When it came to discussing Air by Christian Kracht, my book group didn’t do much discussing. Rather, it was an hour of questions and speculation –
Sample Saturday is when I wade through the eleventy billion samples I have downloaded on my Kindle. I’m slowly chipping away and deciding whether it’s buy or bye. Continue reading
From Zürich, we caught the train to the Austrian alpine town of Innsbruck. I really love train travel – so relaxing, and a few hours to enjoy views of the mountains was wonderful. Continue reading
I’ve recently returned from the holiday of a lifetime with my daughter. We spent three weeks away, with the majority of the time spent in Austria (the destination chosen because Vienna was hosting Eurovision, the ultimate purpose of our trip). Continue reading
A ridiculously short review of Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke despite the fact that I have SO MUCH to say about this book. Continue reading
Helm by Sarah Hall was my book group’s last pick. Our host, the wonderful Katie at Ramona Books, sent out a reminder email which made me laugh –
Helm, or Hmmm? … I’ll be pouring generously for all who managed to wade through.
In summary, it’s a story spanning hundreds of years, told from many perspectives, including that of a most unusual narrator – the wind. More specifically, the wind is the Helm, a strong, cold, northeasterly Foehn wind that blows down the slopes of Cross Fell in Cumbria, England. Helm is the only officially named wind in the British Isles and it is notorious for bringing freezing temperatures, roaring noise, and wrecking damage across the valley. Continue reading
It’s time for #6degrees. Start at the same place as other wonderful readers, add six books, and see where you end up. Continue reading
It’s been a while since I’ve had a reading experience as visceral as what I had when I read Olga Ravn’s The Wax Child. Continue reading
I still have a bunch of reviews to complete from last year… Continue reading
I had a little crisis-of-age as I was reading Private Revolutions by Yuan Yang – I don’t think about my age much at all, however, this book that looked at the ‘history’ of the 1980s and 1990s made me think, gosh… that was thirty years ago!
Yang’s text examines China’s new social order through the lives of four ordinary women – June, Siyue, Leiya and Sam. Each was striving for a better future in a society that remained inherently unequal. Yang demonstrates that despite enormous economic gains, inequities in other aspects of everyday life were growing. Continue reading