Welcome to The Lotus Readers Blog

A bit about me…

Welcome to The Lotus Readers, the home of my blog on books. This is where I post book news, reviews and musings on what reading means to me as someone who has to sit still a lot. The title of my blog comes from the Tennyson poem The Lotus-Eaters and I chose it to complement my writing therapy work, but is also a joke about my sedentary life, lounging on my chaise lounge and reading books. The original poem describes a group of mariners who, upon eating the lotos, are put into an trance where they become isolated from the outside world. The title and concept derives from the lotus-eaters of Greek mythology. The narrator of the poem is frustrated by the mariners inactivity, because he can see so much to be done and they are simply lounging in their altered state enjoying a feeling of bliss. They want to be dissociated from the reality of their worries and cares. While I can’t claim to be in an altered state (well, maybe some of the time) my health does mean I recline a lot, but my drug of choice is reading.

I have several health problems and now only work a very small amount. Reading has always been my favourite pastime from being of primary school age. When I finished the reading scheme aged nine, my school let me loose to read anything in the library – I chose Little Women. Since then I’ve been reading and keeping a journal every day. My love of books became very important when I broke my back at the age of 11. Long periods laid still at that age was difficult but if I had Jane Eyre to devour it made things easier. Later in life I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and the damage done to my back has now caused neurological damage and widespread pain. This is sometimes really tough to deal with, but despite my limitations I feel incredibly lucky that I can spend long periods reading. I started the blog to review books I had or bought, then I joined BookTwitter and learned about NetGalley, blog tours and met other wonderful bookworms. It’s opened up my life considerably and given me the confidence to pick up my own work in progress. This is how I became a book blogger. Now I try to post at least three times a week, avoid the siren call of too many book tours so I can still read for pleasure, and am a member of the Squad Pod Collective, a group of book bloggers who host tours, read-alongs and support each other behind the scenes. Please sign up below if you’d like to receive my ramblings direct to your inbox.

Review Policy

I do accept proof copies of fiction and memoir titles. I read across the spectrum from literary and historical fiction, family dramas and relationships, crime and psychological thrillers, to sci-fi, the supernatural, and fantasy on occasions. I can be contacted at lotustherapylincs@outlook.com and I reply usually within a couple of days. I will let you know how busy I am and when the book is likely to feature on the blog. I am all about positivity, so I only feature books I’ve really enjoyed and want to share with others. So I will email to let you know whether I’ll be featuring your book and when to expect it to appear.