My use of a non-podcast reading list continues to do well; I mentioned that in my last reading round up but it bears repeating, at least for me, because it seems I’ve found something that’s working – having used it for about two months now, I believe that it could be called a habit or routine.

I haven’t had this much success in finding ways to reduce the amount of time spent pondering about what to read next since the ‘Long-Awaited Reads’ months a couple of former bloggers hosted in the 2010s. These were held each year in January; I participated in two of them (see one and two) and they may have run for one year prior to that. They were useful in getting books read. My attempt at a follow up in 2019 didn’t result in my reading any of the books I chose… and I still haven’t read any of those books… and I do think that that was probably due to it being me resurrecting the idea by myself. A key factor in the concept, I believe, looking back, is that we were doing it as a small community – it was a real event.

While it’s true that my brand new shiny non-podcast reading list idea doesn’t particularly lean into books that have been on my shelves for as long as any of the Long-Awaited books I chose – more on that in a moment – I think having created something centred around me and my own reading to the exclusion of others has helped bridge that gap, so to speak. It’s not an event, but it’s my… thing.

Of that moment, I have a vague plan to introduce books that have been on my shelf for longer in time; I’m aware that early successes, those dopamine hits, happening now, will help me when I’m adding books I’ve lost excitement for. Books I was really looking forward to, then the passage of time and new books led to me forgetting them. They’ll probably include books from that last, self-created and aborted, Long-Awaited list.

In other news I am still happily reading Alex Hay’s The Queen Of Fives, Susan Stokes-Chapman’s The Shadow Key, and Lee Seong-bok’s Indeterminate Inflorescence.

The first is delighting me not only in its whole (Hay has just got better and better) but in its use of family. We see a very wealthy family about to be the victim of a con – if it goes ahead (I’m not there yet) – and so they could have been less developed as individual characters, but Hay has gone full steam ahead on fleshing them out and giving you a lot of reason to care for them. It makes for a thrilling prospect – whatever will he do when the conwoman, who we also follow, strikes? Perhaps, unlike his first novel, The Housekeepers, wherein we feel most for the tricksters, here in his second book we should feel most for those whose wealth is at stake?

That could actually be it – for all we’re seeing Quinn’s, the conwoman’s, plans, perhaps Hay will turn it on its head this time.

The second book is wonderfully Gothic and one of the most immersive books I’ve ever read. What I’m enjoying is that the plot itself is allowed to move slowly and be predictable at points and it doesn’t matter one bit because the author is so talented; it reminds me of classic novels where character is everything.

And Indeterminate Inflorescence, well, it can’t be discussed in quite the same terms because it’s not fiction, instead it is a collection of sayings – “aphorisms,” says the back cover – from poetry lectures. It’s got some wonderful insights though certainly I think it would be better used as a book to dip in and out of instead of how I’m doing it which is to read it straight through (I’m scheduled to review it, after all). I’m keeping that in mind as I read – whilst it’s not a high-on-aesthetics coffee table book, it would do well as one.

The sun is slowly going down here as I write on Monday 11th November; I spent a couple of hours in the morning working outside – it’s not cold and hasn’t rained much recently. Last year I was in a t-shirt until the 5th November – I remember that very well. This year I’m still in a t-shirt today, though I put on a thin jumper to write outside due to the act of staying still. As someone who hates winter, I appreciate the weather a lot – I’ve always said if our cloudy skies here in the UK changed to blue skies I’d be okay with winter – but it is more evidence of global warming.

For this I can’t be as happy about the warmth as I’d like to be, but I am happy about the reading.