My bookshelf

Markus Zusak has written a remarkable and memorable book in The Book Thief . It is the story of a young German orphan’s experiences in a small town outside Munich during the rise of Hitler and the second World War.

I have never before read a story narrated by Death and found the insights and comments attributed to this character to be truly fascinating.

Markus Zusak’s writing and illustrations (yes – illustrations!) are extraordinary and I recommend this as a reading project when you have the space and time to fully absorb it.

In case I have not made myself clear, this book is way up there on my list of best books ever!

A full review can be found at

www.theage.com.au/news/reviews/the-book-thief/2005/09/08/1125772645161.html 

Another interesting link relating to The Book Thief is

http://www.booksattransworld.co.uk/thebookthief/

 Blurb from Joy Dettman’s official website -

Early one Sunday, the town of Molliston wakes to the news that a young bride is dead.

The year is 1929. The Great War with Germany has been fought and won, but at an immense cost to the small community. Death is too familiar here. So many sons were lost. So many daughters would never be wives; so many grandchildren would never be born. Racial hatred is like a bushfire in the belly of some.

And the dead girl is found only yards from the property of old Joe Reichenberg, a German.

 I am listening to this captivating story on CD in my car  at the moment. It is a very intense and slow-moving story with brilliant characterisation and plot development. I am feeling a little impatient though and know that if I was reading the text I might just skip forward a bit to see what happens.

This is a catch-up post. I am trying to make up for the long length of time since I have posted on this blog.

The books I have read in the past month or so have been:

Marian Keyes’ This Charming Man! - another wonderful story from one of my all-time favourite authors.  This is a very entertaining and satisfying story about what even intelligent and highly regarded women will accept in the name of Love.

Rosie Thomas’ Iris and Ruby – this is the first title I have read by this author and i have found it to be an enjoyable but very light read. It is a story set in Cairo of the intergenerational relationships between grandmother, mother and granddaughter. The author utilises flashbacks to tell a wartime love story and to show it’s long term effects on a family. 

Lisa See’s Snowflower and the Secret Fan – I just loved this book. It is set in 19th Century China and provides a wonderful insight into Chinese traditional culture (especially footbinding and matchmaking) while telling an entertaining yet, at times confronting, story.

 It is a very long time since I have posted an entry in my blog – my apologies to those who have been keeping an eye on it!

It’s not that I have not been reading but it has been holidays and some of my reading does not rate too much of a mention.

I have, however, become familiar with an author who has been around for a very long time and who has written many books – Bernard Cornwall.

Being a fan of historical fiction, I enjoyed listening to his story of The Pale Horseman set in 9th Century Britain. This is the second book in his Saxon Stories Series and continues the tale of Uhtred, Lord of Bebbanburg and his fraught relationship with Alfred the Great during the Danes, attempts to capture his kingdom of Wessex. While a little violent and gory for my usual tastes, it did portray the superstitions, values and customs of the times.

I look forward to reading more of the titles in this and other series written by this author.    

I have been driving with this story for the past couple of weeks. Friends, Lovers, Chocolate was written by Alexander McCall Smith and is part of his series The Sunday Philosophy Club. I have read some of his earlier series The No 1 Ladies Detective Agency set in Botswana and I have enjoyed this later offering more.

Isabel Dalhousie is an Edinburgh philosopher who takes time from her position as editor of an ethics journal to get involved in the problems and dilemmas of old and new friends. This is an intrigung story which covers the issues of cellular memory, seances and unrequited love.

The best thing about listening to this audio book is the beautiful Scots accent of the narrator Davina Porter.

I know! This is not the latest Harry Potter adventure, but I did get a bit behind in reading them.

I approached this one in a new way – I had the print version and the audio version on the go at the same time and chose the format to suit my situation.

The audio book is read by Stephen Fry who really brings the characters to life with his beautiful voice and animated expression. I used this format in the car, on the train, and during the night when unable to sleep.

I read the book when I was in the mood for quiet reading time. I did not use both formats at once, but this would be a valuable approach for struggling readers. I found the story riveting. I admire J.K. Rowling’s ability to sustain the reader’s interest in such a long story and maintain a great plot and consistent characterisation. 

I know that it has been a while since I posted a blog but I have just spent the two weeks’ break away from my computer. That time has allowed me to finish off a couple of reading projects – two books and one audio book.

Tears of the Maasai – Frank Coates is an Australian author who used to work for the UN in Kenya where he developed a passion for the history and culture of
East Africa. This book is a great reflection of both of these aspects in a story which contains adventure, politics, mystery and, of course, some romance thrown in. The hero is Australian, the heroine is Maasai and the villains are very villainous. This book is a good holiday read – I borrowed it from the Wollongong City Library but it looks like a good choice for our collection. 

We have in our library Nancy Pearl’s Book Lust. It is a book about books. She is a prominent American librarian and book reviewer. If her book is any guide, she has read and enjoyed many, many books, both fiction and non-fiction, over her long career. The subtitle of her book is Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment and Reason.

The books are categorised into lists covering themes such as armchair travel, chick lit, Christmas, mystery, Elvis on my mind, science fiction, romance, teachers and teaching tales – to name just a few.

She gives some very helpful advice about whether to persevere with a book you are not sure about. She believes that nobody should feel compelled to finish a book which they are not enjoying. She has her “rule of fifty” acknowledging that time is short and the world of books is immense. If you are under fifty, read fifty pages of your book before deciding whether or not to keep reading it. If you are over fifty, subtract your age from 100 to give you the number of pages to read before making your decision. She does, however, suggest that options are kept open to return to a book later when your mood and circumstances may be different.

I think this is an excellent method for readers, like myself, who feel that they have to finish every book they start to read.

I finished reading My Beautiful Spy. I recommend it as a light read with intrigue, romance and an interesting twist at the end.

I confess that I have just had my weekend hijacked by The Kite Runner written by Khaled Hosseini. It is a stunning story which paints a beautiful picture of Afghanistan before, during and after the Russian invasion of the 1970’s.   

The story is about two young boys from very different social and religious  backgrounds growing up in Afghanistan in the 1970’s. The main character,  Amir, is very privileged  while Hassan, his friend, is a servant in his house. While they spend a great deal of time playing together, Amir never forgets his superior position and fails repeatedly to show Hassan the same loyalty and respect that Hassan shows him. Many years later, after Amir and his father have moved to the US and Amir is married and a successful author, he has the opportunity to make recompense for his actions of the past.

It is a very moving and beautifully written book which I highly recommend. We have it available in our library in Audio Book as well as hard copy.

Review of The Kite Runner

I am slowly working my way through My Beautiful Spy  - the setting has moved from Bucharest to Istanbul and the intrigue and romance are building all the time.

I have an audio book in my car all the time for times when I am alone or the radio doesn’t appeal. They are great for family car trips – try a Harry Potter story when you are travelling large distances with or without the kids. I borrow them from the Wollongong Library but we are building our own collection in the College Library. The audio books we have at present include those that are studied by English classes and those for general reading by both young people and adults. Check them out on the LRC Catalogue – Ask Alice on http://www.stmarys.nsw.edu.au/library .  

Anyway my current audio book is called The Shifting Fog  written by Kate Morton, a 29 year old Australian author, and read by Caroline Lee. It is a long story (16 CDs) and comprises the memories of an old woman about her young days in service to a cash-strapped  aristocratic family in the period before, during and after World War I. It is a typical upstairs and downstairs story covering the changes occurring in British society during and after the war, family secrets and the effect that they have on family members.

I am enjoying this story in the small doses that I get between home and school and back again (I have had to renew it three times). I’m not sure how I would go with it if I was reading it myself and not doing something else at the same time. It is available in our library for the holidays. I would appreciate an appraisal by anyone who feels that it would suit their reading taste. A review published in the Sydney Morning Herald can be viewed at http://www.smh.com.au/news/book-reviews/the-shifting-fog/2006/07/07/1152240472363.html .