The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver

A lovely story about a girl from a small town who reinvents herself as she travels across America to Arizona, gaining a delightful new companion on her way. Taylor was a reluctant guardian at first, after all she left her home town to escape the seemingly inevitable early motherhood experienced by her peers. As she gets to know the little girl she finds the thought of life without her unbearable, and is willing to take great risks to keep her.
I found the characters well written and much of the detail very well thought out, little things like the baby wearing the T-shirt saying "Damn, I'm Good!", and the chilli sauce factory. I really need to read the sequel, Pigs in Heaven now!

Friday Question

I found a great prompt for writing on www.ilaxSTUDIO.com today, and I feel inspired to share my thoughts.

The Friday Question for this week is What hobbies would you pursue if money was no concern?
Firstly I would like to knit with better yarns, I sometimes think the reason I don't knit as much as I used to is that I don't enjoy the things I make so much because I can't afford really luxurious yarns. I would like to start quilting, but I can't bring myself to splurge on some really fantastic fabrics when there are so many other things I need to spend on. I would really love to travel, I've barely ever left the UK. Apart from all these things I would like to take classes to improve the things I already do as hobbies.

That's My Answer!

I have been checking this site frequently - www.thatsmyanswer.com , and would like to share my answers with you when the mood takes me. Well, the mood takes me today, so What's the talk around our water cooler?

The talk around our water cooler today was about the new systems being imposed on us by people higher up in the organisation and how far we can keep things the same while still complying enough to keep the top brass happy. Our managers are not keen to make the changes, they agree that it is just change for the sake of it. Rant over!

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

I seem to have had this book lying around for years, in fact I think I have had it lying around for years, and have never read it. It finally workrd its way to the top of my TBR pile (with a little help from the What's in a Name 3 and Memorable Memoirs reading challenges, and I'm so pleased it did.

Marguarite's grew up between the wars in Southern USA, a time and place where lynchings of black men and segregation of the races were still very real. Brought up by her grandmother she and her brother Bailey lived a life ruled by adults, the church and strict standards of behaviour, punctuated by eventful visits to their parents. Funny, tragic and uplifting in parts, I can see why this book is so well recommended.

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne

This is our book group selection for January.
I found the writing style of this book very powerful, the simplicity of the prose and the element of childlike lack of understanding about the events that were unfolding added to the horror felt by the reader. Bruno does not understand why the Fury came to dinner, or why his family had to leave their comfortable Berlin home to move to Out-With, or why none of the people in striped pyjamas who live don the other side of the fence were ever invited to dinner. His new friend wears striped pyjamas and does not understand why he had to leave his home above his father's watchmaker's shop to live in a single room with another family, then travel to the place he now lives. What both boys do understand is friendship, which binds them together to the end.
I found the book more touching than the film based upon it, but I can't decide whether the reader / viewer needs to see the horror and brutality contained in the story. Should it be explicit or implicit? I really don't know the answer to this.

The Persian Pickle Club by Sandra Dallas

I read this book last week and enjoyed every page of it. I was drawn into the story of the women of a community in Kansas during the depression of the 1930s, women who connected through their common love of quilting. The social hierarchy and the way each of the women had their own speciality food which they prepared for their group meetings rang a few bells within groups I have been involved with! The community is so tightly knit that even the most dreadful secret is kept despite a newcomer trying to find out the truth about events. The poverty experienced by some was dealt with very well, emphasising the pride felt by those who had to do without and the support provided by those who were in a position to offer help.

I would definitely read more by this author, I liked her style of writing and found that it suited the subject matter really well. Despite not all in this book being bright and cheery it left me with a warm feeling that humanity is essentially good.

Liam's 18th birthday

We've had a lovely weekend, the highlight of which was our son Liam's 18th birthday. We threw him a party which was very well attended by family and friends alike and a really good time was had by all. The theme of the party was 1980s fancy dress, Liam looked fantastic in his guise as Adam Ant, his girlfriend looked amazing as Wonder Woman. A lot of effort went into the costumes the guests wore and it was really good to see his college friends having such a good time. This time next year many of them will be at university at different locations and unable to get together so easily to celebrate good times.

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

Olive is a school teacher, a very strong woman living in a small town in Maine. This book takes the reader through episodes in her life, and those of the people living around her. I liked this book because it explores the many aspects of Olive's personality and behaviour making her come across as very real. It does mean that the reader's opinion of Olive changes as the book progresses but I found that it also broke down the preconceptions I had based on the first chapter. Sometimes I liked her, sometimes I didn't but I never felt like I truly knew her.

The Memorable Memoir Reading Challenge

I know, I know, another challenge! I couldn't resist this one, I have quite a few biographies, autobiographies and memoirs in my enormous TBR pile and hopefully this will help me get them read.