You're the kind of girl I write songs about by Daniel Herborn

Yeah yeah...the title got me straight away.
What girl, regardless of age, doesn't want songs written for/about her by some groovy guy?

Writing, the creative process in whichever form, is a response to life.
An experience, emotion, sensation, conversation, image, person, moment, a witness.
It requires thought, sensitivity, honesty, patience, a certain way of looking at and seeing things...
And then, courage because all creative expression makes us vulnerable.

What is in a song?
layers of music and words telling a story,
a different kind of snapshot,
that brings people together in sounds, vibrations, movement, dance.

That is a special energy,
so if someone felt so inspired as to create a piece of that around you it would (hopefully) be a huge compliment no matter how clichéd or corny.
Surely that means that someone has seen something more than an exterior or appearance. They have taken time to look harder and deeper to know who you are.

So I like this book for it's simple descriptions,
it's monologues marking moments of unspoken treasures.
All the things left unsaid.
We say what we shouldn't and don't say what we should.

I like the insight into how the characters think and feel about life and each other.
Life is amazing at any age but from 18 onwards new experiences are huge. Work, study, music, responsibility, reality, freedom, first love, travel, hopes and dreams...WOW, totally wonderful and overwhelming!

Mandy and Tim are young, lost and fragile.
Music brings them together, binds them, they express themselves through it with their band crushes, mix tapes, love of vinyl and for Tim his lyrics.
There is an ageless maturity in some of his thinking that is quite touching, mixed with humour and a little poetry. I like pensive minds perhaps that's why it appeals to me or the creative process, but it also takes me back.

"You can say so much without words. I guess I didn't mind before when Mandy didn't talk much because you can tell more about people during the silences. I know so many people who talk a lot and talk such a lot of shit that it's nice to have someone who doesn't say that much, but says things that are worth listening to when they do speak." - Tim

"...In those couple of seconds I try to commit every inch of the swell of her breasts to memory, every detail from the curve of her collarbone to the edge of the black lace bra under her shirt. I try to take a mental photograph of that tantalising inch between her skirt and her stockings when she walks, those acres of legs in black nylon. I'm forgetting how to breathe." - Tim

"One person, one moment, can change things forever. Perhaps I've always known this. After all, it only takes the three chords and the two and a half minutes of a great pop song to break your heart or make you feel invincible." - Mandy

Lots of cute awkwardness to love.

A Guide to the Birds of East Africa by Nicolas Drayson

Fun, charming, touching.
The tortoise and the hare.
Secret side stories.
Wonderful birds.
Khan - surface bling, no real substance.
Malik - simple, noble...learning to see what is right in front of him,
Around him, his son, Benjamin, Petula.

Lovely.
Entertaining characters, sweet story for a rainy Sunday morning.      

           

Looking for Alaska by John Green

First love, friendship, bonds, adolescence, questions, answers, frustrations, silliness, importance, fun, sadness, difference, acceptance, loss and pain.

All the big things are here.  The how, who, when, why and what. 
The awkwardness and ridiculousness of youth, the good and bad choices and how some of these moments can change us forever.

I liked Pudge's essay right at the end.
And this sentence, 'There is a part of her greater than the sum of her knowable parts'.

The Keepers Trilogy by Lian Tanner

An exciting adventure into a strange and unusual world where people are almost too scared to breathe!
Interesting and courageous characters including a museum with a mind of its own.
Many suspenseful, funny and endearing moments.
We will be listening to the next part starting tomorrow.

Read from May 27 to June 02, 2015
	We are really enjoying this trilogy so far. Great strong characters and wonderful reading. An air of calm peacefulness pervades the room or car when we are listening to the story. It's wonderful. This adventure was just as exciting as the first. We got to explore more of the land with Goldie, Toadspit and Bonnie and despite the dangers It was fun. Love Idle Cat...all these wondrous beasts are incredible. Goldie put all her training to practice. Looking forward to more.

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

This was a wonderful funny journey read in a day.
There are so many elements that make us who we are.
Empathy is an emotion we should explore and practice more often,
Then perhaps the many misunderstandings and misinterpretations we suffer from these days could be avoided.

There is often little logic involved in emotions and how can we really define love?
There is lots of specialness in this story.
We all suffer from/enjoy our own differences and uniqueness whether it is a defined condition or not.
We can all love and be loved as we are, for and despite our weirdness.

Of course it is not easy or without hurt,
But it is comforting and reassuring and beautiful knowing
That love comes in as many ways as we do.

The Honest Truth by Dan Gemeinhart

Another audio book enjoyed with my kids.

Despite the harsh reality of the main theme of this story, I loved the description of Mark and the urge behind his journey.

I loved his love of haikus and photography, the strong bonds between boy and dog and Mark and Jessie.  

Loyalty rang strong throughout and his brief encounters with others along the way were poignant.

There were desperate moments and emotions, scary and heart wrenching ones too.

A touching tale of love, hope, illness and alienation, frustration, life and death, small miracles, strength, courage and a big journey of self discovery.

The Fire Rose by Mercedes Lackey

This is the third audio book I have indulged in recently and was borrowed on a whim.

The description gave little away of the story and as I listened I became more and more intrigued about the mystery of it all and what would happen next.

It was adventurous and exciting with moments of suspense, full of well written characters that I either loved or despised accordingly.  Rose is a wonderfully strong female lead and I loved the mischievous elementals.  Eventually there were some predictable happenings as well as some surprises but I wasn't disappointed by anything and enjoyed it so much to finish off the 11 discs in a couple of days.

Loved the imagery, the fantasy, the magic, the costumes...it would be amazing on screen with a dash of steampunk perhaps.

Look forward to reading more in the series.

The Gallery of Vanishing Husbands by Natasha Solomons

Intriguing

Enigmatic

I loved this story.

I loved each characters mystery and quirks.

I loved Juliet's boldness in a world of expectations.

I loved her fascination with how people, things and places are ween through an artists eyes, with portraiture capturing ourselves and others.

I loved the talk of art and the urge of it under the skin of each artist or beholder.

I loved the secrets.

I loved that Juliet's father eventually realised that he was proud of her individuality.

I loved the sense of community and the sensation of feeling out of place, out of your depths, of not belonging - so human, so real and true.

I loved the pace of the story.

I love the title.

I love the friendships, the admiration they had for each other.

They remained true to themselves, not really trying to change just adventuring alongside the borders of new and different territories.

Beautifully inspiring.

Love in Small Letters by Francesc Mirailles

This is one of the nicest books I've read in years,

absolutely loved it from start to finish!

The title caught my eye straight away and the chapter titles continued in style.

I would have devoured it straight if I hadn't started reading it aloud to my kids!

Very real and human.

It touched so many emotions and all the wonderful cultural references made it thought provoking and inspiring.

I loved these unusual and eccentric characters all amusing and attractive in their individual ways including Mishima who rubs his way through the legs of the story with impeccable timing.

Often I don't want a good book to end or I become nervous as the end approaches hoping it won't be disappointing but I must say that this is one of the best endings I've ever read.  I found it to be clever and satisfying, with a lovely completeness about it.

Will be reading again soon.

The Robe of Skulls by Vivian French

Two wonderful evenings spent listening to the audio version of this book with my kids, in the car and at home.

I have been reading to them for 12 years so it was such a treat to experience being read to again!

Lovely quiet, calm and relaxing.

The Robe of Skulls...we loved it.

Fantastical adventure, an array of interesting, curious and likeable characters including an excitable path!

Great descriptive imagery especially Gubble, all brought together by Nigel Planer's reading.

Lots of smiles and laughs for us.

Will be looking for the next in tales of the five kingdoms and using my costume skills to design a robe of skulls!

CAIRO by Chris Womersley

Straight away my intuition was that there would be a tragic element at the end of all this.

I knew all along more or less what would happen, like when you witness something but are powerless or prevented from speaking or warning.  

There was a real cringe factor.  Youth, naïveté , denial, deception...all so blatantly obvious.

The cruel self interested games of manipulation people play.

So sad.

Could have been worse for Tom.

I enjoyed it without loving it.

Liked the familiar streetscapes.

Some small relief with the present? Left behind by sally.

I couldn't think of anything worse than going away with those disjointed couples.

Perhaps the experience wisened him up, one would hope it woke him up to the importance of doing your own thing, being your own person.

I felt uncomfortable because I recognised my own naive self.

Dear Mr Sprouts by Errol Broome

I love books I can pick up and read in an evening!

This is inspiring in so many ways.  

Correspondence is such an appealing story format and this demonstrates nicely how powerful a written relationship can be.

It is an unexpected journey about a chance meeting, unlikely friendships, discovery, growing up...of trees and youth, place, identity, of sowing seeds, words and all of which these may grow in to.

 A lovely way to have spent my evening.

THE VIBRANT KITCHEN by Anya Kassoff

This is a beautiful book, with wonderful photography and delicious recipes.

It has definitely inspired me and given me food for thought, however if I'm honest, I know that I would have difficulties getting to this level of amazing ness in my kitchen.  

I am surely capable but feel I wouldn't have time for much else.  

I know we all have busy lifestyles and as a casual teacher I may have more time on my hands than some.  

Even so, I tend to seek out recipes that have easy to find, simple ingredients, that are not too time consuming.

I love to take time in the kitchen occasionally experimenting and I sometimes feel guilty that our meals aren't always as wholesome as they could be, but many of these recipes require ingredients not available in my local area or lots of prep time, which isn't realistic during the week.

I realise it is a question of changing habits and getting into the swing of it, I've been vegetarian for over 20 years, so I understand the adaption process, but it seems so time consuming.

Nevertheless, we had fun testing out green juice, which my daughter actually liked and she is my fussy one!

There are a handful of recipes I will copy and try for sure.

Regardless of my umming and ahhing, the title is perfect, there is plenty of vibrancy in this book and I so admire anyone who can achieve such colourful, healthy eating daily.  I am quite envious!

My cooking enthusiasm has waned somewhat of late...

The Teashop on the Corner by Millie Johnson

My daughter chose this book for me for Christmas because the title had tea shop in it and she knows I like tea.

I probably wouldn't have picked it myself, but she couldn't have chosen a nicer story.

The characters are warm and lovely with all their crisis' and foibles.

There is sadness, joy, heart ache, friendship, love, secrets and skeletons, happiness...everything that life and humans are made of.

A wonderful and bright feel good read.  I loved it!

Fairytales for Wilde Girls by Allyse Near

Beautifully sad and sadly beautiful.

A strange and tangled mix of real and unreal.

I love this book.

I love it's short wonky chapters, it's words and language, it's visuals and it's tragically appealing heroes and heroines.

In real life love and hate, war and peace, sadness and happiness, beauty and ugliness, good and bad, loneliness and it's elusive opposite, exist side by side.  Just as Allyse Near has warply wefted this story together, closely and loosely, full of longing.

Ca m'amene a un endroit merveilleusement familier comme une sensation de déjà vu. 

Je l'adore.

Tomorrow when the war began by John Marsden

A gripping and powerful read.

We live in a world where ignorance is bliss.

But how would we fare in a real crisis?

How industrious, practical, level headed and courageous would we be?

There are people in the world who already live with this kind of scenario.

For so many it is their only reality.  Surviving in fear.

We don't know how lucky we are.

Sending out all my thoughts and energy to those who need it most.

Burial Rites by Hannah Kent

I am not completely sure how I feel after finishing this book.

I know nothing of Icelandic culture or it's history, so it was very interesting in this respect.

However, I can't help feeling horrified, extremely saddened and ashamed of so many aspects of human history and how we have treated ourselves and each other over time.

Peace is surely an illusion and current times seem only to magnify that.

Of course we have evolved but I wonder how much we have learnt.

History is fascinating yet so tainted with unnecessary cruelty and bloodshed.

It seems too easy that one person can decide someone's fate regardless of their innocence, though I guess it happens often enough.

These were hard and harsh times especially for women.

It is at least reassuring that Agnes Magnusdottir can finally be given a voice in a time where we are, I hope, more open minded.

The Fault in our Stars by John Green

I am not interested in dissecting books and writing and stories.

I am interested in how they make me feel.

How they make me think.

My emotional response.

I try to avoid summarising the story as so many seem to do.

I try not to be swayed by other thoughts and reviews and I definitely try not to bother about how realistic a story, it's characters and places may be.

After all, I mostly read fiction which, right from the start, is imagined.  

Made up.  

Not to mention that many authors give readers a message of intent in hope of avoiding confusion.

I don't know much about cancer.

My grand mother died of melanoma but that gives me no insight into others experiences.

This story made me feel light.

There was also heaviness, the type that comes with helplessness and sorrow.

And yet, there was so much elation and humour.

Who are we if we can't laugh despite everything?

Touchiness (touchy and touching), inevitabilities, fleetingness.

Sometimes it is hard to 'be'.

Sometimes we only have what we have.

In the face of death, experience surely becomes ageless?

Mostly I loved the small simplicities, the love and the aching beauty.