Reading in Reykjavík

I checked in at the Booking Through Thursday blog, which is the centre for a weekly book meme or blogging prompt. Today's subject proved so tempting that I decided to hop in and join the party. Today's prompt is this:  Does your current mood affect your reading? Affect your choices? I know there are plenty of books I enjoy, but only if I'm in a particular kind of mood–or books that can lift me out of a bad mood without fail. Surely I’m not alone? My moods do affect my reading choices, and, to a lesser extent, my reading speed and the number of books I read, even how well I retain what I have been reading. I have struggled with depression for many years and even before I realised it was depression that made me tired and dispirited, one of my methods of dealing with it was to delve into books. I would choose old, familiar books that I knew would lift my spirits and make me feel better and allow me to escape into another world for ...

I finished 13 books in February, in a variety of genres: historical novels, romance, crime, trivia, humour, history and biography. I am right on track with the TBR challenge and expect to continue at the same pace in March. No one author dominated the month like Nora Roberts did in January, although I did read two books by Agatha Christie, neither of which I have read before. At least I don’t remember having read them, but its hard to be sure because I read quite a number of her books when I was a teenager. There were no fewer than three stand-outs in February, not counting Dodger (on account of being a reread), which is the best Pratchett I have read in several years. The best of these was Third Class Ticket by Heather Wood, which I brought back with me from India in 2009 after coming across it in the wonderful Blossom book-store in Bangalore. I had heard of it long before, found on a list of ‘must read’ books about India, but had been unable to acquire a copy. This is a love...

This is the final genre post, a collection of all the genre challenges remaining on my list. The Cruisin' thru the Cozies challenge is in its third year, and is being hosted by Socrates' Book Reviews . There are three levels, ranging from 6 to 13+ books. It runs all year long and I did not see a sign-up deadline. Reviewing is not required but is encouraged, and if you don't have a blog you can post about the books you read in the comments to the appropriate post on the hosting blog. 63 participants so far - why not become the 64th? Another re-run is the Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge , hosted by My Reader's Block . Any book read for this challenge must have been written pre-1960 and must of course be a mystery of some kind. The sign-up deadline is November 30. You must choose 8 categories from a list of 37 and read one book in each category to be eligible for a prize drawing at the end of the year. 40 people have signed up so far. More rules can be fou...