Well, I have a confession to make – I didn’t finish any books last week! You see, I started one and read about a fifth of it then gave up (more about this below). Then I chose another one, read a few chapters and realised that parts of the plot were ringing bells in my mind and that, perhaps, I had read it before! At least that is another good reason to use Goodreads: I could check on there to see if I had reviewed the book – and I had, two years ago!

So, I then turned to a book that I had been saving for a “rainy day” and this book was the perfect choice. Thank Goodness! As I only started this one yesterday, you will find out which book it is in next week’s Reading Roundup.

Now, for the book I started after last week’s Roundup…

The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry

One of the wonderful things about books is that there is at least one for everyone, in my opinion. Well, I have to think that, as a librarian! I was brought up to finish every book that I started and to feel very guilty if I couldn’t. It is only recently that I have shrugged this daft idea off. I only have a limited reading life left, even less if I have another stroke, so I feel that I should be a lot more selective and only read books which I enjoy. Reading should bring pleasure, not pain and guilt.

On that note, I will post the blurb for The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry:

London 1893. When Cora Seaborne’s husband dies, she steps into her new life as a widow with as much relief as sadness: her marriage was not a happy one, and she never suited the role of society wife. Accompanied by her son Francis – a curious, obsessive boy – she leaves town for Essex, where she hopes fresh air and open space will provide the refuge they need.
When they take lodgings in Colchester, rumours reach them from further up the estuary that the mythical Essex Serpent, once said to roam the marshes claiming human lives, has returned to the coastal parish of Aldwinter. Cora, a keen amateur naturalist with no patience for religion or superstition, is immediately enthralled, convinced that what the local people think is a magical beast may be a previously undiscovered species. As she sets out on its trail, she is introduced to William Ransome, Aldwinter’s vicar.
Like Cora, Will is deeply suspicious of the rumours, but he thinks they are founded on moral panic, a flight from real faith. As he tries to calm his parishioners, he and Cora strike up an intense relationship, and although they agree on absolutely nothing, they find themselves inexorably drawn together and torn apart, eventually changing each other’s lives in ways entirely unexpected.
Told with exquisite grace and intelligence, this novel is most of all a celebration of love, and the many different guises it can take.

Looking on Goodreads, I can see that several of my friends have reacted to this book. Some have really enjoyed it, others are more neutral. That’s exactly as it should be. I have decided that I won’t write a review for the book. I feel that it wouldn’t be fair when I didn’t read much of the book and gave up on it so soon. I don’t intend to put others readers off it as many people have truly loved it. In many ways, I am quite an immature reader in that I have to have action in my books. I don’t go for long descriptive passages and I need something to happen at fairly frequent intervals!

And there is nothing wrong with that!

Now, I can finish off this post and then turn to my lovely ebook that I am thoroughly enjoying…

Happy Reading to you all!

Love and best wishes,

Anne

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