Reading bake-athon

Also known as my holiday in Crete. Well, as much as an entire week spent with your mother can be classed as a holiday. Thankfully the twitch is starting to subside.
However, it was most certainly a break from the norm, and indeed from work, for the first time in a very long time. No laptop. No internet. No manuscripts in my hand luggage. Replaced with 9 books, 5 magazines, and 4 bikinis. Sigh.
On arrival at the hotel, I discovered not only that there was a 'private' beach (private meaning less than 300 people these days it seems) across the road, but that there was a little alcove where no-one else was baking.
And so, (when I was motherless) this was where I spent last week - feet in the sea, book in one hand and suntan lotion in the other.
On the rare occasions I looked up from whichever world I had transported myself to, I did a spot of 'book-watching'. Nosey at the best of times, it is intriguing to see what others are reading. Not only was I pleased to see fewer Dan Browns than in previous years, (finally I hope, the world is moving on) but that everyone (the largely British contingent that is) seemed to be reading something different. Whether the wonders of Amazon and other sites have helped improve the diversity of the general public's reading, I don't know, but it was a breath of fresh air to see fewer Grishams, McNabs, and Potters than ever before.
Which led me to decide the following - once a month I am going to ask a different friend to recommend a book to me (now I have actually made a noticable dent in my 'other people's books to read' pile) and I'll read it, no questions asked. Hopefully this will not only expand my reading preferences, but also my knowledge - of other good authors, and indeed of life.