Jill's Book Cafe

Author: Jill's Book Cafe

I am an ex librarian (public libraries) and I aim to read 100 books a year (though I don't always manage it). I've always loved books and met my first real author at the library. I was a member of the Bookworm Club and went along on a Saturday morning for a talk by H E Todd as I loved his Bobby Brewster books. I was so excited but I never did tell him my idea for a new Bobby Brewster story! I joined NetGalley in 2014 as a reviewer and it has introduced me to many new authors and friends on Goodreads. I'd never actually written a review before I joined but as they keep sending me books I must be doing something right. I've have a book blog on Facebook since April 2015 before deciding to start this one. I read a variety of genres but you will normally find me reading the following. I like UK based police procedurals and psychological thrillers, but tend to avoid anything that hints at graphic domestic violence, child abuse or animal abuse (I'm a softy really). I enjoy well researched historical fiction and I'm partial to a bit of chick lit (or Choc Lit as I prefer to call it) of the more intelligent and humorous kind ie not London centric sex and shopping sagas featuring twiggy twenty year olds with too much money and not much sense. I also enjoy quirky and interesting novels and what would be described as women's fiction/romance but not of the Mill's and Boon variety (nothing wrong with M&B just not my thing). It is probably easier to say what I don't like. I don't read sci-fi/fantasy, horror, or vampire/zombie related books. I don't normally read paranormal/supernatural books but occasionally stray into mild, magic realism. In the summer of 2017 I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer (you can read all about it under Boob Blog). During treatment (and now as a consequence of post treatment side effects) my reading took a real hit. Rather than being able to take advantage of the enforced time away from work, my ability to concentrate just disappeared. Although I've started to read again, that also comes and goes. The notion of 'chemo brain' I can attest is very real and it's frustrating when I either can't concentrate on reading or remember what I have read with enough clarity to write a review. As a consequence, I am sadly not taking any review requests. I already had a hefty pile of books to review before the diagnosis and I would like if possible to read them, or at least give them some sort of shout out if reading/reviewing is proving difficult.