly sell from their websites, will always share links to where you can buy their books.

Book subscription services

I do love book subscription services. It isn’t a new trend; I can remember my mother signing up to receive classic and crime novels each month for years. Nowadays though, many subscription services will send your new read accompanied with other goodies like bookmarks, tea bags, and biscuits. Some book subscription services are themed around a particular genre and many have links to publishers and authors themselves. My personal favourite is Tea Leaves and Reads.

Amazon

Yes, I know, Amazon is a monster, but you have to admit that it does have it’s eye on the ball when it comes to knowing what people want to buy, including books. Plus, it’s the saviour of so many self and indie published authors (like me). Maybe I can redeem myself though by saying that I do try to buy books elsewhere, where the publisher or author will get a bigger cut of the sales price, and only use Amazon if the price is reasonable and I can’t find the book anywhere else.

Maybe the standard book ‘shop’ has changed, but there’s never been more places to browse and buy your latest read.

21st April 2022

What I’m reading this spring

Spring in North Wales is increasingly pleasant; one might even say ‘sunny’. As a result, I can spend much more time out of doors and especially in my garden, meaning a lot more reading.

So, with book two of the Haven Chronicles in the hands of Burning Chair and progress on book three going well, I’m allowing myself lots of time to catch up on my increasing to-be-read pile.

Here’s what I’m reading this spring:

Current read: Raising Steam by Terry Pratchett

I’ve been a fan of Terry Pratchett’s writing since I read his novel The Colour of Magic back in the 1980s. His quirky, intelligent, and entertaining take on fantasy is always a joy to read and Raising Steam, although longer than his earlier novels, is just as good.

Here’s the blurb:

Moist von Lipwig is not a man who enjoys hard work – as master of the Post Office, the Mint and the Royal Bank his input is, of course, vital . . . but largely dependent on words, which are fortunately not very heavy and don’t always need greasing. However, he does enjoy being alive, which makes a new job offer from Vetinari hard to refuse . . .

Steam is rising over Discworld, driven by Mister Simnel, the man wi’ t’flat cap and sliding rule who has an interesting arrangement with the sine and cosine. Moist will have to grapple with gallons of grease, goblins, a fat controller with a history of throwing employees down the stairs and some very angry dwarfs if he’s going to stop it all going off the rails . . .

Also current read: Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman

When I wanted to go out with a book in hand and couldn’t find Raising Steam, I decided to take Practical Magic with me instead. The plan was to start it and then put it down again until I’d finished Raising Steam. That didn’t work out, and I’m now alternating between the two because they’re both so good.

I loved the film of Practical Magic but the book is even better. Here’s the blurb:

As children, sisters Gillian and Sally were forever outsiders in their small New England town, teased, taunted and shunned for the air of magic that seems to sparkle in the air around them. All Gillian and Sally ever wanted was to get away.

And eventually they do – one marries, the other runs as far from home as she can manage.

Years later, however, tragedy will bring the sisters back together. And they’ll find that no matter what else may happen, they’ll always have each other. An enchanting tale of love, forgiveness and family, Practical Magic is beloved of readers of all ages.

Next read: A Darker Shade of Magic by V E Schwab

I have to admit that I know nothing about this author or her writing but the blurb of her fantasy novel, A Darker Shade of Magic, drew me in straightaway. Here it is:

Most people only know one London; but what if there were several? Kell is one of the last Travelers—magicians with a rare ability to travel between parallel Londons. There’s Grey London, dirty and crowded and without magic, home to the mad king George III. There’s Red London, where life and magic are revered. Then, White London, ruled by whoever has murdered their way to the throne. But once upon a time, there was Black London…

Last read of the season: Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

I’ve heard such good things about Piranesi that I made sure to add it to my Christmas present list in 2021 (thank you, husband for paying attention). I can’t wait to read it. Here’s the blurb:

In his notebooks, day after day, he makes a clear and careful record of its wonders: the labyrinth of halls, the thousands upon thousands of statues, the tides that thunder up staircases, the clouds that move in slow procession through the upper halls. On Tuesdays and Fridays Piranesi sees his friend, the Other. At other times he brings tributes of food to the Dead. But mostly, he is alone.

Messages begin to appear, scratched out in chalk on the pavements. There is someone new in the House. But who are they and what do they want? Are they a friend or do they bring destruction and madness as the Other claims?

Lost texts must be found; secrets must be uncovered. The world that Piranesi thought he knew is becoming strange and dangerous.

Ooh, look! The sun’s out. Maybe I should take the dog outside – she’ll enjoy that. I’m sure she won’t mind if I take a book with me. Now, Pratchett or Hoffman? Hm…

17th January 2022

What you can expect from me in 2022

Does anyone else feel like 2021 was a practice run for 2022? Not that it was terrible; plenty of good stuff came into my life last year. It just felt like wading through mud in fluffy slippers whilst balancing an overfilled suitcase on my shoulders. That’s why my phrase for this year is ‘back on course’. Back on course with getting out into the world, back on course with writing books, and back on course with getting those books out to you, dear reader.

Book 2 of the Haven Chronicles

Unfortunately, my publisher’s schedule for 2021 meant that the second instalment in my fantasy series didn’t make it out of the stalls last year. The good news is that book 2 will definitely be published in the first half of 2022.

Over the next few months, I’ll be asking for beta readers to help me polish my novel and ARC readers to get the word out to the reading community. I’ll also be revealing the book’s title and cover design. If you want to get involved as either a beta or ARC reader, drop me an email or register with Burning Chair’s reader group.

I can’t wait to share Steve’s continuing journey into magic with you.

Social media for authors

My book of social media advice for authors is in the hands of Burning Chair. In the meantime, you can find plenty of advice for authors on my copywriting blog.

Social Media for Authors will be published in 2022 or 2023.

Writing Book 3

While I waited to hear back about book 2 last year, I began to write the next novel in the series, and that will continue in 2022. I greatly admire authors who can write a first draft in a couple of months, but unfortunately that isn’t me. The target is to have the first draft of book 3 finished by the autumn. Fingers crossed.

Subscriber treats

In my December newsletter, I let subscribers access a deleted scene from Haven Wakes. The plan is to get subscriber eyes on deleted scenes regularly throughout the year – perhaps on a quarterly basis.

If you haven’t signed up for my Author News yet, you can subscribe here.

Writers are readers too

Last year, I only managed to read ten fiction books. In 2022, I want to increase that to at least twelve. Christmas presents and shopping got me off to a good start with my to-be-read pile. I have nine physical books and one e-book (Ghosts: Being the Experiences of Flaxman Low by K and Hesketh Pritchard) so far.

That means lots of 2022 book reviews on my Instagram and plenty of book recommendations in my newsletter too.

So that’s my writerly and readerly 2022 mapped out. Fingers crossed, it all goes to plan. I’ll keep you posted.

Photo by Debby Hudson on Unsplash

28th August 202128th August 2021

What I’ve been reading over the Summer

This summer seemed to go on forever but with autumn waiting at the door, I thought I’d share what I’ve been reading over the last few months.

With two of my books with my publisher Burning Chair and no edits to keep me busy, I avoided the dreaded thumb-twiddling by diving into my to-be-read list. Here are all the lovely book covers and the reviews I left on Amazon and Goodreads.

I am Dust by Louise Beech

Beautifully Haunting

I am dust. She haunts me. Two phrases from this supernatural novel that encapsulate so much of its heart.

This beautiful ghost story is so much more than that. There’s romance, friendship – both the real kind of like-souls and the ‘just because you’re around’ kind of the teen years – and a multi-layered story that unwinds and reveals at just the right pace.

I loved the switch back and forth between the present and the past, which was done so well, and the growing suspense. The ending wasn’t predictable; neither was the identity of Morgan Miller’s murderer. I so wanted a happy ending for the main character, Chloe. Despite her demons, she grew on me as someone who deserved the best in the world.

P.S. Chester rocks.

The Curse of Becton Manor by Patricia Ayling

Historical mystery and ghostly goings-on

The Curse of Becton Manor packs a double historical whammy with its two period settings of the 1950s and the 1590s.

The dream of life in an Elizabethan country manor house soon turns into a mixed blessing as Tom and his friend George happen on the ghostly mystery of Becton Manor.

I loved the interplay between the two time periods and the level of historical research that made both timelines so believable.

Ghosts. Intrigue. Adventure. What a brilliant mixture.

My Father’s Daughter by Lily Lawson

Memories and Moments

This well-crafted collection of poetry by the very talented Lily Lawson features memories and moments that anyone can connect with.

From love, to friendship, family, and moments of just being. Beautiful.

Words of Alchemy by Camilla Downs

Magical

This collection of free-verse poetry is vivid and heart-felt. At times it seemed like a book of affirmations; at others a meditation on life. Even more poems reminded me of magic spells, sending love and good wishes out into the world. I enjoyed reading the explanations that many of the poems carried too.

All in all, Words of Alchemy by Camilla Downs is a magical read.

The Crow Folk by Mark Stay

Marvelously Magical

After I was only a few chapters into The Crow Folk, I began to get the impression that this novel was a mixture of Bedknobs and Broomsticks and Worzel Gummidge. By the end of it, I’d found that it went far beyond both of those stories.

The melding of scarecrows come to life, witches both young and more mature, a sense of community, and the limitations of English village life during the early years of WW2 created a wonderful adventure that had me reaching for The Crow Folk every night.

The humour is just right and the dialogue is written so deftly that I could picture each conversation.

I can’t wait for the next instalment in the Witches of Woodville series.

Next up is Point of Contact by Richard Ayre. Watch out for my book review on my Instagram account (as well as Amazon and Goodreads).

27th May 20211st December 2021

What I’m reading this Summer

The edits on the second novel in my fantasy series, the Haven Chronicles, are coming along nicely but I have to admit that working on my copywriting business and editing my novel have taken a toll on my reading. My eyes are too tired to read at bed-time and I can’t find much spare time in the week to open a book.

So, I’ve set myself a new readerly goal of finishing my TBR (to be read) list by the end of the summer. There’s some brilliant books sat on the shelf behind my desk, just crying out for some loving attention. Here’s what I want to read in 2021:

The Curse of Becton Manor by Patricia Ayling

From one of my fellow Burning Chair authors, Patricia Ayling, the back cover blurb tells me that , “The Curse of Becton Manor is a gripping tale of betrayal through the ages, and how the ghosts of English past still haunt all the way to the present day.”

This thriller is definitely one that I’ll review on this blog.

Find The Curse of Becton Manor here.

The Crow Folk by Mark Stay

Book 1 of the Witches of Woodville series, The Crow Folk is set in 1940 in World War Two torn England, with the promise of ‘rationing, blackouts and witchcraft’. One back cover review calls the novel, “Doctor Who meets Worzel Gummidge”.

To be fair, it had me at ‘witchcraft’.

Find The Crow Folk here.

Point of Contact by Richard Ayre

Written by another Burning Chair author, Richard Ayre, I think Point of Contact deserves a full back-cover blurb mention:

A series of horrifying, unexplainable deaths. A race against time to stop an all-powerful madman. And the only person who can stop it all is battling his own demons.

Newcastle, England. People are bursting into flames without warning or explanation. When the local police seek an expert in spontaneous human combustion, there is only one man to call: ex-firefighter Ian Fenwick, a man with a past as dark as his future.

Fenwick finds himself thrust into his most deadly investigation yet, pitching him against a crazed killer and mysterious entities known only as The Visitors.

Can Fenwick stop them before they make the whole world burn?

Find Point of Contact here.

The Binding by Bridget Collins

Imagine you could erase your grief. Imagine you could forget your pain. Imagine you could hide a secret. Forever.

Books and magic in one novel – my ideal read! The Binding tells the story of a book binder called Emmett Farmer who has the skills to capture a person’s memories in a book so they can forget.

I also have her novel, The Betrayals on my shelf.

Find both books here.

Now I just need to finish editing my novel so I can get back to some serious reading time. What’s on your TBR list?

22nd April 202116th November 2021

5 ways that Readers can help Authors like me

Over the last couple of days, I’ve been asked the same question by a friend and a couple of readers. All three of them have read my debut fantasy novel Haven Wakes and left glowing reviews, but they wanted to know what else they could do to make my life easier.

After a think, this is what I told them.

Recommend my books

Here’s what I mean:

You’re twittering with the best of them and you come across a reader asking for YA fantasy and sci fi book recommendations. Why not tell them about Haven Wakes?
Your book club is on the look-out for a speculative fiction book to read. Suggest Haven Wakes.
Your friend’s cousin’s daughter’s friend wants a new fantasy series to read. You guessed it! Point them to Haven Wakes.

Whenever you comes across a chance, please recommend my books.

Share my social media posts

With any luck you’ve already connected with me on at least one of my social media channels:

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

If you come across my social media posts, especially ones pointing to my newsletter or book sales page, it would be really helpful if you could widen my reach by sharing my post with your connections.

Blog about my books

If you run a book blog, whether that’s as a writer or a reader, it would be really appreciated if you could drop me and my books a mention.

If you need content for your blog, let me know and I’m more than happy to answer your questions for an author interview, pen a blog post on writing-craft, or write a piece on some other suitable topic.

Even better, sign up to be an ARC reader and blog as part of my next book launch.

In return for a mention on your blog, I’ll happily share it on my social media channels. It’s a win-win for us both.

Request my books

If you want to buy my book in paperback from your local bookstore but they don’t stock it, why not ask them to order it in? With any luck, they’ll buy in more than one copy so some other reader can get their hands on it. You could even take a shot of my book on their bookshelves and post it on social media (don’t forget to tag me though).

I know that not everyone can afford to buy my book. The next best thing is to borrow a copy from the local library. If this is you but they don’t have a copy, it would be really appreciated if you could ask them to order it in. I dropped off a copy to my local library for just this reason.

Sign up to my mailing list and share my Author News

Social media is an absolute boon for authors to get the news out about their latest books, but it’s reliant on algorithms and readers being online at the right time to see our posts. A mailing list doesn’t have either of these restraints and is the best way to keep up-to-date with an author and their latest news.

a free short story set in the same world as Haven Wakes
my monthly goings-on and writing progress
my book news, including the chance to be a beta or ARC reader
a book recommendation that I love and hope you will too (and not a book I’ve written)

And if you have friends who you think might appreciate reading my Author News too, why not forward my newsletter on to them.

While buying our books and leaving book reviews will always be the best way to help us authors, lovely readers like you can make us smile in so many other ways too.

15th February 202117th February 2021

Commit to reading time

This might seem like a silly thing to suggest. If you’re sitting down to read a book, then of course you’re committed to reading it. Hang on though, hear me out.

Your mind might be on tomorrow’s Zoom meeting, or the pile of ironing that is threatening to engulf your home workspace. You might sit down and fall into a daydream of a night out at your favourite restaurant/cinema/anywhere you haven’t been because of lockdown. You may begin to read, but stop, then start, then drift off again as your mind niggles at you to do something else instead.

The answer? Why not make an appointment with yourself to read? You make appointments to go to the dentist. No, hang on, that was 2019. Okay, well, you make appointments to have Zoom work meetings or home-school your children. Why not make an appointment, with yourself, to switch off and lose yourself in a book?

Set it on your mobile phone or write it on the calendar. You could even leave yourself a sticky note on your computer screen.

Indicate to your mind that this is booked time for you and no-one else. You’re busy, curled up in a chair or bed, possibly with a cup of tea, giving all your attention to your read of choice.

Switch off distractions

You’ve settled down with a brand new book, all comfy and ready to escape to another world, and then your phone rings or pings or vibrates. Whatever it’s doing, it drags you from your read.

Or it might be that,

you try to read in the lounge while your children watch TV
you’re reading an ebook on your tablet, but notifications keep popping up on the screen
your laptop is within reach and you can’t help but notice every time an email drops into your inbox

Switch it all off. Turn off the mobile phone or put it on airplane mode. Mute or turn off the notifications on your tablet for now. Put your laptop in another room or turn it off (you’ll be saving power, whether battery or electric).

It’s just another way to commit to yourself and your lovely book.

Settle somewhere you won’t be disturbed

Picture this. You’re nose down in a book, rivetted by the storyline, and then your partner pipes up that they just want five minutes of your time – promise.

Here’s another one. You’ve sat down at the kitchen table to read with a drink, then your teenager announces that they need the space so they can do classwork on their laptop.

There’s two parts to this. Firstly, if you want to have time to read, tell your family members (or anyone who might try to get your attention) that for the next twenty minutes, an hour, two hours, you will be reading and you don’t want to be disturbed. Once you’ve told them, they have no excuse short of an emergency – Timmy has fallen down a well, the cat is choking on the goldfish, or the house is burning down.

The second part is choosing a place to settle where disturbances are reduced as much as possible. That might be your bedroom, a quiet corner of the garden, or any room that the rest of the family are unlikely to need during your slot.

It might take a while to train your family, possibly with the use of ‘Do Not Disturb’ sticky notes, but they’ll get the message eventually.

Make yourself comfortable

There’s nothing worse than settling down to read and realising that your feet are chilly, or the slightly ajar door is casting a chill on your bones, or you really need the loo.

Equally, don’t settle down anywhere you can’t remain for longer than half an hour. Those dining chairs may look fabulous in your Instagram shots but can you honestly relax on one for any lengthy amount of time?

Comfort isn’t just about temperature, posture, and support. What about your eyes? Is there sufficient light in a room to allow for relaxed reading?

Finally, is it a quiet space? Some people can cope with a level of noise while they read. Others need sound-cancelling headphones. Make sure that your reading spot is as quiet as you need it to be to relax into your book.

Get back into the habit

I’m sure you’ve heard this before, but apparently it takes an average of 66 days for a behaviour to become a habit. That’s about two months to get back into a book-reading routine, two months to be able to comfortably settle down and read without distraction on a regular basis.

Two months is just about the right time to train your family too, two months for them to come to the conclusion that you will not be disturbed and that you deserve your regular reading slot.

What about you? Have you had trouble reading over the last year? Or do you still have a healthy, bookish habit?

23rd October 202023rd October 2020

5 Scary Reads for the Halloween season

If you want to get into the mood for the Halloween season, nothing tops a scary read, or two.

Whether your preferred scares are ghosts, vampires, re-animated corpses, demonic, or psychological, I have a book to suit.

The Graveyard Book

The Graveyard Book is aimed at a 12+ readership but, in my opinion, readers of any age over 12 would appreciate this story of how a boy finds family in the most unexpected of places.

Nobody Owens, known to his friends as Bod, is a normal boy. He would be completely normal if he didn’t live in a graveyard, being raised and educated by ghosts.

There are dangers and adventures for Bod in the graveyard. But it is in the land of the living that real danger lurks for it is there that the man Jack lives and he has already killed Bod’s family.

Neil Gaiman weaves his usual wit and magic in this wonderful, spooky read.

Haunted

As you can probably tell from the title, this is a ghost story, told wonderfully by the author James Herbert.

David Ash, a psychic investigator, is invited to Edbrook, a remote country house, where an alleged ‘haunting’ is taking place. There he meets the Mariell family – two brothers, Robert and Simon, their younger sister, Christina, and their aunt, Nanny Tess.

Ash is renowned for his dismissal of all things supernatural, having exposed many fake mediums in the past as well as invariably finding natural causes for so-called psychic phenomena. He has a deep psychological reason for refuting such unearthly occurrences.

But at Edbrook there is a mystery which cannot easily be explained.

If you want an old-fashioned, creep-up-on-you-slowly ghost story, Haunted is the read for you. There are even two follow-up novels, The Ghosts of Sleath and Ash.

Frankenstein

If you’ve been following me for a while, you’ll know that Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is one of my favourite books of all time.

Most of us are familiar with the Frankenstein trope in some form or another, whether it’s Boris Karloff as Frankenstein’s monster or Herman Munster. The actual novel, however, is a well-penned tale of one man’s arrogance and the consequences he faces, the struggle and abandonment faced by the monster, vengeance and gut-wrenching heart-break.

And if you were in any doubt, I’m on the monster’s side.

Rosemary’s Baby

I came across a battered copy of this novel when I had a Saturday job in a local shoe shop. We had a small cupboard of a staff room that overlooked the busy, shopping street below. I found Rosemary’s Baby stuffed under the window-seat. When I asked the other staff members, none of them said it was there’s so it became my lunchtime read.

Rosemary and her husband Guy move into an old New York City apartment building with an ominous reputation and only elderly residents.

Neighbours Roman and Minnie Castavet soon come nosing around to welcome them; despite Rosemary’s reservations about their eccentricity and the weird noises that she keeps hearing, her husband starts spending time with them. When Rosemary becomes pregnant, the Castavets start taking a special interest in her welfare.

As the sickened Rosemary becomes increasingly isolated, she begins to suspect that the Castavets’ circle is not what it seems.

Rosemary’s Baby is a short read but a good one.

Edgar Allan Poe

Yes, I know that isn’t a book title, but there are so many Halloween-worthy reads by this author. Look out for:

The Murders in the Rue Morgue
The Pit and the Pendulum
The Masque of the Red Death
The Tell-Tale Heart
The Raven
Hop-Frog

Those are only six scary Poe reads but there are so many more.

So there you have it – five (or more) scary reads for this Halloween season.

Have a thoroughly spooky time.