Guest Post by Annie Lyons, Author of "Not Quite Perfect"


I'm thrilled to be a part of the blog tour for Not Quite Perfect by Annie Lyons, the best-selling digital book and very first print title from Carina UK.  Today I would like to welcome Annie to the blog to discuss what she plans on reading this summer.
Summer Reading Heaven
I hate packing. I’m not alone here, am I? I mean going on holiday is brilliant, just brilliant. It’s an honour and a privilege and a much longed-for treat but packing? Eesh. I have a theory that packing is the thing that was invented to make you really appreciate the holiday. Okay, so it’s not a theory of Einsteinian levels but it’s all I’ve got. What can I say? I need a holiday.
When my children were babies, packing to go away was organised with the kind of precision that would make army generals applaud in admiration. There were lists and counter-lists, and sub-lists to those counter-lists. We packed enough chemicals to sterilise all the baby bottles in the world ever and half the hospitals in the land. We brought everything we needed and lots of things we didn’t need under ‘list A, counter-list b, sub-section iv’ entitled: Just In Case, which as all those parents out there know, is a pretty large sub-section.
Anyhoo, that was then and now my children are a bit older and the list has got a little smaller apart from the section headed ‘phone, iPod, iPad and laptop chargers’ which seems to require a whole suitcase of its own.
Packing woes aside, there is one part of the holiday preparations that I enjoy. I tend to save it for when everything else is done. I like to spend anything between half and a whole hour on this. No, it’s got nothing to do with hair removal. It is the moment when I get to choose my summer reading selection.
Ooh. I actually had a little tingle of excitement just typing those words, for it is a precious moment. There are only so many slots available. Careful consideration is vital. Once you choose, you are committed.
Obviously I always take too many books but by golly, I do enjoy selecting them. I also like to take a mixture of physical and digital books. Is there anything more divine than a sun-cream scented paperback? I don’t think so. Plus my eReader gives me lots of choice. Is there anything more decadent than lying in bed and buying a book to read straight away? Trust me, there is not.
So I thought I would share with you a selection of the books that I plan to read over the summer holidays.
  1. The Fault in our Stars by John Green. I know. I can’t believe I haven’t read it either but I have deliberately avoided reviews so that I can read it with fresh eyes. And a massive box of tissues.
  2. Us by David Nicholls. One Day made me want to become a writer. I have been waiting for this book for a very long time and now I have a proof copy, I am denying myself the pleasure of reading it until I’m actually on holiday. I’m mean like that.
  3. Me before You by Jojo Moyes. I am working my way through this brilliantly diverse author’s novels and I am told that this is the one I really have to read and that I’ll need tissues. I am looking forward to a weepy summer.
  4. Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant by Anne Tyler. She is my favourite author and the one I return to when I need a guaranteed superb read. She’s never let me down yet.
  5. Dear Thing by Julie Cohen. I have been longing to read this because it sounds as if Julie writes the kind of books I love to read. And the best news is that she’s got a new book coming out soon so I may well have found a new author I love too. It’s like making a new friend…
This is by no means an exhaustive list but it’s a start and I think a pretty good one at that. All that remains is for me to wish you a fantastic summer before I head off to get the packing out of the way so that I can start on the really important task. 

Happy choosing and above all, happy reading!

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