Bookworm

Have you been wondering what it is that's been keeping me busy while I've been failing to blog recently?

Probably not.

But if you have been, the answer is that I've been refinding my reading groove. (And working too much. And watching a lot of Oscar-worthy films.)

Let it not be said that I am a discriminate reader. I'll try pretty much anything - I don't read to Improve My Mind, or Learn About The Human Condition. I read because it makes me happy, and it relaxes me. It also keeps me occupied while I'm waiting around at work.

Since moving to America, my literary habit has been much reduced - mainly because I couldn't find a decent second-hand bookstore anywhere near me, and because new books are so expensive here it's ridiculous. And I don't do libraries, because I inevitably forget to return books, or lose them, and it ends up being more expensive than forking out the full asking price for the books in the first place.

But the combination of Christmas, my birthday, and the discovery a decent second-hand bookstore when I was in Palm Springs have got me back on track. The little stack above is 2012's finished pile thus far. For some reason, it seems to be largely made up of Agatha Christie. (OK, I completely love Agatha Christie, I admit it.*) Bossypants arrived on Friday afternoon and I finished it within 24 hours - enough said. And I think my favourite of the stash so far has to be the Jeffrey Eugenides at the bottom of that pile, the Marriage Plot. Any book that combines discussion of Foucault, Lacan, unrequited love, early 80's pop culture and Jane Austen in a relatively  unpretentious fashion makes my geeky heart sing. Which is interesting (to me at least), because I almost exclusively prefer books by female writers.

Next up is another birthday present read, from my very thoughtful friend S, who has sent me a copy of her most favourite book - I can't wait to start it!

*So much so that my friend A - A stands for awesome in this case - bought and posted one of those collectible magazine/book combos of the Murder of Roger Ackroyd for me. The magazine was very educational. I am a history graduate and I was previously unaware that the 1890s, the decade of Christie's birth, were dubbed 'the mauve decade' because of a newly discovered colour of dye. And you thought my blog was light reading. Pah.