1) The book I’m currently reading:

Wild Swans by Jung Chang – I’ve had this book for years and I have no idea why it’s taken me so long to get round to reading it.  The story it tells is absolutely fascinating and I feel as though I’m learning a lot about China.  I’ve got about a quarter of the book left to go and I’m wondering what more can happen to Jung and her family and how they get to a stage where she’s living in the west writing books.

2) The last book I finished:

The Prince of Mist by Carlos Ruiz Zafon – I picked this one up brand new for a change from a Waterstones in Bournemouth when I shockingly found myself without a book.  It’s short but atmospheric and, though I think The Shadow of the Wind was better, I tore through it in a day and rather enjoyed it.

3) The next book I want to read:

I’m hopeless at deciding in advance what I want to read next and by the time I’ve finished Wild Swans I’ll probably plump for something completely different, but at the moment possibilities include Human Croquet by Kate Atkinson, Lady Audley’s Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon, The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood and Black Swan Green by David Mitchell.  Any thoughts on which I should try?  Or perhaps something completely different.  Who knows?

4) The last book I bought:

Wedlock: How Georgian Britain’s Worst Husband Met His Match by Wendy Moore – I picked this up in a charity shop yesterday as it’s a book I’ve been after for a while and it will help with my aim of reading more non-fiction this year.  And it’s vaguely wedding related, although I have much higher hopes for my husband than this, it has to be said!

5) The last book I was given:

The Jane Austen Handbook: Proper Life Skills for Regency England by Margaret C. Sullivan – I was recently sent a copy of this book by Quirk Books and it’s a beautiful little volume, containing such invaluable advice as ‘How to buy clothing’ and ‘How to avoid dancing with an undesirable partner’.  It has lovely illustrations too, which makes it even more attractive.  I can’t wait to get started and learn how to be a proper Regency lady.