The Book of Ordinary People

Does the cover of a book ever say "read me"? This was one of those books for me. It was actually the title on the spine that caught my attention first and then I pulled the book out of our New Releases section at the public library I work at and just knew I had to read it. So I ended up buying it!

The Book of Ordinary People by Australian author Claire Varley would be a favourite read for me so far for 2018.

I don't like thrillers, fantasy or too much romance but I love books about ordinary people so I knew this book was going to get to me. It did.

The book features several characters. They're all ordinary people trying to make a go of life in Melbourne. There's  a woman trying to make sense of the loss of her mother and trying to write her mother's biography. She can't find anything to write, thinking her mother's existence was too ordinary She heads off to a biography writing course or does she? 

There's a lawyer who just wants a promotion, thinking then the grass will be greener but will it?

There's a young lawyer trying to make a go of her career.

There's a journalist wondering if he's past it.

And then there's an asylum seeker waiting, waiting, waiting and waiting... for refugee status.

The writing in this book is powerful. At the end of each chapter I found myself stopping for a minute and thinking about the characters. I also got a glimpse into life as an asylum seeker. I really had no idea until reading this book and I'm grateful to Varley for opening my eyes just a wee bit.

As for the feathers on the front of the book, you will find out their significance when you read it.

Matilda, Charlie, Danny, Pippi and the Naughtiest Girl - Where Would They Be Now?

A post on a Roald Dahl Facebook fan page got me thinking about where would some of his characters would be today.

The post was celebrating the 30th birthday of the Roald Dahl character Matilda. The illustrator of Dahl's books, Quentin Blake, was asked what he thought Matilda would be doing now as a 30-year-old.  He thought she may be an Astrophysicist, a World Traveller or perhaps even the Chief Executive of the British Library. Blake has illustrated the latest edition of Matilda with images of her as a 30-year-old.

But it got me thinking wouldn't it be awesome if someone actually wrote a book about the 30-year-old Matilda. How would she feel towards her parents now? Would her parents be nicer to her now? Maybe treating her better than they did when she was a child. What about her lovely teacher Miss Honey? What role would she now be playing in Matilda's life? Would Matilda still be burying herself in books?

And what about Danny from my favourite Roald Dahl story Danny, the Champion of the World?

How did growing up in a caravan affect him? Does he now live in a caravan himself or has he made a lot of money and lives in a mansion? Does he still poach pheasants? Is he breaking the law in any other way? What about his amazing father? Is he still around? Maybe he's living in a granny flat in the bottom floor of his son's three-storey mansion.

What about Charlie? How's that chocolate factory getting on? Has Charlie moved with the times or been left bankrupt and had to walk away from the factory? Are people even eating chocolate now or too worried about too much sugar and ensuring they stick to the Keto or the Five/Two diet. Or is it still the incredible place it was for Charlie when he was a child.

What about Pippilotta Viktualia Rullgardina Krusmynta Efraimsdotter Langstrump, or more affectionately known as Pippi Longstocking? She would be in her 80s now? What would she be like as a senior citizen? Is she still wild, funny and crazy. Does she still live with pets like a horse or a monkey or has she settled for a dog or a cat? And what about that suitcase full of gold? Is she also living in a mansion or has she settled for a new spot at one of those fancy and modern retirement homes?

And then there's Elizabeth Allen or otherwise known as the naughtiest girl? Her creator Enid Blyton  wrote 10 books about her but surely there's another story there. She's obviously left school. Hello.... she would be in her 80s. Maybe she is causing merry havoc in the same retirement home as Pippi Longstocking, leading all the other residents astray. Maybe she is being kept in line by the twins from St Clare's boarding school Isabel and Patricia O'Sullivan.

As for the Famous Five - there have been stories made of them tackling issues of the 21st Century thanks to author Bruno Vincent with books including Five Get on the Property Ladder, Five Get Gran Online, Five Go Gluten Free and Five Give Up The Booze.

If Vincent can bring back Julian, Dick, Anne, George and even Timmy the dog (how is that even possible), maybe there is another author or budding writer reading this who would like to update us on the happenings of Matilda, Danny, Charlie, Pippi and the Naughtiest Girl. Just putting the idea out there.

The 104-Storey Treehouse

If you're looking for colour, fun and so much imagination then you can't go past The 104-Storey Treehouse.

I'm a wee bit late to all the fuss. This is the eighth and latest book in the Treehouse series written by Andy Griffiths and illustrated by Terry Denton. I've not read the other seven... yet.

So the first book is called The 13-Storey Treehouse, the second The 26-Story Treehouse and then every 13 storeys there's a new book. After listening to a radio interview with the Australian pair I went out and bought their latest offering.

It's a long book for a child - 351 pages to be precise. What made me laugh was that 27 of those pages just had the words "Up and Up and Up and Up and Up and Up and Up" on each page accompanied by illustrations of a staircase and cute chatter in speech bubbles from the book's main characters as they went on their never ending climb. 

If you've read some of the other books you will know that Andy and Terry live in a treehouse. It's now 104 storeys high. The treehouse has everything you could imagine including a Two Dollar Shop, a Two Million Dollar Shop, a Deep Thoughts Thinking Room and a Money Making Machine (wouldn't we all like one of those?).

In this book Andy has agonising toothache but has a deadline to meet to finish writing his next book. He needs the Joke Writer 2000 pen to help him write the book and so the pair along with their friend Jill go on an adventure to get the pen. I loved the poem about pens, pencils and writing utensils.

I don't think you need to read the other seven books before reading the 104-Storey Treehouse. I enjoyed the story and was captivated by the illustrations and reading the chatter in the little speech bubbles. There is even a joke on each double page spread to annoy your parents  or others with.

Five stars for this one! Now I'm off to read the other seven books.    

What I'm Learning Five Years On.

Today marks five years since I left my "long-time" job as a journalist at the Rotorua Daily Post - the local newspaper I worked at and it has got me thinking about some of the things I've learnt since leaving.

I thought I'd share a few of those things here -

*  Life is not defined by what you do but by who you are!

*  Life is too short to worry about what people think about you or what you perceive they think of you.

*  Living a slower life can be better.

*  Being grateful for the small things matters like a walk with the dog in the Redwoods, having a latte with a book in your favourite cafe, watching your favourite TV series, going to a movie with a mate or appreciating the flowers your husband has planted in the garden.

*  It can take time to find a new job but stick at it!

*  It's important to grieve for things or people you've lost or couldn't have but it's okay to move on even if it does take a while.

*  It can be fun learning and embracing new things and cultures.

*  You can find your passion again.

*  Kindness matters!

*  A dog is a loyal friend.

And with that I'm off to my favourite cafe to read a book and enjoy a latte before I start work later this afternoon. 

Blogging and Bookstagram

I have another new hobby - taking photos of books. Who knew it could be so much fun and that you could spend hours at a time browsing countless websites or wandering through department stores, craft stores and looking around home for props?

A year ago this month I launched/started Book Blogger NZ. It was only really meant to be a hobby. I love writing and I love books so setting up a blog about books seemed the next step. It is still only a hobby and I only write about books that I've enjoyed. If I don't like a book I stop reading it or I finish it and I don't write about it - simple really. In a world where there is so much negativity I prefer to stay as positive as I can.

I've loved writing blogs about books but another aspect of blogging I've enjoyed is taking photographs of books. I also love seeing the creativeness of the many photos on Instagram/Bookstagram. Some people reading this must think I'm a little crazy. Well Bookstagram is a thing you know. Look up #Bookstagram on Instragram and as at 3pm (New Zealand time) on Monday August 20, 2018 you will see I'm not alone. There are 22,714,700 images posted with that hashtag. And #Bookstagram is just one of the many hashtags where you can see photos of books. The images are STUNNING! and I'm blown away by some of the ideas people have when it comes to taking photos of books.

I'm not one for clutter. My husband loves ornaments. Me not so much..... that is until now. Now that I know I can find some way of using it in a photograph. I've taken to spending way too much time wandering through stores, browsing the internet or looking around our house for props that will accompany a book in an image for my blog and Instagram.   

I've even starting writing a list of all the props I could use in a photo. However. I have learnt a valuable lesson. Wait until you're nearing the end of a book before buying any props. The other week I spent an hour or two looking and then buying some props to go with a book I was reading. I got home and continued reading the book and just got frustrated with it and thought I don't want to finish this book and I don't want to take a photo of it. I now have four rubber ducks and a pair of swimming goggles in my Bookstagram Box/Drawer. Yes I do have a place where I store bookish props.

For all of those out there in Bookstagram world - thanks for the amazing images - please keep taking more!

Bono

If you haven't read any of New Zealand author Helen Brown's books, you're missing out. 

I first stumbled across Helen Brown looking for a book to read while on holiday in Melbourne. We'd just got a dog - a little puppy we called Dollar and who has been in a way a substitute for a child we were not able to have.

So it was 2012 and we were off on holiday to Melbourne - a 40th birthday present from my husband. Whenever I go on holiday I always really miss Dollar.and that leads to buying books about animals.

And that's how I spotted a book called Cleo written by Brown about a cat who had helped her through the most traumatic time of losing her young son.  I remember being engrossed in the book on the flight over to and back from Melbourne. I later read After Cleo came Jonah  and I'v just finished Brown's latest book called Bono. 

In this book Brown writes about her time in New York where she in part had gone to promote her earlier books but also to take stock of her life. Before even arriving in New York, she was asked if she would take on a terminally ill rescue cat during her stay there. Enter Bono. At first things don't look too good with Bono. He's struggling to settle into his new home and Brown has second thoughts about him staying. I won't give too much more of the book away but it's a heartwarming read about how animals can help us humans.

This book made me think a lot about how our dog Dollar, who's now nearly 7, has helped us. One of my favourite moments of the day is to sit on our couch with a cup of tea and a biscuit (for humans) with Dollar curled on my lap.  

If you enjoyed Brown's first two cat-related books, you will love Bono too.

  

Granny McFlitter The Champion Knitter

I was captivated by this book after seeing a photo on Facebook of the most delightful cake made for the book launch.

Granny McFlitter The Champion Knitter tells the story of Granny McFlitter who loves to knit. Knitting is her passion and it's a passion that is starting to annoy those around her but good on her she doesn't care. She keeps on knitting.

One day she is watching the news on her knitted TV and she sees a story about a ship running aground and spilling oil into the sea. Sound familiar? In 2011, a container ship called the MV Rena hit the Astrolabe Reef off the coast of Tauranga in New Zealand. The oil spill has been described as New Zealand's worst maritime environmental disaster.

In this story by New Zealand author Heather Haylock Granny McFlitter sets to work knitting jumpers for all the penguins who were left covered in oil. Once the oil was washed off the penguins were left shivering and so Granny McFlitter's jumpers were a warm relief.

This is a delightful book centred around the theme of putting your passions to good use. Talking about passion it's obvious the New Zealand illustrator of this book Lael Chisholm has an immense passion for art and design. I just loved the pictures throughout this book. It's hard to believe Lael was only 20 when this book was released earlier this year. She won The Storylines Gavin Bishop Award for her beautiful illustrations in this book.

The book was also a finalist in the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults.