Holiday Update

Hi everyone. I’m back after two holidays in the last couple of months. The first was to Looe in Cornwall, and the second to Sidari on the beautiful Greek island of Corfu. I don’t usually take two trips so close together, but I was invited to Looe by one of my children, and who turns that down?

Cornwall gave us a week of rain, moody skies, and seagulls that could absolutely win a fight with a bin. We didn’t get much sunshine, although we still had a great time just being together. Plenty of

laughing, joking, and tossing around story ideas. I spent far too much money on souvenirs, cider… and of course books.

Whenever I visit Cornwall, I always make a pilgrimage to Jamaica Inn. It sits near Bodmin Moor, quiet and a little wild, and I adore that stark beauty. I’m not alone either. One of my favourite authors, Daphne du Maurier, was captivated by the inn and wrote her own novel inspired by it: Jamaica Inn, full of pirates, murder, plot twists, and a touch of romance.

Her books are sold in the inn’s gift shop, and I managed to pick up one I didn’t already own:

Hungry Hill. I haven’t read it yet because my TBR pile has become a towering monster… but that didn’t stop me buying more. I also grabbed a hardback copy of her short story collection After Midnight, recently and I can’t wait to dive into it.

Sidari greeted me with endless sunshine,

cocktails in hand, and those dreamy hazy views of Albania shimmering across the water. There were cats everywhere, of course, and naturally… more books. This time Freida McFadden called to me from the shelf, so I’ve already dived into The Boyfriend. Her stories are the kind you tear through in a day,

somehow both delightful and drenched in murder and suspense.

My book obsession is now teetering on the edge of a full-fledged addiction, right alongside my thing for pretty notebooks. I keep buying new shelves and bookcases like I’m constructing my own personal Waterstones. Space is rapidly becoming a myth. I even suggested turning the barely-used lounge into a library, though

apparently that’s me “taking the fantasy too far.” I disagree. A girl deserves her sanctuary of stories.

If you have any ideas on ways to control my addiction, please let me know, or even better you can always send me your recommendations for books to read!