I saw my Supervisor on Friday and I asked whether I should start reading around the topic, he said it was a good idea given I haven't read a scientific journal since April. I've been sent 5 papers and told not to worry too much about reading them, but when I start in October it will hopefully allow me to get back into the swing of reading journals.

Also Thank-you for all the advice on here! I know I don't start for another ~8 weeks but it's better to be prepared!

hi again :-)
well you have 2 months of "freedom" left :-)
if your soon-to-be supervisor has sent you something to read, yes of course you could start right away; it would be to your advantage after all
BUT
if I were you, I'd just take it easy and relax a bit;
and only read whatever I can in whatever time I have.
Don't put any pressure onto yourself
why, because there is a great chance that there will BE pressure in future
so be kind to yourself now :-)

once you start the phd, there is so much work to do.
Life is not quite the same after that.

yes I'm in the last year of phd. If you need to ask me anything specific, PM me in case I might not be able to check back on the thread.
best of luck
love satchi