Summer indulgence...

Aaahhhh, summer! Now that Christmas and New Year are over, the time for self-indulgence has finally arrived. Long summer days to relax and read. Here is my summer reading stack. Have just finished Mary Ann Shaffer’s The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society – this would have to be the most delightful book I think I have ever read. A big statement, I know. A friend recently recommended it, then while visiting Great Escapes Bookshop in Airey’s Inlet last week, it jumped out at me and I was gone! Picked it up and began reading immediately, and way too soon it was all over. It’s a rare gem that you just can’t put down, slowing down as you near the final pages because you can see the end coming and you are overcome with the desire to push the inevitable conclusion out so the pleasure can continue. That’s a rare talent indeed, as authors go. I remember the same joy when, as a child of around 12 years old, I picked up Sheila Burnford’s The Incredible Journey – I began in bed one night and didn’t get up the next morning until I’d finished it. Two absolute treasures for someone who is addicted to animals, reading and historical fiction. For me, historical fiction set in WWII is the magnet, and so The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society was a perfect hit. Both of my parents weathered the war in Holland as young children, and I find myself constantly drawn to and immersed in this period of history, trying to understand how their experiences affected and shaped them – so much so that it has become the subject of some of my own writing.
     But for now, loving the quiet time.
     Better get on with it!