Book Chat - Issue #13

Hello reading friends!

How are you travelling? I haven’t been very productive lately as I’ve been feeling a tiny bit under the weather, but spring is in the air and my sweet peas are flowering, so things can only get better. I hope you are well and making lots of time for reading.

I’ve been busily churning through some more British crime thrillers and noticed I kept picking up the wrong book from the pile on my bedside table. When I put them side by side, I realised that this was because the covers were almost identical. Not a coincidence, I suspect. We are often told that we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but the publishing industry trains us to do just that. We see the dark forest, the silhouettes of missing girls, and the alarming combination of yellow type on a black background (used for safety signs), and we know just what we are in for.

Books are often published with different covers in the UK, the US and Australia, and I’ve always wondered how they decide which covers will appeal to readers in each country. Are their choices based on research or just guess work? The answer is a bit of both, apparently.

My latest blog post was about the resurgence of handicrafts. You can read it here if you missed it.

People often ask me how I choose my next book and the answer is that I usually refer to my gigantic list, which contains the titles of books that friends have recommended to me, books I’ve read about in the paper, in bookseller newsletters, on Instagram, in magazines, on podcasts and on review websites. I have a very long list that covers multiple genres and contains both fiction and non-fiction.

Sometimes this makes it hard to choose, but I usually think about what mood I’m in, and what I have just finished reading. I try to vary my reading diet and it’s rare for me to read two detective novels in a row (like I did last week). I made an exception because they are my favourite genre.

I read across most genres and am especially fond of family sagas and literary thrillers. I rarely read historical romances or fantasy books.

When I see something that appeals to me, I download a chapter as an ebook (if it’s available) and read the first few pages before I commit to borrowing it from the library. I rarely purchase books because they clutter up my house and I have enough stuff already. I have some lovely friends who often lend me books and I’m grateful for that because I can read and enjoy them, and then give them back. I also enjoy browsing in the library, in person and online.

I’ve been making lots of salads and soup lately, and sometimes I need inspiration. When that happens, I trawl around the internet looking for ideas. Here’s a nice blog you might enjoy too.

That’s all for now. Stay safe and look after yourself.

Marg xxx