Wottcha reading?

 And why?

My house if full of paper - reading matter of all kinds. Looking around over the weekend I got to thinking about the different categories my reading falls into. 

Mostly it's relaxation, escapism. And increasingly that's electronic rather than paper - with the occasional burst of books from the library when I get the chance to browse. Usually romantic suspense, as it is my favourite genre, but I stray into rom com, historical, mystery and cosy crime on occasion. I have a weakness for Golden Age crime - the British Library imprints are always worth a look. I've read a lot of ECR Lorac and greatly enjoyed them.  

At the moment I have a lot of coffee table books on gardens. They are a result of the University course I'm taking, both of which - books and course - are research for the Work-That-Is-Going-To-Be -In -Progress. It's still marinating, but I hope I will be actually writing by Christmas. At the moment health stuff is getting in the way, but I will get there. 

What else? Apart for the backs of cereal packets and junk mail? Magazines? I'm not big on them, with the occasional dip into the house/lifestyle kind when I am looking for ideas for the revamping and renovations I am currently working my way through. Another thing that is keeping me away from the writing! 

A lot of the organisations I belong to send magazines as part of the membership package - Royal Horticultural Society, Crime Writers' Association, Society of Authors - I try to read them to keep up with  current events in my chosen world,  and for pleasure too. Always ready to learn something new. 

Brochures and catalogues are fun when they come with the junk mail. I have somehow got on to the mailing list for some very up-market dress shops in London - don't ask me how. Love to look, although the garments are usually out of my price range. Maybe not for my heroines? Is that how I got on the mailing list? Research? 

Reading is a huge part of my life. I'm edgy and bereft if I don't have a book on the go. My mum was the same, and I suspect my grandmother too. I know where my love of reading came from, and I'm very grateful for it.