About a week ago the time changed, and within a day or two the temperature dropped, the wind picked up and blew the leaves off the trees, it rained and rained hard, and it is dark. I never remember a year when winter fell so suddenly on our doorsteps. Although Halloween is only just over, it’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas and, unusually, I cannot wait – not for the mad party season, but for the chance to rest, to have some ‘me’ time and to catch up with my reading. Never have I had so many great books lying around the house and so little disposable time to sit down and enjoy them. Usually I am a fiction girl so it’s odd for me to have 4 non-fiction on my must read table. They are:
- True Compass. (The Ted Kennedy autobiography).
- Bankers by Shane Ross (Like everyone else, I’m curious about who did what and when and why)
- Finest Years – Churchill as Warlord (Max Hastings) Because I’m interested in how Churchill used language to motivate and inspire a nation
- Who Really Runs Ireland by Matt Cooper because everyone tells me it’s a fantastic, eye-opening read
When I am through this little pile, I’ll be well ready to get back to novels and despite all the bad press, I will be reading the new Dan Brown,The Lost Symbol. But before that, I want to re-read The Great Gatsby which I last read about 30 years ago. It has been on my mind ever since our bookclub re-read Hemingway’s The Old Man and The Sea. What a fantastic piece of work – not a word wasted – every single one driving the story forward – and what a story. If, like me, you haven’t picked it up since school do keep an eye out for a copy and treat yourself to a re-read. Believe me, the perspective that comes with menopause will add to your appreciation of what must surely be one of the greatest novels ever written.
For a list of my top 100 favourite books, visit Really Great Reads.
