A Day In The A Blue Mountains.

Thanks for visiting my blog. I welcome you to take your time and browse , visiting my bush garden and discovering the wonders of my city within a national park; Blue Mountains National Park. Via my blog you will travel with me through the successes, trials and tribulations of gardening on a bush block. I share with you my patchwork & quilting, knitting, paper crafts, cooking and life in general.

Friday 13 April 2012

Day 104/366

What I'm Reading ATM - 
and another awfully long blog post.


I

It's been one of those weeks...a busy/relaxed weekend with family and then I just crashed.
I loathe it when this happens, and spend my time thinking about all the 'other' things that I could be doing.
This time I decided to go with the flow.  It was still a scary time for me though.
Two weeks ago I received a request to return to my old position as accounts officer in the marine industry.  It's only part time (job share) for six months maternity relief starting at the end of the month and I jumped at the offer.  (I think I'm needing more cognitive stimulation.)
Then the breakdown with my health and I wonder if I'm able.
Three days in bed, stomach cramps, completely fatigued and sleeping most of the day.
Early on I decided not to fight it and just to let it run its course.
So I ate little, slept lots, did a lot of reading and some knitting.
My Bowen therapist suggests that this is my body 'clearing' itself and is not such a bad thing.  This is the third bout I've had since Christmas and so I've decided to have a break from Bowen and TRE.  I can take it up again later in the year.

So, here are the books I've been reading this year.  
I finished reading Fall of Giants some time ago now.  
I'd give it a ten out of ten.
The impeccable research into World War I, the different European cultures and customs and the impact the war had on most aspects of these societies was skilfully interwoven into the personal lives of the characters without making you feel like you're reading a text book.
The language I found a little distant at times, but that could be my personal preference for a more emotive language.  A highly recommended historic novel, the first in a trilogy.
Next book I tackled was Brida by Paulo Coelho.
I have very mixed feeling about this book and I'm not quite sure what to make of it.
It appears, to me, to be a delve into Wiccan traditions, and an exploration into the Sun and Moon Traditions with a sprinkling of Christianity.
Set in Ireland, the novel failed to impress me.
Perhaps I've missed the point of his writing.
I didn't learn anything I didn't already know (except how to organize my wardrobe in the future perhaps!)
 I give a read-it-if-you-want rating!

My Daughter read Water for Elephants(Sara Gruen) prior to me reading it and gave it a I-can't-put-it-down rating.
I found it to be an entertaining read but soon tired of the the main character, although I do love how Gruen tackles aged care with gusty humour.
I give it a maybe-the-movie's-better rating. At this point I'd like to explain that I RARELY stop reading a book simply because I don't like it.  

Di Morrissey's Silent Country caught my interest because of the novel's setting.
The story is sort of a milder version of Patrick White's Voss and set in the twenty first century.
A very thoughtfully structured writing, too structured for my liking but one which explores not only the Australian film industry over two centuries but also issues dealing with Indigenous Australians, the Australian mining industry and women's place in society in the twenty first century.
A tome of a book but a very light read with a  murderous twist at the end.

After Fall of Giants, Cecilia Ahern's The Book of Tomorrow would have to be my next favourite read out of the collection.
Written in the first person, Tamara had me laughing out loud, brought a lump to my throat countless times and made me cry.
Tamara is an irascible sixteen year old who looks seventeen.
She has a lot to be angry about in her life and her search for the truth takes both her and the reader into a mother's worse nightmare.
A foul-mouthed teenager, nuns, a mobile library and  a ruined castle in County Meath, Ireland, are an unlikely mix but the combination gives the reader a run for her money.
Probably the last quarter of the book is a bit predictable but this is saved by the unexpected ending.
Fast moving, great use of the English language (sometimes coarse), highly recommended from mid-teens up.



6 comments:

  1. Nice shot of the books!!! Only one I read was Water for Elephants, Loved it!! Hope you get to feeling better! Congratulations on going back to work!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks T.T. I'm looking forward to going back to work but it's been 4 years almost to the day since I was there and am a little nervous!
      Have you seen the movie? I'm yet to see it.

      Delete
  2. Books are the best escape, thank you for the reviews :) I have seen the movie Water For Elephants - it was OK, but I was told the book was better.
    I hope you are feeling much better now and best wishes for your return to the workforce. I am sure after the first few days you will feel like you have never been away :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thankfully back on my feet now thanks.
      Books have been my "friend" since the age of five, I couldn't live without them. I hope I don't turn anyone off a title with my reviews.
      I agree with you about the work situation Helen. This is my third "start" with the same institution and it doesn't take long before I feel like I never left!

      Delete
  3. Hi Sweet Pea. It's interesting to read your review of these books. I have not read any of them and probably won't as I have other favourite authors I prefer. But I still enjoyed reading your thoughts about them. Thanks for visiting my photographic blog "Looking in the Square" and leaving a comment - Dave

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for visiting Dave and for reading my book reviews.
      Today's 'Strings of Pearls' photo is quite impressive.

      Delete

Comments Welcome

I welcome your comments; they are little personal notes to me. I enjoy reading what each of you have to say. Thanks for dropping by.