Internet Issues

Last week our internet went down.  My son was unwell and asleep and nothing else in the house works without the internet.  We watch tv through the xbox, all of our tablet gaming apps require a connection and my phone is the only device that has any other kind of access to the worldwideweb.  

This would be hell for some people, in fact I actually sat there wondering what I would do with myself (other than cleaning etc because we all need some down time), then I realised there was stuff the internet had been distracting me from in the first place, like reading a book! Before I had my son, I would plough through books like there was no tomorrow.  I love history and in particular anything related to the Tudors, Victorian Crime in the East End or Napoleon.  Quite specific I know but I find them all fascinating.  I especially love historical fiction and obviously have read almost everything Hilary Mantel has published.  

A few months after my son was born I bought a book for myself thinking it would be a nice way to unwind at the end of the day.  It was recommended by Amazon as I had read another book by the same author, The Suspicions of Mr Whicher.  It sounded interesting and a nice little escape from reality.  This book is, Mrs Robinson's Disgrace - The Private Diary of a Victorian Lady by Kate Summerscale.  My son is now almost a year and a half and I'm not even halfway through the book and this saddens me for two reasons, I don't have enough hours in the day and I'm no longer doing things I used to enjoy. 

I did find a little bit of joy cross-stitching the superhero alphabet for my son and I have found another two I would like to do before he grows out of his room, I'm just waiting for the aida to turn up for the second one so I can get started.  Getting lost in historical fiction and crime however, is so much more appealing. Here are some of the books I have absolutely enjoyed so far: 

• Bring up the Bodies - Hilary Mantel
• Wolf Hall - Hilary Mantel
• The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox - Maggie O'Farrell 
• Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
• The Invention of Murder - Judith Flanders 
• The Maul and the Pear Tree: The Ratcliffe Highway Murders 1811 - PD James
• The Magnificent Spilsbury and the Case of the Brides in the Bath - Jane Robins
• Mr Briggs' Hat: A Sensational Account of Britain's First Railway Murder - Kate Colquhoun  
• The Blue Flower - Penelope Fitzgerald
• Pure - Andrew Miller 
• The Confessions of Catherine De Medici - CW Gortner
• Fingersmith - Sarah Waters
• The Report - Jessica Francis Kane
• Alias Grace - Margaret Atwood 
• The Blind Assassin - Margaret Atwood 

Obviously I have read other books and can thoroughly recommend Tina Fey's Bossypants - it is hilarious but these ones really took it to another dimension for me.  These are definitely an acquired taste but just for a little escape, if you're into any of the stuff I have mentioned above, and haven't had a look at these, I would recommend them. 

~AB~