I’m currently in week seven of my holiday from work, while school is closed for summer. In theory, that should mean more time for reading, writing and anything else to be done, but the reality is always quite different. When childcare is thrown into the mix, day trips and playdates often take priority; no complaints here, as I love spending time with the little dude, but setting relaxed goals for the summer is the only realistic thing I can do. Nevertheless, here’s my reading update so far this summer:

More book shopping

One for me and one for the little literary one

I really shouldn’t buy more books when my TBR pile is as long as my arm (no exaggeration there either, I actually had to buy extendable book ends this summer for the coffee table), but I saw this book by Helen Moorhouse and couldn’t resist. The Dark Water is a ghost novel that I’ve only read a few chapters of, but so far so good. Goosebumps is a Halloween treat for the little dude.

A library trip

Something that caught my eye

I made the sensible decision of supporting the local library and also helping to manage my budget by not buying more books! I’m about halfway through this short read, pictured: The Death of Murat Idrissi, which is literary fiction.

Books I have finished

A holiday read in Spain

I started ‘The Truth about Keeping Secrets’ by Savannah Brown on holiday and finished it last week. I thought it was a psychological thriller, but it turned out to be more literary than expected. Probably the reason why I rated it 5 stars on Goodreads.

An ever growing TBR

Another book I bought this summer and have been enjoying is ‘She and I’ by Hannah King, a fellow Northern Irish author.

Reading while the little dude was playing at Indiana Land

It’s a psychological thriller that has been on my list for a while, so I’m glad I finally got round to buying a copy. I found out about this book as the same reporter who covered an article about my award-winning ghost horror novel, The Blue Man, also wrote an article about King’s book, which I discovered on what was then Twitter (now X). I’m enjoying it so far. Here are both articles from Sophie McLaughlin at Belfast Live:

The Blue Man – https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/whats-on/be/belfast-authors-horror-novel-set-25044634

She and I – https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/whats-on/i-co-down-authors-debut-26147828.amp

Posted by on August 21, 2024 in Reading and tagged , , , , , .

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About Leilanie Stewart

Leilanie Stewart is an award-winning author and poet from Belfast, Northern Ireland. She writes ghost and psychological horror, as well as experimental poetry. Her writing confronts the nature of self; her novels feature main characters on a dark psychological journey who have a crisis and create a new sense of identity. She began writing for publication while working as an English teacher in Japan, a career pathway that has influenced themes in her writing. Her former career as an Archaeologist has also inspired her writing and she has incorporated elements of archaeology and mythology into both her fiction and poetry. In addition to promoting her own work, Leilanie runs Bindweed Anthologies, a creative writing publication with her writer husband, Joseph Robert. Aside from publishing pursuits, Leilanie enjoys spending time with her husband and their lively literary lad, a voracious reader of sea monster books.

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