I am completely all over the place at the moment. In August I didn't read much at all. In September I went crazy and got through so many fabulous books. In October I hit an all year low - only finishing 3 books and abandoning 1 half way through.
The three that I did manage to finish
Firstly, Harry Potter and the Dealthy Hallows by JK Rowling, a book I've read so many times I barely sure that it even count as a book read anymore. Then I listened to an audio book - Enter a Murderer by Ngaio Marsh which I really enjoyed. And the first book I read in the month of October was the latest in the THursday Murder Club series, The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman. Definitely the worst in the series and to be honest bad enough that I will probably stop this series now.
The book I abandoned
This is going to be highly controversial, but I abandoned Joe Cinque's Consolation by Helen Garner. I know this is in so many Top 100 books and one of the books that is often spoken about as one of her bests - but I couldn't get into it. I made it quite far, and I am determined to finish it, I just couldn't right now.
Although I can see the appeal of the reflective tone, the challenge for me is that I used to work as a criminal defense lawyer and did quite a few jury trials during that time. I have personal experience of working with clients who have done terrible things for inconceivable reasons, which makes me less inclined to want to reflect on why people do these terrible things to one another.
ABC Radio National's Top 100 Countdown of the Best Books of the 21st Century
All isn't lost though, I did spend a good week listening to the aforementioned countdown and have a quite a few thoughts which I share another day.
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