Summer Feature 2014 - Jennifer Gilby Roberts Guest Port

What I've Read This Summer

Unlike last time, this year I actually got some reading done on holiday. It was so worth paying the extra money for a hotel with a creche. They also had a great playground for Toddler to run around in and get nicely tired out. My Kindle didn't even wilt in the heat. So, I managed to attack my rather mixed TBR list. Shame I didn't have it with me when I got locked in the toilet.

The obvious first choice for your summer holiday is a Christmas book. Specifically, Christmas at the Beach Café by Lucy Diamond. I confess I was reading it as research for a Christmas story of my own and chose it because the reviews said it really captured the Christmas spirit. And it did, even in Mallorca in July, although I suspect I would have enjoyed it a lot more if I'd read the novel that came before it. I think I'll read it again in December.

Then I went for something different: Georgiana Darcy's Diary by Anna Elliott. This is a sequel, of a sort, to Pride & Prejudice, but focusing on the minor characters of Georgiana Darcy, Colonel Fitzwilliam and Anne de Bourgh. I'd term it a coming of age story, because it's really about Georgiana and Anne exercising their “girl power” and going after what they want. I really enjoyed it, plus it was free on Amazon. I think it's permafree, actually, so I'd recommend getting that one.






I moved from that to Soliciting from Home: 1970s memories of an English country lawyer by Melanie Russell (told you my TBR was varied!). I've got quite into memoirs in recent years – mainly those by nurses and midwives. (NB if you haven't read Call the Midwife and the follow-ups by Jennifer Worth – do. They go way beyond the TV show.) This one will appeal to you if you like a cozy mystery or tales of working motherhood. It started a little slow and I felt the author included a bit more legal detail than was really needed (it made sense to me because I used to work as a legal secretary, but I suspect it wouldn't to most people), but the stories made it worth reading none the less.

The final book I'll mention is Pink Wellies and Flat Caps by Lynda Renham. I first noticed her name in the “also-boughts” on my author page and I downloaded her free book Confessions of a Chocoholic, which was very funny. Pink Wellies was very enjoyable too. My only criticism is that it got a bit too serious towards the end and there wasn't enough story after that to fully restore the light-hearted tone. I'll try another of her books and see if that's the case in all of them.

So, no additions to my all-time favourites list, but some very enjoyable stories. And who knows what the rest of the summer will bring?



Jennifer Gilby Roberts is the author of The Dr Pepper Prophecies, After Wimbledon and Early Daze. Find her at her blog.

Twitter - @GilbyRoberts

Blog - jennifergilbyroberts

I would like to thank Jennifer for appearing on The Book Corner and sharing what she has read this summer. Make sure you follow her on twitter and go and check out her blog.