My Ideal(o) Summertime Reading

With my addiction to the new iPad (which in the absence of a suitable name is known as “iPad”  rather than “the iPad”), comes the wonders of e-books via the Kindle app. As long as I have the charger I can load up the iPad and I am good to go.   My local library also loans e-books, perfect for holidays as there is less to carry and no fines, if I forget to renew them the books vanish, then when I take them out again it remembers where I left off.  Fantastic.

This summer  the Foodies100 have teamed up with Idealo to suss out what UK Food bloggers’ favourite books are.  I voted for both Evelyn Waugh and Somerset Maugham, citing the wonderousness of gin addled ex-pats living in the far East!

I like not to work on holiday, and also dislike cookbooks in electronic format, so they are not going to feature on my iPad this summer.  I have chosen some self-improvement, a latest thriller and some nostalgia, in chicklit and classic format.

Getting Things Done – David Allen – the classic book on productivity and letting go of the associated stress.  David’s premise is that holding stuff in your head causes stress.   You dump everything onto paper in a giant “in basket” and then go from there.   My current GTD system has massive holes on pending and putting on hold so I am hoping that I can come back and sort my lists, projects and goals and get stuff done.

The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins – Everyone seems to be talking about the book and film.  Science fiction, set in a dystopian future.   It has had over 800 5* Amazon reviews and is a blockbuster at 450 pages.  If I enjoy it I can download parts 2 and 3.

Riders – Jilly Cooper – A fun nostalgic romp.  I  read this as a teen.  I love Jilly’s characters and voice.  The entire book is preposterous, but I do enjoy her writing and certain passages make me howl with laughter  (another favourite is the Common Years – describing her dog walking on Putney Common – rather than another book about the English class system).

Sinister Street – Compton Mackenzie  Better known for his Whiskey Galore, I blow hot and cold with Compton Mackenzie.  Sinister Street is a favourite, a coming of age novel set in the early 1900′s.  The main character Michael Fane lived on Kensington High Street, (where I used to) and holidayed in Cornwall (which I do).  Scenes and characters are keenly observed through the eyes of a child then a young man.   It is a lovely gentle read, a trip back to a bygone era.    I have not read it for years and my copy is too fragile to leave the flat. At well over 1000 pages it will keep me occupied for a good few hours.

What are you looking forward to reading on holiday this summer?

With thanks to Idealo for the Amazon credit to buy these books. They asked if I could tell you they sell frying pans.