I’m better! It’s been a slow recovery, but I’m finally well again. After a lot of tests I was diagnosed with myocarditis – a viral infection of the heart. Several months of no exercise mean that I’m not as fit as I was before, but hopefully I’ll be able to change that over the coming weeks.
My illness has changed my reading habits slightly – I now have little tolerance for books I’m not enjoying and so am abandoning even more than before. I’ve also found myself enjoying a book of short stories (The Moth – see my sidebar). It’s a very strange experience for me! I wonder if I’ll enjoy others now?
Book of the Month:
Books Reviewed in July:
After the Bombing by Clare Morrall 
Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey 
Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka (Audio Book)
Plans for August
I’m now in the middle of the school holidays and so am spending my time with my boys. We’re currently having an extension built on our house so it’s not a safe place for them to play. This means we’re busy travelling around England visiting friends and relatives. We’re also off to Florida for a few weeks to enjoy the excitement of Disney World/Universal Studios and whilst there I’m looking forward to meeting Sandy, one of my oldest blogging friends. All this means that my blogging will be sporadic for the next few weeks.
I’ll be back to full speed in September; when I’ll hopefully have a lovely new house and lots of stories about my time in America.
I hope you have a fantastic August!
15 replies on “July Summary and Plans for August”
So glad to hear you’re feeling better and now have a diagnosis, Jackie. And you’ve gone over to the dark side and started enjoying short stories too!
‘After the Bombing’ and ‘Elizabeth is Missing’ are both on my tbr pile so I’m glad to see you rated them so highly, especially the Morrall as I’ve enjoyed the three of hers I’ve read before.
I think I read less in July than I’ve read in any single month for about three years (mainly due to being very busy)… I got through my usual four short story collections (Graham Swift’s new collection is very good), but a mere three novels: Sarah Perry’s ‘After Me Comes the Flood’ is nicely odd, and enjoyable, but in a novel that could have been quite eerie she explains things too quickly that would have been better left unexplained, and her characters are too predictable; David Adams Richards’ new novel ‘Crimes Against My Brother’ again confirms why he is one of Canada’s best writers (though almost unknown here in the UK); but my favourite read of the month was David Storey’s 1976 Booker winner, ‘Saville’ – it reminded me of Melvyn Bragg and was just wonderful. Highly recommended if you haven’t already read it.
I did also read a couple of YA novels this month – ‘Silverwing’ and ‘Sunwing’ by Kenneth Oppel (I still have the third of the trilogy, ‘Firewing’, to go) and found myself really enjoying them, especially the first book. I don’t normally mention books I have to read for work, but I think these could also be enjoyed by adult readers and are worth a look if you enjoy that kind of thing.
Sounds like you have a busy and fun August planned – hope you have a great time!
David, Sarah Perry’s book is high on my list so it is good to know that you enjoyed it. I haven’t read Storey’s book, but I love Bragg so will ensure I try to get hold of a copy.
Thanks for mentioning Silverwing – I do enjoy the odd YA book so will keep it in mind. Have a wonderful August!
I’ll be at Disney in August as well with my little ones! Beware – Orlando in August is extremely humid and hot! Have a lovely time.
Nancy, I’m preparing myself for the extreme heat. I wish I could visit at another time of year, but I’m sure we’ll have fun anyway. I hope you do too!
I cannot wait to see you! Orlando awaits!
Sandy, I’m so excited! It will be great to meet you in person!
Glad to year you are on the mend AND that you have discovered short stories. Woo hoo! I love it when people come on board.
Whispering Gums, Who knows what I’ll like next! It is interesting to see how tastes change as we age 🙂
I’m so glad to hear your feeling better! I rediscovered short stories after beginning my blog (always thought I hated them) and participated in the short story Monday meme for years. Although I haven’t posted about them lately, I still enjoy a good story collection.
Enjoy your visit with Sandy. We’ll be spending more time in Florida this winter, so I hope to meet her, too.
JoAnn, Perhaps I’ll start writing about short stories more often – stranger things have happened!
I hope you get to meet Sandy too – I’m sure she’ll be just as wonderful as her blog 🙂
Jackie, so glad to hear they determined why you were feeling so poorly. Have a wonderful time at Disney – it is a treat for little ones (and tiring for older folks)LOL
Diane, Thanks! I’m hoping we’ll be able to factor in some time for relaxing too, although boys don’t stop for long!
Great news on the recovery
Great news on the recovery!
So good to hear that you’re feeling better!
I live in Florida, so a little unsolicited advice: sunscreen (use it lavishly) and water (stay hydrated). I hope you have a wonderful time!