What to do when you can't go to the library or the bookshop

The other day my older sister (also a bookworm) said I could use the lockdown to go through my book shelves and read the books I hadn't read yet.

"Surely there are books that you haven't read?" she asked

"No I've read them all," I replied.

I thought about what she said and went through my book shelves today and hey presto she was right (I won't tell her that though). I do have a number of books I either haven't read yet or I've started them and decided I wasn't in the mood to read said book at that particular time.

As of 11.59pm last night (25/03/2020) New Zealand went into lockdown for at least four weeks. Pretty much everything is closed and police are now wandering the streets ensuring people obey the lockdown rules. We are only allowed to go to the supermarket or pharmacy and vet, if you have an animal, or seek medical services if needed. You are allowed to take a short walk but that's it! Stay home! If we do we will save lives!

It got me thinking about what I can do when I can't go to my local library or bookshops and I thought I'd share a few tips here.

1. Look up your local library website. Even just reading all the content on the website could fill in a few hours but then there's all the Ebooks and Eaudiobooks available to download once you've downloaded the appropriate apps. Once you've downloaded the app and found a book you want to read or listen to, you can do so by entering the details generally on the back of your library card. If you don't know what to do, look up the contact emails for your local library on the website, and send an email asking for help. There will be someone there to answer your email!

2. Join the world's largest community of book lovers - Goodreads. Now I can spend hours on that website if only I had the time. Oh that's right I do. You can look for all the new releases coming up, you can join communities of people that like the same sorts of books as you or communities with your Facebook friends who may have different reading interests that could inspire you. You can create virtual bookshelves of your "Want to Read" books, "Read" books and "Currently Reading" books. You can take part in reading challenges and follow authors of your favourite books. I could go on and on.

3. If you're on Instagram follow some of the gazillions of virtual bookclubs. Reese's Book Club and Oprah's Book Club are two that I follow and love. 

4. Type in #bookstagram in the search area of Instagram and you will find over 40 million posts by Bookish people.

5. Join some reading groups on Facebook like "I Love Reading" or "I'm Not Obsessed, I Just To Love the Read" or "We Love Reading Books".

6. Find a book club on Facebook. I belong to one called Paper + Ink - An Unofficial Book Club which I just love.

7. Write a list of all the books you want to read after doing the above.

8. Write a review of your favourite book, take a photo of it and share it on Facebook and Instagram. Your recommendation may encourage others to read the book. 

9. And lastly tidy your own book shelves - you never know you may find some books that you haven't actually read yet!  

Happy reading folks!

How To Be A Family

When I read the synopsis of this book it got me straight away. So what did an American journalist really think of my country and also the country which was the birthplace of my parents?

In 2016 Dan Kois, his wife and two daughters took a year out to find out what life is like in other parts of the world and if there was anything he could glean from the way people parent in other countries. They spent the first quarter of the year in New Zealand (my home), three months in the Netherlands (my parents' birthplace), and then the same amount of time in Costa Rica and Kansas - a a much quieter America to what he's used to.

The family lived mostly in long term Air BnB and the two girls went to school - well at least in NZ, the Netherlands and Kansas. I really enjoyed reading Kois' take on the New Zealand way of life. They lived in our capital city Wellington and appeared to make friends very easily and learnt some of the Maori culture before moving on to Delft in the Netherlands where things were not as easy in the friendship or the English speaking stakes but lots of biking made up for it. Costa Rica was where their girls took their holidays enjoying the sun, sand and sea and many mosquitos before arriving in Hays, Kansas where they soon felt part of its small community.

  

While I enjoyed this book I came away with the impression that just maybe the grass is not always greener on the other side, that parenting is hard but rewarding work and that our preconceived ideas of what a place is like may just be turned on their head.

I recommend this book for any family wanting to travel together, to anyone wanting to learn about the four places mentioned and any parent who may want to see how their job is done in other countries.

Footnote - the ornament pictured with the book was a gift from my husband's uncle and aunt who recently visited New Zealand from the Netherlands.

Dear Edward

I couldn't decide whether to buy this book. I thought it would be depressing. It is not. It's obviously sad but certainly makes you think - the sign of a good book.

Dear Edward by American author Ann Napolitano is a well-written, well thought out, and in the words of Irish author Marian Keyes, an"astonishing" book.

Twelve-year-old Edward Adler is on a flight from New York to Los Angeles with his parents and older brother when tragedy strikes. The plane crashes and all of the 191 passengers except for Edward are killed.

Imagine being the sole survivor of such a tragedy. The book tells the story of Edward and how he deals with life after the crash. He goes to live with his aunt and uncle and builds a friendship with the girl next door Shay.

The story flicks between the story told through Edward's eyes, his grief and how he deals with it in the years following the crash and then through the eyes of  some of the passengers aboard the plane in the last hours of their lives - what are they thinking about, what has led them to be on that flight and their own dreams and goals.

A part of the book I found the most fascinating was Edward's discovery, some years later, of bags full of letters written to him by family members of those who died in the crash.

In interviews Napolitano has spoken about the inspiration for this book - the crash of a commercial airliner from South Africa to London in Libya in 2010 when all on board died except for a 9-year-old boy who lost his parents and brother. So interested in this story that Napolitano spent several years writing the fictionalised tale of Dear Edward.

I found myself putting down the book a few times and staring at the wall pondering what I'd just read - a sign of a good book as any bookish person will tell you. 

Definitely five out of five stars.

Bookish Resolutions 2020

So I'm supposed to be doing housework but got a bit sidetracked. Happy New Year  to all my bookish friends.

What are your bookish resolutions for 2020? Here are a few of mine.

1. Read, read and read some more. It's the best thing out.

2. Set a reading goal on the Goodreads app but hey don't bust a gut to achieve it. Last year I set a very small goal and didn't achieve it but what does it matter.

3. Read books by authors you enjoy... Cue Sophie Kinsella... I read the ninth book in her Shopaholic series and loved it so much I have been trawling secondhand bookshops and Book Depository buying the rest of the series as I've never read any of the other books. These books make me laugh out loud which leads me on to my next resolution.

4. Don't read depressing books. Life's too short.

5. Don't try to finish a book that you're not enjoying. Life's too short.

6. When loved ones gift you book vouchers don't rush out and spend the vouchers on books you don't end up reading. Wait patiently to purchase a book you know you're likely to enjoy.  I mean you have a year or two to spend said vouchers. I didn't achieve this resolution in 2019 so here's to 2020.

7. Use the new release section of my library more. $3 is a lot cheaper than spending $30 or $40 on a book that you may not end up enjoying.

Here's to 2020 being a year of great reading! 

The Book of Summer

Often on long road trips particularly at night I've driven past houses and wondered what stories are contained within each of their respective four walls. Sounds a bit weird but every house has its stories to tell.

In this gripping story The Book of Summer by American author Michelle Gable there are certainly a lot of tales to tell.

This book centres around the almost 100-year-old homestead Cliff House perched on a cliff on the island of Nantucket and its guest book aka The Book of Summer. The cliff is eroding and soon Cliff House will be no longer but its owner Cissy Codman is not letting her home and its history go without a fight. Her daughter Bess returns home to try to convince her mother that she must leave before she ends up going with the house.

The book flicks between the 1940s pre and post World War II and the present day and also contains many entries in The Book of Summer.  Features of this book include a myriad of characters, many stories, and brilliant storytelling. If you enjoyed the Australian television series A Place To Call Home chances are you will enjoy this book.

Now I'm off to read a book which doesn't contain the word Summer in its title, given that the last three books I've read have.    

Sixty Summers

Three friends, who are all turning 60, relive their 20s by going on a road trip across parts of Europe. What could possibly go wrong? 

In the past a book like this wouldn't have grabbed my attention but this one did. Apart from the odd frustrating storyline Sixty Summers by New Zealand-born writer Amanda Hampson was a thoroughly good read. 

Reading it made me think of a friend who recently travelled various parts of the world with another friend to celebrate a big birthday. They had a T-shirt made listing the countries on the back to be ticked off as they visited them. They also had a cap emblazoned with" Kiwi Chicks on Tiki-Tour 2019". Such a creative idea and I loved seeing all the photographs she posted along the way. 

Back to the book Maggie, Fran and Rose met when they were young. Maggie and Rose live in Australia and Fran lives in the UK. They catch up with each other regularly with Fran connecting via technology. In their 20s they backpacked through Europe. Life has taken interesting turns for the trio since then with family, business and bookshop commitments. 

Forty years have passed and realising they need a break away the trio meet up in Europe to retrace the journey they took in 1978. Rose has planned the trip. They stay in more upmarket accommodation than their earlier journey and eat out but the trip is not really working. That is until Maggie spontaneously buys a clapped out van and they continue on their way.

It wasn't until I was two thirds of the way through the book that I researched the author and found out that Hampson was born in Wellington, New Zealand and now lives in Australia. 

A great story that kept my attention to the end. Four out of five stars.  

  

Summer of '69

I'm not a huge fan of historical fiction but I do enjoy books that are set around the time I was born or just a few years before like this book.

The author of Summer of '69 Elin Hilderbrand has written 23 books in her 50 years of life and this book is her latest. I was struggling to find a book to read and this book on our new release stand at the library where I work caught my eye.

Hilderbrand writes in an author's note at the end of the book that she wrote this book after her twin brother Eric suggested she should. She dedicates the book to him. Elin and Eric were born in 1969 the day after the first man landed on the moon.

This book centres around the Levin family Kate and David and children - Blair whose married and pregnant with twins, younger sisters Kirby and Jessie and their brother Tiger who is serving in the Vietnam War. There's also their grandmother Exalta who has her own way of doing things.

Kirby is single and trying to make her own way in life while Jessie has just reached her teenage years and all that comes with being a 13-year-old in that era.

The book is mainly set on two islands in the United States - Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard. There are references to the Kennedy family, the first moon landing, President Nixon, the Vietnam War, racial inequalities and the Woodstock music festival.

This is the first book by Hilderbrand that I've read and it won't be the last. I loved her writing style.

Four out of five stars for this great piece of fiction.