It’s time for #6degrees. Start at the same place as other wonderful readers, add six books, and see where you end up.
This month we begin with Anna Funder’s examination of the East German Stasi – Stasiland. Continue reading
Tag Archives: Sarah Winman
Six Degrees of Separation – from How To Be Both to The Portable Veblen
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
Six Degrees of Separation – from The Arsonist to Tin Man
It’s time for #6degrees. Start at the same place as other wonderful readers, add six books, and see where you end up!
This month we begin with The Arsonist by Chloe Hooper. It’s a fascinating account of the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires. One of the themes Hooper explores is remorse. Continue reading
Tin Man by Sarah Winman
Tin Man by Sarah Winman is a simple story about two friends.
Ellis and Michael are twelve when they first meet. Their family circumstances, although very different, become a bonding point and their friendship grows over many years. However, from the beginning of the book, we know that there is a gap in Ellis and Michael’s shared history and the reasons for that break are slowly unravelled.
Winman moves the story back and forth over time, revealing the events that shaped the boys’ friendship. There are a number of twists in this relatively short novel and if I listed them, the story could be perceived as overly dramatic. In fact, it is quite the opposite – it is plausible, gently paced and Winman delivers the blows with a velvet hammer (brace yourself, there are bits to make you cry).
And I wonder what the sound of a heart breaking might be. And I think it might be quiet, unperceptively so, and not dramatic at all. Like the sound of an exhausted swallow falling gently to earth.
Continue reading
A Year of Sample Saturdays 2017
I’ve read 99 Kindle samples this year – downloading sample chapters is better than impulse buying books… I think. Of the 99 I’ve read, I’ve said ‘yes’ to 53. Of those that I’ve said yes to, a bunch I’ve now read (or have in the TBR pile), thanks to the library, ARCs and two purchases (I was at the author talks – it would have been rude not to!).
However, if I buy the remaining 47 books, it kind of destroys the small gains I’ve made on reducing the TBR stack this year. So, I’ve narrowed it down to 12 that I’m busting to read. Continue reading
Sample Saturday – three from authors I’ve read previously
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
A year of Sample Saturdays
I’ve read 105 Kindle samples this year – downloading sample chapters is better than impulse buying books… I think. Of the 105 I’ve read, I’ve said ‘yes’ to 57. Of those that I’ve said yes to, a bunch I’ve now read (or have in the TBR pile), thanks to the library, ARCs and a gift.
However, if I buy the remaining 49 books, it kind of destroys all the gains I’ve made on reducing the TBR stack this year. So, I’ve narrowed it down to 15 that I’m busting to read. Continue reading
I want…
This week’s TTT topic is ‘Ten Books You’d Buy Right This Second If Someone Handed You A Fully Loaded Gift Card’ but really, ten is stupid when what I actually *need* is at least a hundred.
How about we make this the first week of Top One Hundred Tuesday? Continue reading
Sample Saturday – a search, a disappearance and a pool
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.
A Year of Marvellous Ways by Sarah Winman Continue reading
Top Ten Tuesday – Books to Make You Cry
Arm yourself with a king-sized box of tissues.
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created and hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week a new ‘top ten’ challenge is posted – anyone can join in. This week’s topic is a freebie, so I’ve picked the Top Ten Books to Make You Cry…. Nothing like a depressing start to November, hey?!
I read Jonathan Tropper’s latest release (One Last Thing Before I Go) through tears (of sadness and laughter). I happened to mention on Twitter that I had to stop reading the book a number of times because I was making a spectacle of myself whilst waiting for my son’s guitar lesson to finish (sobbing, there was snot and no tissue).
My sister-in-law revealed that she had never cried reading a book. Ever. I fired off some titles that had me bawling like a baby. Nope, has never cried. Which made me wonder, am I overly emotional? Do I get too caught up in what I’m reading?
So this list is really for my sister-in-law – I need to find the book that will move her to tears!
1. Of a Boy by Sonya Hartnett – without question the saddest, most heartbreaking book I have ever read. When I lent it to a friend she asked “Will I need counselling?”. “Yes,” I said, handing her a box of tissues. Get it on Kindle here. Continue reading