Books on my Bedside Table #1

Since I stopped using Goodreads to keep track of what I'm reading, as part of the whole not using Amazon thing, I've been finding it hard to find a replacement system and subsequently have forgotten a lot of what I've read this year. The entire point of starting this blog 3.5 years ago was to help me remember what I was reading, and so I've decided to start a weekly feature of what's on my bedside table, which generally tends to be the stack of books I'm currently reading or imminently planning on starting! Hopefully this will help me to keep better track of what I've read and also help me to keep up with reviews a bit better!

Apologies for the terrible photography, that's what the light is like in my bedroom in the (early) morning! Five of the six I'm part way through, and in fact I will probably finish The Uncommon Reader tonight having started it yesterday. I'm really liking it at the moment - it's part comedic novel about what it would be like if the Queen suddenly became obsessed with reading and part deep and thoughtful essay about the importance of reading in society. 

Alarm Girl by Hannah Vincent I haven't yet started but the publisher contacted me about reviewing it and it sounds really great so I'd really like to get to it next! Peter Duck I've been halfway through for absolutely ages and I will finish it soon because I'm really enjoying my big Swallows and Amazons reread and I want to keep the momentum going! 

The Book of Life was sent to me by lovely Headline after I couldn't go to a pre-launch event they hosted because I was giving birth, and it's signed and it's (unsurprisingly) really good. I'm slightly over half way through it and would be further if not that it's difficult to read one handed while half asleep. The smaller books have been keeping me company for middle of the night feeding sessions!

The last two are non-fiction I'm kind of dipping in and out of. I Was Told There'd Be Cake by Sloane Crosley I read about on Andi's blog recently and thought it sounded great so ordered it from the library. So far I like it, it's light, easy reading and good for when I'm not entirely awake. The Secrets of Happy Families is meant to be my parenting book for this month but I'm kind of alternating it with Playful Parenting by Lawrence J. Cohen because I feel like our house could do with a little more playing and a lot less shouting at the moment!

I'm in the middle of writing a review of Landline by Rainbow Rowell and also this arrived in the post today and I'm so beyond excited. 

I read Molly Wizenberg's first book A Homemade Life and adored it - part memoir, part cookery book - and her blog Orangette is pretty much my favourite thing at the moment, I could stay there reading all the posts she's ever written for hours and hours if I had them to spare. If you like food and food blogging and don't already read it you should be. I broke my no hardbacks rule for this book because I wanted it that much. 

Also exciting this week, Rhys and I have finally decided we like each other enough to start blogging together. Our blog is called Our Big Ice Cream Trip and is basically an excuse for us to visit ice cream parlours wherever we go and take loads of photos. We were already doing it, so we thought why not blog about it and that way we'd stop forgetting where we'd been and what we'd thought of it! Please come and visit us over there and spread the word about our little blog, I'm so excited for us to have a joint project to work on together outside of the kids :-) 

I like this, it helps me keep track of what's what. How have you all been?