Weekend Reading List

I'm way behind in my reading, what with the festive season and friends coming back from abroad, I've hardly had a moment to myself. I've been so exhausted that the moment I start reading, I nod off. In yet another shelf purge, BG gave me two books he knew I would love (and which he bought, but hardly read): Zadie Smith's latest, a collection of essays Changing My Mind: Occasional Essays, and Muriel Barbery's The Elegance of the Hedgehog. I love Smith's novel On Beauty, but find it hard concentrating on some of these academic essays; Perhaps, not the right moment for reading this. The cover art is beautiful though. The latter book is set in a Paris apartment so I'm bound to find it fascinating, but I've yet start reading it, as I've just finished the slim Charles Ryder's Schooldays, Evelyn Waugh's posthumously published 'prequel' to Brideshead Revisited. This is a must for those, like me, who can't get enough of Brideshead. On that day that I met K for fish and chips (perhaps not the best choice for me since I've chosen the word 'Health' for my watchword in 2010) at Bras Basah Complex, I also picked up Bad Manners by Lisa Armstrong (Vogue UK writer) and The Collected Stories of Colette, from the National Library right next door. I love the library, and it's always a treat to hunt there. The last is a rich and inspiring feast, and I turn to Colette often, finding these audacious and seductive little gems are so right for the season.
(Picture: Matthew Goode as Charles Ryder)