Round Robin

Round Robin by Jennifer Chiaverini is the second in the Elm Creek Quilters series. This came into the library at the perfect time. I was about half way through Great Expectations and in desperate need of a break!

The first book in the series focussed on Sarah and Sylvia. This book allows you to find out more about each of the quilters and their story.

The group decides to make a Round Robin quilt as a surprise for Sylvia to hang in the entrance hall of the manor. A Round Robin quilt is made by a group of quilters. Each quilter adds a border, passing it onto the next participant once they have finished, so they too can add to it. As each quilter in the story adds their border, they are also faced with a dilemma in their lives. As each issue is dealt with, the border comes to represent the struggle and the sewers family and friends who help them along the way.

While you could read this as a stand alone, you would miss out on some things - like why Andrew is so significant in Sylvia's life or why Sarah and her mother struggle to get along. The story is significantly different enough from the first that you don't end up feeling like you have already read the book and moves the characters along, adding dimensions and depth to those introduced in the first book. Once again, not a taxing read, but an enjoyable one. Looking forward to the next!

Bachelor Kisses

Bachelor Kisses by Nick Earls is the third book in the list of Nick Earls books I plan to read. Once again, a lot of fun.

Jon is a resident at a small, not significant hospital. He's had a couple of relationships with some nurses there - none that ended well. He is currently doing a psych rotation. Psych, by the way, is seen as the cushiest rotation. "Psych. Finishing by five-thirty p.m. almost every day. Saturday mornings off every week. There is no other term like that." And he thinks he may have worked out a better way to treat depression.

Bachelor Kisses follows Jon's journey through a relationship with another nurse and his continuing exploration of his depression theory. The whole time he is worried the theory is about to be shot down in flames - something he has mixed feelings about. Mind you, he has mixed feelings about the nurse as well!

This book is a fun, easy read. It doesn't answer any of life's great questions, but it doesn't pose any either. I'm enjoying my journey through Earls' backlist and look forward to the next book.

Oh, I did learn one thing from Bachelor Kisses - Nick Earls trained as a doctor! The layout of the hospital he uses is "not unlike that of a hospital where [he] did [his] residency" and he "was a co-researcher on a melatonin project not unlike that outlined in the novel'  And I was wondering if he actually knew what he was talking about as I read the book. Obviously he did!

The Quilter's Apprentice

The Quilter's Apprentice by Jennifer Chiaverini is the first book in the Elm Creek Quilters series. I know I have read the first three or four, but I can't remember if it's three or four so I decided to start again at the beginning.

I read this in less than 24 hours - which gives you an idea of how taxing a read it is! However, I truly believe not everything you read needs to challenge you mentally, and this is a lovely easy, light read.

Sarah McClure has moved to a small college town in America to support her husband when he lands a new job in Waterford. While she gave up a job she wasn't happy in to move, she is having trouble finding work in this small town and is starting to get despondent. When her husband Matt, takes her with him to meet a new client, she ends up helping the elderly and very cranky Sylvia Compson get her family estate, Elm Creek Manor ready for sale. In return, Sylvia agrees to teach Sarah how to make a quilt. As they work, Sarah learns more of Syliva's story and starts to wonder if and how they can save Elm Creek Manor.

As you can imagine, they do find a way to prevent the sale and it sets the scene for the many sequels to come - there are currently 14 books in the series.

I think my biggest mistake with this book was borrowing the first one only! I did want to start the second immediately, but have had to settle for putting it on hold at the library instead! At least it gives me something to look forward to!

I'm not sure how much appeal there would be for those who don't quilt (I do, you can check out my craft blog here), although I do feel the story stands apart from the quilting enough to be a pleasant read at least.

Mr Pip

 

Mr Pip by Lloyd Jones

From Goodreads:

In a novel that is at once intense, beautiful, and fablelike, Lloyd Jones weaves a transcendent story that celebrates the resilience of the human spirit and the power of narrative to transform our lives.
On a copper-rich tropical island shattered by war, where the teachers have fled with most everyone else, only one white man chooses to stay behind: the eccentric Mr. Watts, object of much curiosity and scorn, who sweeps out the ruined schoolhouse and begins to read to the children each day from Charles Dickens’s classic Great Expectations.
So begins this rare, original story about the abiding strength that imagination, once ignited, can provide. As artillery echoes in the mountains, thirteen-year-old Matilda and her peers are riveted by the adventures of a young orphan named Pip in a city called London, a city whose contours soon become more real than their own blighted landscape. As Mr. Watts says, “A person entranced by a book simply forgets to breathe.” Soon come the rest of the villagers, initially threatened, finally inspired to share tales of their own that bring alive the rich mythology of their past. But in a ravaged place where even children are forced to live by their wits and daily survival is the only objective, imagination can be a dangerous thing.

I have a confession to make - I have never read Great Expectations. I know, it's terrible, but the truth is, I'm not very good at classics. I only read Wuthering Heights  after I read I Am the Messenger.I obviously need a catalyst of some type to read classics. So, after reading Mr Pip I have put Great Expectations on hold at the library. It must be popular, I'm number 3 on the list!

So onto Mr Pip. After all the whites are evacuated from, or leave the island village, Mr Watts is the only white left. He starts to teach the children, but the only book he has is Great Expectations. Matilda not only enjoys the story, she is transport to Pip's world. He is more real to her than her mother's devil, something that causes tension between Mr Watts and Matilda's mother.
I'm finding it really hard to express what I feel about this book. I enjoyed it, I think over the next few days, things about it will occur to me and give me that "ahhh" moment. The island they are talking about is near or part of Papua New Guinea  and I need to go and read some of their recent history to place the book properly for me. It was an easy read with much to think about. I really enjoyed the lack of over embellishment about events in the book. It was like it had been pared back to its bare bones, to give the reader a feeling for the starkness and reality of life in the village at that time. I felt for Matilda, torn between her mother and Mr Watts.
At one point in the story, the book is destroyed and Mr Watts and the children set about "retrieving" the story. Each day as they come to class, Mr Watts asks the children what they have remembered about the book and he notes each retrieval down in a book, noting who has retrieved it and where in the story it belongs. I love this idea, the idea that as long as we can remember a book and why it touched us, it will never be lost.

After January

 

After January by Nick Earls  

The second in my reading of Nick Earls' backlist. While this was published the same year as Zigzag Street, it was actually the first book he wrote.

From Goodreads

Alex Delaney is waiting for the beginning of the rest of his life. Marking time till his tertiary offer, he's not expecting much, just the usual holiday in Caloundra. So he's not prepared for the girl with the nose-ring who cuts past him on a wave and draws him into a new way of looking at himself and the world.

After January is basically a coming of age story. While it was nothing that set the world on fire, I found it to be really well written, the characters believable and the story flowed. What I really liked about this book was the lack of overdone teenage angst! I often find with books aimed at a teenage audience the angst is way overdone! Alex was unsure about approaching the girl, but he did and managed to do it without embarrassing himself too much, there was no great misunderstanding that could easily be resolved if they just bothered to ask a question. At it's most basic level, After January is about two people meeting, getting to know each other and expliring how they fit into each others worlds and lives.

Friendly Fire

Friendly Fire by Wil Anderson.

I love Wil Anderson! I cried when his satirical show The Glass House ended and I cheered when his new show that looks at advertising, The Gruen Transfer appeared. I truly believe he is one of Australia's funniest comedians. So you can imagine how thrilled I was to discover this book. Pity it didn't live up to my expectations. Wil Anderson writes how he speaks and while that works really well when I am listening to him, for me, it didn't translate to the written word. The stories were funny, the thoughts interesting, but the writing was, well, clunky. Segues that would flow naturally during a stand up show or monologue were glaringly obvious and out of place. Really,  I think if Wil Anderson has been sitting on my couch reading it to me, I would have been in stitches. Reading it myself, a few smiles an occasional giggle, but I think from now on, I'll take my Wil Anderson straight off the stage or the TV.

The Host

 

The Host by Stephenie Meyer

From Goodreads 

The author of the Twilight series of # 1 bestsellers delivers her brilliant first novel for adults: a gripping story of love and betrayal in a future with the fate of humanity at stake.

Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. The earth has been invaded by a species that take over the minds of their human hosts while leaving their bodies intact, and most of humanity has succumbed.
Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, knew about the challenges of living inside a human: the overwhelming emotions, the too vivid memories. But there was one difficulty Wanderer didn't expect: the former tenant of her body refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.
Melanie fills Wanderer's thoughts with visions of the man Melanie loves-Jared, a human who still lives in hiding. Unable to separate herself from her body's desires, Wanderer yearns for a man she's never met. As outside forces make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off to search for the man they both love.
Featuring what may be the first love triangle involving only two bodies, THE HOST is a riveting and unforgettable novel that will bring a vast new readership to one of the most compelling writers of our time.

After I read the Twilight series, I said, yep, that was interesting, don't think I will go any further with this author. So I am still trying to work out why I picked up The Host. I think it was the line "her brilliant first novel for adults" (emphasis mine). And here is my first problem with the book - I don't see the audience being any different than the one for Twilight. I suppose I expect an adults book to be a little more challenging, characters with greater depth and a less predictable story line.  I found the characters very two dimensional. I understand the love Mel and Jarad have, (I myself truly believe I have found my soul mate in this life) but the complete utter blind devotion is not real - not even in an invaded world. While they said Jamie had grown up, he continually came across as a 10 year old to me- completely unable to pick up nuances (not that there were many in the book!). None of the characters seem to grow and develop, they were pretty much the same at the end as at the beginning. Some had changed attitudes but they happened to easily and without any real questioning from the characters. My best example of this was Kyle's turn around when he found Jodi. For me, there was not enough of a reason for him to change so dramatically - very unconvincing.
The storyline was predictable. I guessed the ending less than half way through the book. (Spoiler here, highlight the white area if you want to read it.) I I suppose both Wanda and Melanie needed to survive in order for there to be a sequel, which I am assuming there is or will be.

Having said that, I did enjoy most of  the book. It was a good light read, although I got a little annoyed towards the end. I would love to say that if there is a sequel, I won't read it, but I don't make rash promises!

FebFast 2010

For various reasons, I have decided to participate in FebFast 2010. FebFast is a fundraiser where participants are sponsored to go alcohol free for the month of February!  The festive season was a very good one for me and I am trying to lose some weight and get a bit fitter this year. I thought this would be a good way to kick it off and support some great charities in the process, so go on, click on the link on the side and sponsor me!

From the FebFast website

FebFast is a charity that is now in its third year of operation.
We work to reduce the impact of alcohol and other drugs on young Australians by raising funds to support organisations working in research, prevention and service delivery concerning alcohol and other drugs use by young people.
We conduct a national education, awareness and fundraising campaign that invites people to sacrifice their alcohol consumption during February, and at the same time raise funds to support youth alcohol and other drug services.
Over the past two years we have seen more than 3,500 people take up the FebFast challenge to give up the grog for amonth. Collectively these people have raised more than $700,000 to support our cause.
Funds from our last two campaigns have been distributed to 13 organisations around Australia.
Proceeds from our 2010 registration and fundraising efforts will be shared amongst the Australian Drug Foundation (that operates nationally), YSAS (the Youth Substance Abuse Service) in Victoria, The Ted Noffs Foundation in NSW and the ACT, Mater Hospital’s Adolescent Drug and Alcohol Withdrawal Service in Queensland and FebFast’s grants program for smaller grass-roots organisations.

Donate
Donations to FebFast are tax deductible in Australia. Please consider contributing to our work.

Beneficiaries
FebFast is a charity that is now in its third year of operation.
We work to reduce the impact of alcohol and other drugs on young Australians by raising funds to support organisations working in research, prevention and service delivery concerning alcohol and other drugs use by young people.
We conduct a national education, awareness and fundraising campaign that invites people to sacrifice their alcohol consumption during February, and at the same time raise funds to support youth alcohol and other drug services.
Over the past two years we have seen more than 3,500 people take up the FebFast challenge to give up the grog for amonth. Collectively these people have raised more than $700,000 to support our cause.
Funds from our last two campaigns have been distributed to 13 organisations around Australia.
Proceeds from our 2010 registration and fundraising efforts will be shared amongst the Australian Drug Foundation (that operates nationally), YSAS (the Youth Substance Abuse Service) in Victoria, The Ted Noffs Foundation in NSW and the ACT, Mater Hospital’s Adolescent Drug and Alcohol Withdrawal Service in Queensland and FebFast’s grants program for smaller grass-roots organisations.

Donate
Donations to FebFast are tax deductible in Australia. Please consider contributing to our work.

Beneficiaries
Proceeds from our 2010 registration and fundraising efforts will be shared amongst the Australian Drug Foundation (that operates nationally), YSAS (the Youth Substance Abuse Service) in Victoria, The Ted Noffs Foundation in NSW and the ACT, Mater Hospital’s Adolescent Drug and Alcohol Withdrawal Service in Queensland and FebFast’s grants program for smaller grass-roots organisations.
Proceeds from our 2010 registration and fundraising efforts will be shared amongst the Australian Drug Foundation (that operates nationally), YSAS (the Youth Substance Abuse Service) in Victoria, The Ted Noffs Foundation in NSW and the ACT, Mater Hospital’s Adolescent Drug and Alcohol Withdrawal Service in Queensland and FebFast’s grants program for smaller grass-roots organisations.

New Stuff

Life has been a bit hectic. I had an operation on my eye on Tuesday to insert a cache lens. This was after a failed attempt in August to insert an ICL (implanted contact lens.), which left me a cataract (which has now corrected itself, thank goodness!) and an misshapen, enlarged pupil in my right eye. While the pupil cannot be fixed, I am pleased to say the cache lens procedure has worked a treat and I now have almost 20/20 vision out of my right eye!! My left eye is scheduled for Monday! But, before that, I must travel to Newcastle (leaving this afternoon) to sadly attend my maternal grandmother's funeral. She died on Tuesday morning, just before I went into surgery. She was 91 and while it was not unexpected, it's not easy. My other grandmother died in December at the age of 98, so I have lost my last 2 remaining grandparents within 2 months of each other and to put it bluntly - it sux.

So, as you can imagine, amongst all that, not much blogging has been getting done, although the reading (thank goodness!) continues. I'm currently reading The Host by Stephenie Meyer. I resisted the whole Twilight thing for ages, finally succumbing when a friend lent me a copy of the first one and while they aren't the best thing I have ever read, they were ok. Easy, entertaining and a nice love story. I'm finding The Host different. Just as readable, but slightly more adult and more original concept. As an aside, while Leigh and I were having dinner the other night, we overheard two people talking about the True Blood series. Like Twilight, I've been kind of actively avoiding these books, but think I may now have to give them a go too.

I have also had a delivery from The Book Depository (mmmmmmmmmm,  book depository!!)

Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones  is my Book Groups February read
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver is my Book Group March read
Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins is a book recommended by a couple of friends
Blood Brother by Robin Bowles was not a BD buy, but a present from a friend who gets my fascination with killers.

My current library pick ups have included:

Desert Flower by Waris Dirie is a book I've been meaning to read for awhile.
After January by Nick Earls continues my reading of Earls' back catalogue.
Shallows by Tim Winton continues my reading of Winton's back catalogue.

Hopefully that will keep me going for awhile!

ZigZag Street

Zigzag Street - Nick Earls

From Nick Earl's Website, Sunny Garden

Richard Derrington is twenty-eight and single. More single than he'd like to be. More single than he'd expected to be, and not coping well. Since Anna trashed him six months ago he's been trying to find his way again. He's doing his job badly, playing tennis badly, stalled at the start of renovating and wondering when things are going to change.
Zigzag Street covers six weeks of Richard's life in the house his grandparents built at Brisbane's Red Hill. Six weeks of rumination, chaos, poor judgement, interpersonal clumsiness and, eventually, hope, as he stumbles from one incident to another.
Richard's trying to be a nineties man, longing to be desirable, searching for calm, but things are only getting more out of control. Zigzag Street is his story.

Every now and then I come across an author that I decide to read the whole back catalogue of. At the moment, one of those authors is Australia's Nick Earls. I first came across Earls' writing as a teacher librarian and the stuff he had written for young adults. I found him to be fresh, funny and engaging. I have read a few of his books before, but his first book - Zigzag Street - is one I haven't read before.

I enjoyed Zigzag street, although when my husband asked me what it was about, I did find it hard to come up with an answer! What I really find fascinating is being able to identify certain Brisbane landmarks and suburbs as I read. Richard Derrington lives in Red Hill, I have friends who use to live there! Someone else lives in West End, I was lost in West End only 2 weeks ago!!
Having read The True Story of Butterfish recently, I can see how Earls' and his writing have developed. His characters are older, not necessarily wiser! His writing style is smoother, but  still highly entertaining. I'm looking forward to read more of his stuff.

The Shell Seekers

 

The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher

From Goodreads:

The Shell Seekers is a novel of connection: of one family, and of the passions and heartbreak that have held them together for three generations.The Shell Seekers centers on Penelope Keeling  a woman you'll always remember in world you'll never forget. The Shell Seekers is a magical novel, the kind of reading experience that comes along only one in a long while. The Shell Seekers is filled with real people mothers and daughters, husband and lovers  inspired with real values.

As I said before, I love a good family saga and this was perfect!  Penelope Keeling was such a beautifully written, strong female character that you immediately wanted to go and sit and chat to her. Each chapter focussed on one person and their link to Penelope, while allowing the whole story to develop. Switching between the early 1940's and 1987, it was easy to follow the flashbacks, with each one giving you an "aha" moment where a question posed or pondered by someone in the present was answered.  I really enjoyed The Shell Seekers and I will be seeking out more of Pilcher's stuff.