It's Monday - what are you reading?

I've enjoyed reading this week- think I always have that much more free time when the girls are off school! No school run twice a day!

I read another James Patterson- 11th Hour. I love this series and this one was just as good as the others that I've read- I know I missed a few in the middle of this series, but hope to catch up with them one day.
I also read another Agatha Raisin book- The Haunted House. These are great for curling up with a cuppa with as Agatha bumbles around upsetting people but solving the crime!
The other book I read I was really looking forward to- but found it such a hard read. Mum's List by St John Greene. I knew it would be a sad book- and I know I am super sensitive to any mention of cancer still. I saw him interviewed on telly with his boys and loved the sound of the book. It follows his wife's wish for him to provide many life experiences for their 2 boys after she lost her battle against cancer. She wanted them to go camping, see a live rugby match, go scuba diving etc. Their little boy suffered from a very rare form of cancer and whilst he was in hospital she went into premature labour with their second son. Then when he was coming to the end of his active treatment his wife discovered that she had breast cancer. I'm not really sure who I would recommend this book to- I found it extremely hard to finish. I know there is talk of it becoming a movie and it will be a real weepie!

For a bit of light relief I am reading A walk in the park by Jill Mansell. So far I am really enjoying it. Lara comes back for her estranged fathers funeral and discovers that she now owns the family home. She also has an 18 year old daughter who has never met her father- as she discovered she was pregnant on the day her father kicked her out, aged 16.Her best friend has just jilted her husband to be at the altar- and I am really looking forward to seeing what happens next! This one is from the library and I have loads of others on the reservation list that I can't wait to get!

I'm also reading 2 books on the kindle. It's not like me to read so many at a time. But think the last book was such a tear jerker that I needed some other books on the go. I used to take part in a seasonal challenge over on Good Reads- where you try to read books on certain themes. I was amazed by how many books people are able to read- and became aware that I was picking books to try and get the challenge done and not just what I fancied to read next. I was never going to be able to complete a challenge as there are just too many books needed. I used to enjoy trying to select books to fit the themes- but sometimes felt pressured to read things I wouldn't have chosen. So it was time to abandon challenges! But one challenge that came up frequently was to read a huge book of over 800 pages. They said that if you read 10 pages every day you would get through the book during that season! Gone with the wind was my book for that category- but it remained unstarted. I eventually downloaded it onto my kindle and started to read my 1% every day. I am quite enjoying it- the author writes so descriptively about the clothes.

I am also reading a really old Nora Roberts book- The MacGregor brides. I had this one from an ebay purchase of a bulk lot of Nora Roberts books when I discovered that I enjoyed her style. It's another one I managed to download onto my kindle and trying to catch up to where I got in the book version! They are more Mills and Boon than the later books which I love- but I am determined to see how it ends!

Amazon had a spring sale and I treated myself to a gift voucher and then spent merrily away until I'd used it up. It's been a while since I 'bought' any books for it. I tend to look at the free downloads. But since putting some books that I really want to read onto it- I am using the kindle more and more. It has now become my first port of call - which I never thought would happen. I still have my new books from the library to look forward to- as I could never afford to buy all the new book releases!