What are you reading Monday?

Today I am reading The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher.

Rosamunde Pilcher was one of the people featured in Wisdom. I enjoyed reading her thoughts and put The Shell Seekers on reserve at the library.

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 is filled with real people mothers and daughters, husband and lovers  inspired with real values. 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.

I love a good family saga and I am really enjoying this!

I'm also dipping my toes in The Greatest Lies In History. I bought this for my best friend for Christmas and now that she has read it, I've stolen it back!

Have a great reading week!

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows.

After reading this I want to go to Guernsey. And join a literary society. And write letters.

Set in post world war 2, TGLAPPPS is the story of a group of friends in Guernsey and how they survived the German Occupation with good books and good friends. It all starts when one of the society write to Juliet Ashton, a writer in London who throughout the war wrote a column under a pseudonym about the war, often painting events in a humourous light. When Dawsey Adams discovers her address in an old book of hers, he writes to her asking for the name and address of a bookshop in London where he may get more of Charles Lambs works. Thus begins the friendship between Juliet and the Society as more of them write to her and she eventually visits them to write their story.

The whole book is written in letters - something I thought I would find difficult to follow but actually found it incredibly easy. It's amazing how easy it was to follow each characters story and identify their different "voices." It truly made me mourn the lost art of letter writing! The other great thing about this book is because of the letter format, it was easy to read one or two letters when you had a free ten minutes, rather than having to get through a whole chapter or stop half way through one. Since I spent much of my reading time on a ferry travelling back and forth, this format never left me feeling rushed or unfinished.

There was one particular quote I wanted to include and of course, I can't find it! It went something along the lines of "That's the problem with good books, they spoil you for all the bad ones you use to read." I promise when I find it I'll source it properly!

Started: 18/1                       Finished: 20/1

Sleeping Dogs

Sleeping Dogs by Sonya Hartnett

As I mentioned in my previous post, this was a re-read of one of Australia's excellent YA authors. I am pleased to say, it lived up to my memories - so many re-reads don't.

Hartnett's writing is subtle. The children in the Willow family - Edward, Michelle, Jordan, Oliver and Speck have a secret. It must be kept a secret from their father who is prone to fits of violent anger, especially against Jordan. Mum barely moves from her chair and the children are left to fend for themselves. Hartnett never openly states the secret, but you know - and it's not pleasant. The whole setting for the family is not pleasant and you want something to be done about it. But Bow, the outsider who discovers the secret is not who you want to discover it. He's not nice, not helpful and above all, arrogant and way to sure of himself and his superiority. The ending is shocking. It resolves one issue but leaves so much more unsaid.

Hartnett and other Australian YA authors such as John Marsden have been criticised for their books that leave issues unresolved or are unhappy. Personally, I think it's a good thing. Kids are not stupid. They know things don't always work out perfectly or work out at all.

I enjoyed re-reading Sleeping Dogs. Glad I can still see why it was controversial and while it's inclusion on any school reading list can cause issues. I'm looking forward to re-reading the rest of her stuff.

Started: 16/1                            Finished 18/1

What are you reading Monday

Today I am reading Sleeping Dogs by Sonya Hartnett

Sonya Hartnett would have to be one of the best Australian Authors for young adults. Her books are confronting, well written and thought provoking. I read Sleeping Dogs years ago, but have recently decided to embark on a retrospective of Hartnett's work, so expect to see a bit of her.

Sleeping Dogs is the story of the Willow family. A strange and dysfunctional family  who run a caravan park on their farm. They are secretive and close knit. Along comes Bow, an artist who stays at the caravan park and discovers the secret the family is hiding.

Eat, Pray, Love

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

I know nothing about this book except several people have told me it's great and I should read it.

Started: 12/1
Finished: 16/1

I found this unputdownable! Every time people saw me over the four days I was trying to get back to the book. 
I was a tad concerned when I started reading it that it would be full of religious angst - I can't remember why, but there was sentence at the beginning that had me worried. And while it is a story of one persons search for spirituality, it's not heavy on the religous stuff.
Elizabeth Gilbert spend a year living abroad, searching for balance and control in her life, She spent 4 months in Italy (eat), 4 months at an Ashram in India (pray) and 4 months in Bali (love). It was interesting to watch her change, reach her goals and change her life. It's not sugar coated, there were set backs and challenges. She is very frank about how these affected her and how she dealt with them, without denigrating others around her. 
I'd like to read this again when I'm not feeling so driven to get to the end. Slow down and savour it more. I have a feeling it's going to become one of those books I pick up, open to a page and just read a bit. I'm also going to get her next one called Committed. 

The Boy in Striped Pyjamas

The Boy in Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne

Started: 11/1
Finished 12/1

Review: I first read this book a few years ago and actually threw it across the room when I got to the end. I almost did it again, but I was on the ferry and so resisted the urge.
Bruno's father is a very important man. He's not sure what his father does, but after the Fury came to dinner and everyone started calling his father Commandant, they had to move away from their house in Berlin and go to Out-With. Here, Bruno walks along the fence one day until he finds Shmuel, a little boy the same age as Bruno who lives on the other side of the fence. Thus begins a friendship with far reaching consequences.
The Boy in Striped Pyjamas would be a great way to open up discussion with children - especially those around the 10-12 age group about the holocaust and the events surrounding it. The ending is not pretty - in fact it is pretty confronting. Bruno is incredibly innocent and at times comes across as extremely naive, even for a 9 year old. He has absolutely no idea what goes on behind the fence, or why he and Shmuel can't play together like normal kids. It's a book I'd love to do with a class - although it would have to be a year 6 or 7 group, towards the end of the year and with parental involvement.  It has been made into a movie, which I would like to see, just to see how closely they stick to the story.

What are you reading Monday

Joined up with this one too! :) Another J Kaye's event. So, what am I reading today?

I'm still on Wisdom and have just finished A Month of Sundays while sitting on the beach this morning. Am contemplating what to read next. Choices are:

Friendly Fire - Wil Anderson
The Summer Garden - Paullina Simons
Eat, Pray, Love - Elizabeth Gilbert
What The Mother Knew - Edmund Tadros
One Door Too Many - Ron Stephenson
The Boy it Striped Pyjamas - John Boyne

I'll post again when I know what I choose.