It's been another week of beautiful weather but my desire to sit in the sun with a good book hasn't happened yet. Any time I've been able to spend outdoors has involved jobs in the garden, or admiring the view of the river! So my 'to be read' pile remains undiminished.
And this week I learned of another reading list!
This one marks the Queen's Jubilee where librarians, booksellers and 'literature experts' from 31 countries are celebrating great books from across the Commonwealth in a collection of 70 titles, ten for each decade of the Queen's reign.
The Big Jubilee Read includes “brilliant, beautiful and thrilling writing... shared stories that define our social and cultural heritage”.
Naturally the selection has been met with some differences of opinion but, although I'm rather overwhelmed at the thought of so many books which have passed me by, it is great to be introduced to some less familiar authors and works.
It will be interesting to see how the Platinum Jubilee celebrations are supported by literary endeavours in the coming weeks.
I hope soon to be able to tell you about the 'New Suffolk Garland', an anthology of writing from and about Suffolk which has been compiled by a team led by the Aldeburgh Bookshop, and published in honour of the Queen.
And at the beginning of June I'll be talking to the author of a book called 'Queen Elizabeth II for Dummies'. Although I tend to wince whenever I refer to the titles in this very popular and successful series of books, they are packed with facts and it will be interesting finding out more about the work that goes into creating them, and this title in particular.
More on those two next week but tomorrow we will be catching up on our reading over the past month as we meet to discuss 'Barcelona Dreaming' by Rupert Thomson. If you're planning on coming along, please reply by noon tomorrow to reserve your place and receive the details.
Thank you for reading