Tuesdays with Morrie

If there is any book or movie I can't stop recommending it would be Tuesdays with Morrie.

I actually watched the movie starring Jack Lemmon as Morrie Schwartz and Hank Azaria as Mitch Albom a number of times before in recent years finally buying the book which is unusual for me as I normally like to read the book before seeing the movie.

This is the true story of Mitch, a sports journalist at the time, who meets up with his college professor Morrie 20 years later. Morrie has ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), also known as Motor Neurone Disease. Morrie only has months to live and Mitch visits him every Tuesday.

The first paragraph of the book sums it up well.

"The last class of my old professor's life took place once a week in his house, by a window in the study where he could watch a small hibiscus plant shed its pink leaves. The class met on Tuesdays. It began after breakfast. The subject was The Meaning of Life. It was taught from experience".

During every meeting they discuss some strong themes including death, regrets, feeling sorry for yourself, family, emotions, marriage, the fear of aging and forgiveness.

Every time I watch the movie I cry. When I read the book I cried. The book teaches some great life lessons and really makes you think and reflect. It's a book I can re-read and always take something new from.

Highly recommended reading and definitely a 5 out of 5 stars for Tuesdays with Morrie - both the book and the movie!

Childhood Memories

Fifty cent (lolly) mixtures, playing Elastics, Zap chocolate flavoured milk, VHS recorders, cassette players, ham and chicken luncheon sausage sandwiches, covering school exercise books with Duraseal, only getting toys on special occasions, awkward but "tell it how it really is" school reports - they are just some of the features of life growing up in the 1980s in New Zealand.

They are just some of the many features author and New Zealand radio announcer Dom Harvey highlights in his book Childhood of an Idiot. Before reading this book I will admit I wasn't much of a fan of Harvey but I have him to thank for helping me relive some of the good memories of the 1980s.

We are of a similar age so while reading many chapters of this book, I found myself saying "I remember that". This book is a few years old and when I first saw it I thought about buying it but ended up getting it out of my local library a few weeks ago. Harvey has also written two other books Bucketlist of an Idiot and more recently a book about running.

In the book Harvey reflects on many parts of his childhood including his mother wanting to be posh and her obsession with Llardro - a brand of  porcelain figurines, playing Elastics with his older sister, Juicy Fruit chewing gum, Tangy Fruits at the movies and how we used to believe expressions like "If you pull a face and the wind changes, your face will stay like that forever".

There are a lot of delightful stories in this book. I love the story about Harvey playing Trivial Pursuit with his family and how they couldn't work out why his younger brother was so much better at the game than anyone else. The story about his Mum recording her own singing over that of Kenny Rogers on a cassette tape is hilarious.

I skipped a few "too much information" chapters and the language was raw at times. However, this book will appeal particularly to those in their 40s who grew up in New Zealand.  

Footnote: I took the photograph of this book in my local fish and chip shop Mitchell Downs Takeaways. While I was there a young boy was choosing lollies for his own 50 cent (probably $2) mixture.

The Bridge Ladies

For 50 years Roz and her friends Rhoda, Bea, Jackie and Bette have met every Monday afternoon and played Bridge.

In this memoir The Bridge Ladies, Roz's daughter Betsy Lerner, who grew up watching these women play Bridge, tells their stories.

In each chapter Lerner spends time with each woman and tells their stories about their families, upbringings, jobs, triumphs, struggles and what these weekly Bridge meetings have meant to them. In the book you also see the relationship between Lerner and her mother, its strengths and weaknesses.

Lerner joins a Bridge Club and learns how to play the game. Even her description of how to play the game kept me captivated. To be fair I still don't know how to play Bridge but this book was incentive enough for me to join a club, recently joining my local Scrabble Club. 

I tend to agree with author Amy Chua's praise of the book "It's the best book about mothers and daughters I've read in decades, maybe ever''.

I bought this book after its cover jumped out at me in a bookshop. It is beautifully written and I couldn't put it down. It would be in my top five favourite memoirs.

• There is a short video on YouTube featuring an interview with the author Betsy Lerner and the five Bridge Ladies which is well worth a watch. Here's the link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=824wuLTP9O4

The Prince George Diaries

Watching Prince George on TV the other day cling on to his father's hand as he arrived for his first day of school, I thought "I wonder what's going through that boy's mind?''.

I guess I thought that more after reading the extremely delightful book The Prince George Diaries by Clare Bennett. This book was published in 2015 and is Prince George in his own words. Of course it's all fiction because who can write when they're just a toddler.

Written in diary format, the book spans a year of Prince George's life from July 22, 2014 - his first birthday - through to his second birthday. It's life seen through his eyes.

His diary deals with how he goes from being an only child to having to deal with having a sister, who he refers to as Ringo until her birth when she's bestowed with the name Charlotte.  He describes how his mother is feeling being pregnant. One of the lines from the book - "Mummy is now almost bright green and she has been wearing the same onesie for three days".

Prince George's family - his great grandfather aka Prince Philip affectionately known as G-Pop, his great grandmother aka Queen Elizabeth II (GG), grandfather Prince Charles (Goonie) and step grandmother Camilla (GaGa) - all have a starring role. It's obvious that Prince George is quite taken with his Uncle Harry who features a lot in the book.

This book is brilliant with laugh out loud moments on almost all of the 287 pages. I hope Bennett is planning a sequel.

Childhood Heroes and Coming Full Circle on Roald Dahl Day

Today is September 13 (in New Zealand) - Roald Dahl Day so I thought it only apt to jot down my thoughts on the day we celebrate the much loved author. 

I love Roald Dahl's books. I remember talking to someone a while back and they said they weren't a fan because all he talked about was food. I couldn't believe that I had found someone who didn't like Roald Dahl.

To celebrate the day Penguin has very kindly made available six of the Roald Dahl heroes as printable bookmarks. There's Charlie, Matilda, George, Billy, Sophie and James. I printed the bookmarks, dashed to the local stationery store and had them laminated. Now I have six bookmarks. 

Talk about coming full circle. As a child I used to make bookmarks as gifts for Christmas and birthdays. (By the way I've included the link below which will take you straight to the page where you can print your own bookmarks.)

But in making these bookmarks, it got me thinking, they'd left out my favourite Roald Dahl hero - Danny from Danny the Champion of the World.
I love that book. I remember re-reading it a few years ago and realising that when I read it as a child I had no idea what the word poaching meant. I loved Danny and I loved reading about his relationship with his father. They live in a caravan and Danny absolutely adores his Dad. One day he finds out his father has been breaking the law - he has been poaching pheasants. The book takes the pair on various pheasant-poaching adventures. If you haven't read it, do so. It's a wonderful book.

• Just an aside there was a fabulous book published last year called Love From Boy - Roald Dahl's Letters to His Mother. The book is a collection of the letters Dahl wrote to his mother throughout his childhood and into adulthood. I may review that one day.
• To print the bookmarks go to https://www.penguin.co.uk/puffin/articles/2017/aug/6-magical-roald-dahl-bookmarks-to-print/

A Place to Go

Over recent months I’ve come to appreciate an asset in our community – the local library.

It’s funny how it has taken being unemployed to understand the role a library plays in its community.

Four years ago I walked away from a 19-year career. I found other work but left there a few months ago as I knew I wanted to do something else with what’s left of my working life.

I have been unemployed for three months and I admit I’m not a fan but I have places like the local library to thank for keeping me sane. It has been a Godsend.  

Ultimately, it has been a place to go. Going to the library has given me a break away from job hunting.

As a self-confessed retail therapy addict, the library has provided a more affordable alternative to the clothes and book stores I normally frequent. I don’t feel so bad paying $1 to reserve a book I really want to read or $3 for a new release or the best thing - getting the book for free.

Ironically, I have a stack of books I bought during a recent trip overseas which I haven’t even touched yet as I’ve been getting books out of the library – a concept my husband and I’m sure others may find difficult to understand.

At the start of this week the first thing I did was drive to the library and look for a book I’d reserved after an email popped up from the library saying it was available for me to pick up. Being unemployed has made me appreciate the small things in life so getting the email was excitement in itself. Getting the book was even better.

During Monday’s visit to the library I also looked at another book on the New Releases shelf which people on Facebook were talking about. Meanwhile, I still had another three TBR (to-be-read) books at home from the library.

Our library, albeit in temporary premises, is a hive of activity.  Every time I go in, there are people in every corner.  The other day two people sat at a desk, one helping the other to read. In another area, there was a line of computers with a person sitting at each one. In the self-service queue a young girl helped her father pull a stack of more than 20 mostly children’s books from a trolley and tap them on the electronic screen. People were sitting reading in other parts of the library or scanning the shelves. Outside a group of young people were milling about and singing.

Libraries have changed. They are not just about the books. They are about providing a place for people to meet, to have community, to get information, to seek comfort whether that be in the form of books or in help from someone else.

Footnote – Maybe one day I would like to work in one!

The Little Shop of Happy Ever After

I went to our local library and got this book out after seeing it flicking through my feed on Facebook one night. 

Although when I saw this book on Facebook, it had a different title. It was called The Bookshop on the Corner.  Having initially been a bit frustrated at the different titles and without giving away any spoilers, it does become clear why the book is also called The Little Shop of Happy Ever After.

When I read the synopsis of the book - a woman starting life over by buying a bus and selling books from it - I was intrigued. I also love books about books.

So the book starts off really well. It's all about books, the main character Nina's love of them and her desire to leave her job at the library she works at and travel in a book bus - a dream that becomes reality for her albeit with a few hiccups along the way. I really liked how Colgan developed Nina's character.

Most of the story kept my interest but it then got a bit too chick lit for me. However, I didn't want to give up on it and did finish it

I would like to read more of Colgan's books and I'd recommend this one to those who love chick lit and books about books.

The Ultimate Journal for the Book Lover

I love lists. I write daily lists, weekly lists, annual goals lists, grocery lists, presents to buy for Christmas lists and the list goes on.

Until now I never thought of writing a Literary List. On the price tag on the back of Literary Listography, it describes it as The Ultimate Fill-In Journal for the Book Lover. That's exactly what it is. I fell in love with it the moment I saw it in Waterstones Picadilly which I frequented while holidaying in London recently.

The book features more than 70 reading lists that you can keep. Each page has a list title at the top and then lines on which to jot down your list. On the other side of each page are gorgeous illustrations.

Some of the more than 70 lists include:

• My Top 20 Most Beloved Books
• My Favourite Authors
• Books I Hope They Make Into Films
• My Literary Heroes
• My Favourite Non Fiction Books
• My Favourite Memoirs and Autobiographies
• My Top Picks for Each Genre
• Cities I Have Travelled To Via Literature
• Books That Taught Me Something
• Special Bookstores
• Favourite Book Beginnings/Endings
• Fictional Characters I Connected With

And many more. It's a beautiful book. If you love books, then this will be a great addition to your collection and may even help keep a handle on that ever increasing TBR (To Be Read) list of books.