In my last post I mentioned my solo excursion to Liverpool. Now I haven't been off discovering new places recently but I have been reading a lot. This is something that I used to love doing and I haven't done properly in a long time. I am on to my third book within 2 weeks which for me is a massive accomplishment. All the books I have read recently have been fiction yet I am finding that I am learning a lot from them. I am really trying to consider the views and lives of the characters in these stories.
The first book I read was Little Beach Street Bakery by Jenny Colgan. This would probably in most people's eyes come under "Girly, trashy, romance, comic novel". It is a story about a woman and she has love interests and she loves to bake - this was great for me, I thought as I read the back cover. Little did I realise at the time that it would teach me so much as I read it. The book teaches you to go after the things that you really want in life and that sometimes change is necessary to flush all the negative in your life and to really learn to love the small things. I became very attached to all the characters and unashamedly cried on more than one occasion.
The second book I read was The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. This is a well known and well loved book. I am glad to say I picked my copy up in a charity shop and although I was originally going to take it back, I am holding on to this one forever. It is not often I fall in love with a book so much that I want to re-read it. I would have to say this book is my now, all-time favourite and I have learned so much from it. I read this within 24 hours - I just could not put it down. The story isn't a gripping one and there aren't chapters so you're never really left on a cliff hanger. There is just something about it that makes you think about everything in your life. It covers multiple religions, beliefs and concepts and it has been written so beautifully. I have to say this book has made me stop and think.
The third (and my current) book is Nights of Rain and Stars by Maeve Binchy. I haven't got too far through this book yet but I would say it's similar to the first in the way that you get attached to the characters but it definitely addresses some serious aspects in people's lives. It is set in a village in Greece known as Aghia Anna (which is a real village on the Naxos Island). I loved how in the first chapter the author describes all the food such as Souvlaki and Moussaka. There's also a mention of worry beads which made me think about some of my friends from Greece and their obsession with their komboloi.
The best thing about reading is that I can do it anywhere. I have been reading in bed, on my sofa, on trains, on the bus but the best thing is getting outdoors and reading in nature. Today I went down to Chorlton Water Park and made the most of the beautiful weather. There were beautiful, blue dragonflies flittering around me and it was serene and relaxing. Not to mention my skin is now looking less pale.
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