At the moment I should be spending two weeks in the Hebrides.  I love spending time in Scotland and was very much looking forward to the trip but I have been determined to make the best of the time and try to make this fortnight feel different to the rest of this time at home.

I started by wanting to read books set in the right area.  I had intended to take Dorothy L Sayers’ Five Red Herrings with me as it is set near where I was due to be staying.  It is several years since I read it last but I have always remembered it as one of my favourites in the Lord Peter Wimsey series.  I had forgotten how complicated it is though – this time around I had a terrible time keeping all of the various alibis and timelines in my head!

I intended to read more books set in Scotland but have ended up reading whatever happened to take my fancy.  Apart from Five Red Herrings I have been trying to restrict myself to my TBR shelf which is once again getting out of hand.  I was hoping that the lockdown would help me burn through it a bit but I’ve spent a lot of time seeking comfort by re-reading old favourites.  I also know that there are a whole load of brand new books I will buy as soon as I’m back in a bookshop.  I have a list.

For my ‘holiday’ fortnight I have been just browsing the shelf and taking whatever I happen to feel like reading that day.  The result has been quite eclectic – so far I’ve had Backstage with Peggy by Doris A Pocock, The Fowl Twins by Eoin Colfer, October Man by Ben Aaronovitch, The Girl Who Reads on the Métro by Christine Féret-Fleury and I’ve just moved on to Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.  I am currently feeling the call of L M Montgomery though and I may soon have to abandon the TBR for her.

So far this week has been even more laid back than last week and I have spent many happy hours outside with my book and a cup of tea.  We have been getting quite inventive with the places we choose to sit – much use has been made of the ponies’ fields – in order to make this fortnight feel a little different.  It is working though – is really does feel like a holiday.