Feel Good Friday Reflection: LIFE IS BETTER WITH A BOOK (or: my glass may be piss but at least it's half-full)

Today dawned windy and wet and I've got a cold (Again! Damn it!), so I was all poised to wimp it out indoors and wallow in my own misery all day. Instead, I forced myself to grab my book and go for a brisk sprint up the mountain not far from our house (forgetting how far it actually was, and how unfit I was, and that I had a coffee date at 11 a.m. which I would probably not make now). 

And it was definitely worth it - look at that heavenly view! Even with the wind whistling and the clouds sitting ominously over the ocean, I feel invigorated now. So, I may get pneumonia from walking back in the rain, and I may have nearly slipped and fallen off a cliff in the process of getting this photo, but at least I can say I got out of the house!

Nothing like a hike to clear the mind. Reflecting on how my reading time will be a bit on the lean side this month, with more night shifts, study and a conference in Perth, as well as trying to organise our upcoming holiday, I decided to try something new: a reading plan. I've never been a maker of lists (or if I do, I usually forget them at home) or a forward planner, living on a wing and a prayer most of the time and hoping it will work out. But desperate times and all that ...

So here it is - my reading list for August.

 The Wish Child by Catherine Chidgey

 The Darkest Lies by Barbara Copperthwaite

 Beneath the Surface by Sibel Hodge

 Then She was Gone by Lisa Jewell

 Neon Pilgrim by Lisa Dempster

 The Other Girl by Erica Spindler


Let's see how it goes and if my impulsive reading persona can resist the temptation to throw caution to the wind and grab any old book of the pile "because I feel like it".

One thing is for sure: Life is better with a book!