When We Were Orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro and other news

Finished this book earlier today and still haven't decided whether I liked it or not. It is my second Ishiguro book and I think it is his style that I have a problem with. In this book there was one thing I kept mentally shouting at the MC for and I think this tarnished it a bit. But in the end I liked the way it was resolved and I enjoyed how they mystery was solved.

Up next for reading is either Marley and Me or The House at Riverton, I can't decide:)

In other news I have started this years NaNoWriMo, I registered a few years ago and this is the first time that I have actually started. I am up to just over 5,000 words at the moment and am pleased with myself. Let's just hope I can carry it on.

It was really good catching up with people's blogs and already I have a few books added to my wish list so thanks everyone lol! Take care and be safe:)

The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall

Strangely my local library had this and I read it in about two settings. I thought this book was brilliant but probably a little old for my Year 3 class. It tells the tale of some feisty young girls and their holiday to a cottage with their father. The sisters have differing personalities that get them into a variety of scrapes! If I was of a younger age I am sure I would have chosen a favourite sister, probably the writer of the eldest sister who kind of takes over the role of mother. This was a nice easy read that made me wish I could roam around a huge estate getting into mischief! It has I guess an old fashioned charm, I don’t know whether that is just me but it reminded me of books from my youth. It was a pleasant change from some of the books I have read recently aimed at children
I think what struck me about the book is the love and friendship of the family and their new friend Jeffrey, made me wish I had siblings to share things with! It is the kind of family ideal I would have relished (in some respects obviously) for example a father who loves his children dearly and supports them entirely but leaves them to their own devices.
I am so pleased to have read this book, I will certainly be getting my own copy for my classroom!

This is actually one of the books from my Something about Me challenge so yay one down!

Spelling Mississippi

by Marnie Woodrow

Just finished this book, one I picked up at the library just because I liked the cover lol! Really great read. Many attempts to write a review have stalled because I just cannot find the right words but I think some of this, lifted from Amazon.com, says it all
“Spelling Mississippi begins with a visually stunning drama that lingers ‘like the ghost scent of fine perfume’ over all the pages to come…. The narrative shifts smoothly between Cleo and Madeline, suspensefully unfurling their pasts, troubled childhoods, backstories ripe with longings and secrets, like the mini-cities of the dead, haunting the present…. Woodrow is a delicious tease, offering cool quenching sips of information, but spiked with intrigue. The story swirls compellingly on, at times funny, wise, erotic, always precisely detailed and vivid. A kind of romantic melancholy permeates the pages…. The charm and strength of the telling is the intimate reality created, the bang-on dialogue and characters [are] fully flesh and blood…. Spelling Mississippi, in the best way, is alive, both spirited and haunted.” -- Eliza Clark, The Globe and Mail

So Many Books, So Little Time

I have just finished this book by Sara Nelson and managed to read it in...ooh a day! It was great to read a book by someone who gets me, basically like all the other lit blogs out there. Although I haven't read a lot of her reads, and some of them hadn't heard of them, it was still very enjoyable and I have added a few more books to my wish list. I recognised myself a lot in these pages, taking ages to choose just the right book, always carrying a spare just in case etc!

This will be one of the books on my Something About Me challenge, now I am off to go and choose some others.

Review- The Brief History of the Dead and random thoughts

Go out and buy this book if you have not got it.

Go home and read this book if it is on your TBR pile.

Personally I thought this was a fantastic read, I know others have had some reservations but i loved the way the stories fitted together, the writing was lovely and ooh it was just great! The story details a place between the living and dead where a population has gathered, caught there while others on Earth are alive to remember them. There existence is at risk when a plague hits the world and the book details the aftermath and how it is dealt with.

I thought the author had considered characterisation carefully, I enjoyed spotting the links between Laura and people from the city. It is a tale that unwinds, no thats not the right word, unravels? so more and more is revealed and explained, but then throws up more questions. I found myself engrossed by this book, torn again by the wish to finish it to see what happens and savour it slowly and enjoy it while I could. In the end I arrived at work this morning having some things to prepare for my class today but sat myself at my desk and finished it hungrily feeling so disappointed when it ended. I was also slightly disappointed (but not in a bad way if that makes sense?) by the ending as there was much left unsaid. However this in no way detracted from the book.

OK falling asleep now so am going to stop although I may add some thoughts tomorrow after a sound nights kip.

Some brief other thoughts-

I am finding it difficult to think of books for the Something about Me reading challenge. I want to include something about teaching, something about living in the UK, something bout my love of History (perhaps The Historian for that one!). Then I have to choose for my dystopian challenge, I have a HUGE long list for that one and I am trying to narrow it down but then I get another suggestion and the list lengthens again!

My class were noisy again tonight but one great moment was when we went down to the library and I could see the transformation in them from the beginning of the year where they were not interested in choosing books, now they bound up to me and ask me if I have read this or that book, show enthusiasm and even say 'Miss book.in.the.life' you MUST read this. Ah its lovely. And one of my SEN children is showing so much improvement in his reading, writing and maths I just want to give him ten million housepoints and stickers to show him how proud I am.

Anyway, toodle-pip hope everyone is ok!

Finished- English Correspondence by Janet Davey

I really don't know what to say about this book, mixture of really disliking it and then kind of ending up liking it slightly. I need to work it out before writing a review so watch this space.

I have really enjoyed browsing through other peoples blogs and signing up for book related sites. Throughout the week I will add links and post some of what I have been looking at. I am loving Library Thing still and have been releasing some more bookcrossing books. The next thing on my list is to join some kind of challenge, there are lots in progress at the moment I can see from peoples blogs so I will look for one that comes up that I can join!

Book Review- The Girls

Warning- If you haven’t read this book it may contain some spoilers for you!
Well last night I finished The Girls by Lori Lansens and was saddened when it did end. It describes the lives of Ruby and Rose, conjoined twins and how they deal with what their lives throw at them. I have so much to say about this book but am finding it difficult to find the words if that makes sense?
The book gives the reader lots of food for thought, I found myself often looking up into space trying to imagine never having been on my own, never having full control of my life and I couldn’t. The story goes back and forth in their lives, secrets are revealed that alter your interpretation of the characters. I read on one review that the story is quite morbid, almost depressing instead of tearjerking and that is a viewpoint that interested me. It was quite a depressing tale and Uncle Stash’s betrayal at one point gutted me but I think the book lifts itself out of the depressive state by the girls optimism and ….well does anybody know what I mean? There were certainly a few moments where I had tears in my eyes but I got swept up in the narrative and they didn’t fall. I think the suddenness of Aunt Lovey’s death was what clinched it, knew she was going to die at some point but the contrast with their strawberry picking etc really made an impact, which I guess was the authors intention.
All in all I would really recommend this book. It was certainly thought provoking and moving, please let me know what you thought of it!

Half of a Yellow Sun

Over the weekend I finished ‘Half of a Yellow Sun’ by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and wow what a read. I picked it up in the library after seeing it advertised and discussed in various places. I actually had trouble starting it because I was in the mood for something light and fluffy and knew I wouldn’t be getting light and fluffy with this book. Anyway I must be the worst daughter in the world because while visiting my dear mother for the weekend I became so engrossed I could barely mumble ‘Hello’ at times during my visit. OK not quite as bad as that but you get the idea.
The novel details the Nigerian Civil War of the 1960s and follows the lives of three central figures, Olanna, Richard and Ugwu. It details how their lives are affected by the turmoil, going back and forward in time to contrast their experiences. I didn’t know much about the war before reading this and although this book does little in giving you dates, facts and figures etc, what you do get is a wonderful but haunting account of peoples lives during the events.The story is beautifully crafted and as you come to know and love the characters your breath stops when trouble arise, I raced through the end of the book because I just had to know what happened to one of the main characters. I also felt a certain amount of turmoil during reading this with reference to the character of Ugwu. He is a houseboy for the Odenigbo family acting as a different perspective on events. One incident in the book led my feelings towards him to change completely, I couldn’t work out how to deal with the hate, sorrow and sadness I felt for him. I don’t want to say more and spoil it for others but I would be interested to see what other people think! I cannot recommend this book enough. While studying history at university I wrote a dissertation on the Rwandan Genocide and studied colonial literature and this is just another book that brings to my attention the struggles that have, and are, going on in the world. A history of Nigeria can be found here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigeria