Granny McFlitter - A Country Yarn

Granny McFlitter is back! And she is more adorable than ever, knitting, knitting and knitting some more. Nothing is going to stop her knitting - not even a rather large bull.

I loved the first Granny McFlitter book Granny McFlitter The Champion Knitter. Now New Zealand author Heather Haylock and illustrator Lael Chisholm have joined forces for this second instalment Granny McFlitter A Country Yarn.

In this book Granny McFlitter is showing off her knitted vegetables at the A&P Show. To those outside of New Zealand reading this an A&P Show is an agricultural show. Granny McFlitter is sitting back enjoying a pot of tea when a bull escapes. Granny McFlitter comes to the rescue with her knitting skills but there is a little bit more to this story.

Some of the items Granny McFlitter knits are amazing. Have you ever seen a knitted pavlova, lamington, fudge or even a gate.

The illustrations in this book are again absolutely delightful and it is hard to believe that the illustrator is only in her early 20s.

I just love the poetic writing style of the author, who is a teacher aide in a primary school.

If you haven't met Granny McFlitter yet, you need to - she's adorable. Looking forward to reading more of her knitting adventures in the future. 

What You Wish For

Praise again for Catherine Robertson. She'd have to be one of my favourite New Zealand fiction writers and she has done it again with this fantastic book.

What You Wish For follows on from her book Gabriel's Bay and features many of the same characters with a few new and rather eccentric ones including a recluse who plays Scrabble and doesn't have much of a wardrobe, added into the mix.There are a lot of characters but I loved how Robertson listed all of the characters and gave a brief description of each at the start of this book. While the first Gabriel's Bay book featured a dog, this one features a moose - an animal you wouldn't normally see in New Zealand.  

This book is again set in the fictitious New Zealand town of Gabriel's Bay. There are several story lines moving throughout the book with each chapter written through the eyes of a different character - a style similar to the first book - a style I really like.

I don't want to give too many of the details or the storylines of the book away but I could really relate to the character Patricia - a woman who couldn't have children but then offers respite care for a boy who she forms a bond with and to whom she finds it very difficult to say goodbye. Hats off to anyone who offers respite care or fosters children. I don't think I could do it.

I bought this book within days of its release early in January as I couldn't wait to read it. In some ways I think I enjoyed this book more than the first. Hopeful for a third instalment of life in Gabriel's Bay.

  

Bookish Resolutions - 2019

It's a new year and with that comes new goals and resolutions. I don't have a huge number of personal ones except for maybe buy a new car to replace my 1997 Toyota Corolla which has seen better days, do a bit of work on our house (that's more my husband's domain - he's way more practical than me. My painting skills leave a lot to be desired too),  celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary, work my way towards completing my studies and enjoy life.

But here's seven bookish resolutions I've set for myself for 2019!

1. SET a reading challenge on one of my favourite websites Goodreads but don't bust a gut to achieve it. It's good to read for enjoyment's sake not for reaching a goal's sake. I've set the number of books I want to read this year quite low. Some have set a goal of reading 100 books or 200 books or even 50 books and some achieve that. I know I won't. It's good to have a record of what you read but it doesn't really matter at the end of the day if you achieve the goal of reading a certain number of books each year. Does it?
2. BE more selective about the books I buy! Hello I work in a public library and have access to thousands of books, most of which are free. Last year I bought a number of books I thought I wanted to read and when I sat down to read them, they weren't that good and I ended up donating them to charity.
3. WAIT until I find some really good books to spend book vouchers I received for my birthday and Christmas on rather than spending them on something I will end up not reading.
4. TRY reading different genres. I say that but it probably won't happen as there are particular genres I like. Fantasy, crime, young adult and graphic novels aren't those for me and that's okay.
5. READ an Ebook, try an audiobook and read more children's books. Have you seen the amazing array of books out there for kids and they are gorgeous. Personally, I'm looking forward to reading more of the adventures of Granny McFlitter the Champion Knitter.
6. MAKE a bit more time for reading - eek I already probably spend too much time reading.
7. MOST IMPORTANT - have fun reading and if I don't like a book put it down and find something else! Life's too short to read books you don't enjoy!  

Happy reading in 2019 everyone!

Becoming

Let me start off by saying I don't follow American politics. I live on the other side of the world for starters and I'm not a Barack Obama supporter, Donald Trump supporter nor a fan of Hillary Clinton.

However, after watching an interesting documentary about Michelle Obama which coincided with the release of her book Becoming, I really wanted to read it.

The book is split into three parts - before she met Barack Obama, when she met Barack and then life in the White House as the First Lady. The book only dwells on politics in small doses. It's more about Michelle Obama's own story growing up in Chicago, her relationship with her parents and older brother, some of the losses she experienced as a young woman, studying at Harvard, becoming a lawyer and meeting Barack. The book covers her life as wife to Barack and mother to their two children Malia and Sasha before combining that with being the First Lady.

The book delves into her thoughts and feelings dealing with the pros and cons of being married to the president, how she viewed life in the White House, the intense security, the programs she got involved in and her own emotions dealing with tragedies such as the Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting and other shootings, visiting seriously injured soldiers, meeting Nelson Mandela and spending time with the Queen.  

One part of this book which stood out to me was when Michelle Obama visited a wounded soldier at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and was greeted by the following message on the door of his room.

"ATTENTION TO ALL THOSE WHO ENTER HERE:

If you are coming into this room with sorrow or to feel sorry for my wounds, go elsewhere. The wounds I received, I got in a job I love, doing it for people I love, supporting the freedom of a country I deeply love. I am incredibly tough and will make a full recovery.''

The book is long but it kept me interested to the end - an ending in which Michelle Obama reveals her own plans for life after the White House.

Highly recommended reading!

Best Fiction For 2018 - A Month of Sundays

If you were asked to pick a book you've read that tells others a bit about you, what would you choose?

I have a few I could think of and one of those may be this book A Month of Sundays by Australian author and journalist Liz Byrski. 

Byrski has written a lot of fiction and this one caught my eye when I saw the bookshelves on its cover, read the synopsis and the author's letter at the start about how much she wanted to write a book about books. 

A Month of Sundays tells the story of four retired/soon-to-be-retired women, who have met for more  than 10 years as part of an online book club. They've never met in person until one of the women suggests they do so. She invites them to help her house-sit in the Blue Mountains for a month. They're each asked to bring a book which will teach the others more about her. They have a week to read each of the respective books chosen while also spending time getting to know each other. Each Sunday they discuss one of the books.

I loved the portrayal of each of the four women and their past and present stories. Each is dealing with different issues - sickness, business ventures, approval of others and family relationships - to name a few. 

I couldn't put this book down. It is easily the best piece of fiction I've read in 2018.

The Late Bloomers' Club

Does the cover of a book make you want to read it? I saw this book The Late Bloomers Club by Louise Miller on social media and was instantly drawn to it, even before reading the synopsis.  Reviews of Miller's previous book likened it to the TV series Gilmore Girls. I'd go as far as to say this book also has a Gilmore Girls feel about it.

It tells the story in the first person of Nora Huckleberry who is running her family's diner in the town of Guthrie. She has a sister Kit who flitters in and out of Guthrie. The pair inherit a neighbour's property complete with a dog called Freckles who goes missing immediately after his owner's death. The neighbour was known for her cakes including a Burnt Sugar Cake with Maple Icing. Throughout this book we also find out lots more about Peggy the neighbour.

The sisters are trying to decide whether to sell the inherited property and if so who to. Nora is also focused on finding Freckles as well as managing the diner while Kit is busy making movies.

This is definitely a feel-good story. I love the sense of community promoted in the book and how the story is written in the first person.

A great summer  (I live in New Zealand so summer is fast approaching) read!

Bookworm - A Memoir of Childhood Reading

Who remembers reading Flat Stanley or about Charlie or Matilda or Danny or Lucy or Aslan or Milly Molly Mandy? I do!

I don't think I was a bookworm growing up but I remember reading many of the books mentioned in this memoir Bookworm by Lucy Mangan.

Mangan, a British journalist who is of a similar age to me, was definitely a bookworm and in this lovely book she goes back over many of the books she has read. It covers her earliest memories of reading The Hungry Caterpillar and The Tiger Who Came to Tea, her love of Milly Molly Mandy and reading about all the adventures in Narnia and the many books in between and beyond.

I learnt a lot I didn't know about Enid Blyton's books - books I couldn't get enough of growing up. Some of the information came as a surprise. 

I could relate to Mangan for her lack of interest in Tolkien, eek like me. I've never picked up any of his books and I think I fell asleep about 30 minutes into a showing of one of the movies of the Lord of Rings trilogy at a friend's house. Sorry no offence Peter Jackson. I still think you have done an incredible job with those movies and we will always be grateful for your efforts in putting New Zealand on the map! Each to their own.

I enjoyed her views on the popular Ladybird books and her discovery of Roald Dahl and revisiting another favourite childhood book of mine E. Nesbit's The Railway Children. 

One of the best parts of this book was how much her father encouraged her reading. As a five-year-old Mangan's father would buy her a book each Friday and Lucy would find it waiting for her when she went down for breakfast each Saturday. What an awesome Dad.

A great feature at the end of the book is a list of books Mangan read throughout her childhood.  

If you're in your late 30s to early 50s, loved reading as a child and feeling nostalgic, you will want to get your hands on this book!