Reading time

ave you read more books in this Covid-infected year than you have in any other? With my obsession for lists I know that I definitely have. And at least, and Antonia Fraser’s ) have been whoppers. So I suppose having more time to read has been an advantage (the only?) of the pandemic for me. But now that theatres, cinemas and art galleries are opening again I fear that my reading quota will go right down. Not that I’m competitive or envious, of course, but I can still remember reading a few years ago that a fairly well-nown journalist found time to read a book a week despite a challenging job and young children. Impressive – and not something I have been able to equal. However, in a completely unscientific survey (ie, I asked several friends) I found that reading more was not the case generally: concentration in this time of stress proved a stumbling block for many.