Livy K's Summer Reading Rules

One of my favourite things come summer is reading. To be fair it is also one of my favourite things in winter and spring and autumn.

Anyway, I digress. In summer, when we go on holiday I read a lot, you will always find me under a tree or umbrella, reading a book in a massive sun hat. Yes I am that loser.

Last year in Mexico I finished six books in ten days. Which would have been fine if I had taken just those six book but unfortunately my Livyness will not allow me to do this. I mean, what if I had read them super quick and had finished them before the end of the holiday! Disaster! What if one day I was just not in the mood for that particular book! Exactly! Which is why I took 13 books. And my diary. And two jotters. And a name book (indeed, I am a loser on many levels).

I inexplicably have to have at least four books on the go to quench my various reading moods. For example, right now I am reading: Kitchen Table Lingo (for fun words, not too heavy), The Workhouse (for actually-my-life-doesn't-suck-that-much mood), The Stuff of Thought (to remind me of my degree and to feel intellectual), My Grammar and Me (so I can correct people all the time with the confidence that I AM RIGHT), A Stranger in the House: Women's Stories of Men Returning from the Second World War (because I like to pretend I am a history geek), Waiter Rant: Behind the Scenes of Eating Out (although I wouldn't recommend this if you feel queasy easily - wow that nearly rhymed), The Importance of Being Trivial: In Search of the Perfect Fact (because it is fab) and The Little Princess (because I am in fact, 6).

Not only this but I always have to have one super depressing book on the go (currently The Workhouse). The function of this book is specific - when I am down it is very important for me to read a book about people whose lives are even worse, a sort of perspective giving tool if you will. This can backfire. For example, once I was very stressed out, I was looking for a job, having parent issues, my fish Googley Pete died and the local shop were out of Toffee Crisps so I pulled out my most popular depressing book - Love You Mean It, The Story of Four 9/11 Widows. Unfortunately, I was in such despair that this just plunged me deeper and I found myself sitting on a bus outside Tesco's, sobbing with panda eyes and chocolate round my mouth.

It is with this in mind that I have decided on my new Summer Reading Rules:

1) Read one book at a time. All the way through. Even if it is RUBBISH. It may get better at the end with an explosion for example.
2) Do not start another book when you are currently reading one. This is silly and means that you will probably get confused between the two like when you thought Harry Potter was Jesus' son in the Da Vinci Code.
3) Read more positively - no depressing, whiney, poor me stuff. Panda eyes are never attractive.
4) Choose books carefully - because you like them, not just because everyone else says you will. Because lets face it, your brain is weirder than everyone else's.

So there you go. I have made a good start. Now which book to pick first....