What I'm reading ...

I have started The Post-Birthday World by Lionel Shriver. I was ready for more fiction and have read work by this author before and enjoyed it. This book was recommended to me a while ago and it has been sitting on my list. Here’s the blurb:

Irina McGovern’s destiny hinges on a single kiss. Whether she gives into its temptation will determine whether she stays with her reliable partner Lawrence, or runs off with Ramsey, a hard-living snooker player.
Employing a parallel universe structure, Shriver spins Irina’s competing futures with two drastically different men. An intellectual and fellow American, Lawrence is clever and supportive, but rigid and emotionally withdrawn. A British celebrity, Ramsey is passionate and spontaneous, but jealous, undereducated, and prone to pick arguments. Their contrasting characters will colour her other relationships, her career, and the texture of her daily life.
If love is always about trade-offs—if every romantic prospect is flawed—how can we ever know whom to choose?

This Book Will Make You Mindful - by Jessamy Hibberd

I was interested in the idea of Mindfulness, so, when this book was recommended, I was receptive to giving it a try. My initial impression was that it was like many American self-help books [although it is not American - it is written in a very British style] and started out with repetition, repetition, repetition. It constantly told me how wonderful Mindfulness would be and how I would learn to do it. It became irritating, but I stuck with it.

In due course, the book became more informative and quite readable. The recommended way to read it is to work through, pausing to do the exercises from time to time. I decided to ignore this and just read it through. My idea was that I might come back to it later and do the work, once I had an idea of the big picture.

I feel that the book gave a me quite a good idea of what Mindfulness is all about and I enjoyed the ideas. Will I come back and do the exercises? Well, maybe ...

What I'm reading ...

I have started This Book Will Make You Mindful by Jessamy Hibberd. It was time for non-fiction again. This book was recommended and covers a topic that interests me. It is the kind of book that I might dip in and out of instead of reading straight through. At first glance, reading just a few pages, it is very repetitive, which might get on my nerves. Here’s the blurb:

We live increasingly busy lives and can struggle to cope with the pressure we're put under by external factors and, most importantly, by ourselves. It's very common to feel overwhelmed by all the responsibilities you have to juggle and feel that time is running away from you - that days, weeks, months and even years are passing in a blur. However, help is at hand.
This friendly book is a mindfulness starter kit, giving you everything you need to live in the moment and get the most from life. Dr Jessamy Hibberd and Jo Usmar use the latest mindfulness techniques to teach you how to stop worrying about the future and dwelling on the past so life - the life you're actually living rather than the one you wish you were living or are planning to live soon - doesn't pass you by. Learning how your mind works will enable you to cope with the bad things while fully appreciating the good things, making you more confident, content and productive day-to-day.

Three Wishes - by Liane Moriarty

After reading other books by this author, I expected to enjoy this one and was not disappointed. The story has lots of little details and nuances and enough complexity to keep me interested. It is more “chick lit” than her recent work, but a reasonably solid read nevertheless. It is interesting to see the progress the author has made over the years and I look forward to her future work.