Guilt-free reading in joint retirement

Ever since I attended the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate last July, I've been on a book reading marathon. Dougie and I came home after that weekend laden with thrillers and we've still not reached the bottom of the pile.

I used to feel guilty about reading during the day. I felt I should be working, not sitting curled up on a sofa absorbed in a novel.

Now that Dougie is retired, I can read at any time of the day and not worry that I'll be caught with my feet up. If he's retired, then so am I. Put the kettle on and I'll canter through a few chapters. This is book-reading bliss.

I've mentioned in a previous column that we buy many of our books at the Sue Ryder charity shop in Spalding. We've now located another; The Holbeach Bookshop. Run by volunteers, with proceeds going to local causes, this little gem on Park Road produced some excellent finds on a recent visit.

I picked up a book of short stories by Man Booker Prize winner, Yann Martel and one about childhood memories of Norway. Dougie's choices were rather more random: books about philosophy, Cardinal Wolsey and Frankie Boyle.

Last week, we popped into Bookmark in Spalding, which was taking part in World Book Night, an annual event run by national charity, The Reading Agency. The team in Bookmark invited customers to visit the shop after hours and choose free books from a selection of proof copies they've been sent by publishers.

I loved this event when I attended before so it was good to return and browse the books with a complimentary glass of wine in hand. I spotted a proof copy of White, the new non-fiction book by Brett Easton Ellis, author of American Psycho. This book isn't officially published until May 2 [Thursday], so I was particularly thrilled to find it here, especially after reading reviews in the Sunday supplements just a few days before.

Dougie found a couple of thrillers and an interesting novel featuring Jeremy, a long-serving editor at The Daily Beast. I think I might have to take a closer look at that one to see if there are any similarities with another newspaper editor called Jeremy I just happen to know.

We'll have to do some serious book-reading in the next few months so that we're ready for a new batch we're bound to buy when we return to Harrogate in July. It should be a brilliant weekend, with guests including James Patterson, Jo Nesbo and Jeffery Deaver.

We'll also have the chance to meet TV scriptwriter, Jed Mercurio, responsible for the superb Bodyguard and Line of Duty. I'm engrossed in the latter at the moment. But if he's marked out my favourite fella, Ted Hastings, as a villain, then Mother of God, I'll be having some serious words with Mr Mercurio.

You can read Trish's blog at www.mumsgoneto.co.uk