In the middle of the night I finished Shonagh Koea's memoir and searched for ages on my VRS to find a new book to read. Eventually I settled on Last Summer in Arcadia which is narrated by someone with an amazing Irish accent. Advertised as being about infidelity, strength and what makes us happy, it is written around three couples going for a holiday in Southern France, their suspicions of marital infidelity and all the mores that working together suggests. I have only listened to a couple of chapters but will hopefully enjoy this light novel. I have a large pile of CD's from the RNZFB sitting on my desk to transfer onto my VRS, another job to do before lunch.
We have a television programme here in New Zealand called 'Family Secret' in which a researcher, David Lomas, attempts to unravel family stories, lost belongings, name mysteries and similar. Last night he went in search of a pair of bagpipes returned from WW1 to the same country district my Great Great Grandparents lived in. Using my archival skills I have tracked down the archivist shown in the programme and hope to hear that she has some memorabilia of my family.
I am still reading The Happiness Project which offers many useful suggestions for uncluttering your life, accepting people, writing blogs and caring about trying to remain positive and in the moment. One suggestion she offered was to burn a beautifully scented candle in the evening, an idea I have grasped at and this morning purchased a pear and ginger scented candle. The We Love Memoirs Facebook page offers lots of free kindle books so I am busy trying to keep up with all the interesting suggestions on offer.
My dining table is covered in books on watercolour painting, art journaling, beautiful recipe books, a journey through French markets and the Healthy Food Guide. Oh dear, this morning I purchased a small piece of topside roast for dinner, probably not very healthy so will have to add lots of vegetables.
Jay is enjoying the lovely sunny days we have been having, lying on my violets and other ground cover turning the soil into a hard caked pan of groaning earth. I need to move him but cannot bear to see him slink into the house determined not to upset me again.
I am buying too many kindle books! This morning I found over $30 charged to my visa account which made me gasp but then reality hit and I realised I had purchased 5 books for less than one hard copy from the local bookshop. Among the latest titles are How to Write a Bestselling Memoir by Victoria Twead and Who Would Give Up an Adorable Little Girl Anyway by Janet Stephenson. I probably have over 30 unread books on my kindle, all waiting for my attention. What a wonderful way to obtain a library of books one does not have to find room for!
I have just been discussing blogs with my neighbour, who is 91, and cannot see the point in writing a blog. I suggested she look up a few art ones, her subject of interest, but she said it was too much bother. Privacy seems to be her main concern, albeit probably quite justified, but I wonder about a usually switched on oldie who does not enjoy blogs, Facebook and other social media.
I am enjoying my Shonagh Koea book and may order another talking book of hers. She often uses her memoir to quote short passages from her novels to explain to the reader where those ideas came from in her own life. I am unsure if her novels are light and frivolous or serious and dark. Some of the books I have on my VRS are becoming less interesting as time passes and one or two are due for deletion, unread.
My year of reading is a mystery to many people, particularly those who do not read at all. While it is now late July and I should be revving up the speed of my reading I am contemplating another year of reading next year, after all I have still not read The Luminaries. Long books often defeat me, although I read Gone With the Wind in just one weekend when I was a teenager, I find the concentration required to follow facts or a plot when reading is often confined to the evening alone difficult to maintain.
I am beginning to wonder if I have deleted my travel bug. While it has infected me for over 50 years I am un-enthused at present, despite putting travel links and photos into this blog. I need somewhere nearby, quiet, no stress, restful, no long haul flights involved. The Coromandel Peninsula appeals!
Gretchen Rubin, author of the Happiness Project started her year by removing all the visible clutter from her life. Delighted that a friend had an empty shelf in her home Gretchen rushed off to ensure she had one too. While I doubt I have room for anything to be empty it is tempting to have a real clean out, but what will always stay is books, books and more books. I really do need to tidy up the piles around the house though and make it attractive for people visiting to dip into some of my favourites.
Last night I finished the Rushing Women's Syndrome, yes I know it is weeks since I started it but much of the content is medical and needs careful following. My first move is to lend the book to a neighbour who insists I am always rushing and to try and follow the mantra that I must pace myself as I am not doing my health any favours.
Shonagh Koea is an author I have never read and I am unsure what genre her books are, apart from mostly being fiction. Waking early I listened to more than an hour of her memoir, it is a reminder of my own experiences and such a reflection on growing up in New Zealand.
I am beginning to wish that I was not such a keen kindle reader. I have discovered that many of the books on offer seem to change at the weekend and lazy breakfasts are spent searching for new and interesting books to read. Perhaps I need to delete a few I have never read, have little interest in or have finished and will never be tempted to read again.
I am writing press releases for a variety of press outlets regarding a new transport report which has just been released. Having come on board as the social media expert to ensure the information gathered reaches the right people I am still working on trying to bring all the information to a place that is appropriate for the ordinary reader as well as transport experts.
Everyone asks when I plan on travelling again, I have begun to dream of places and destinations but given the air tragedies this week I am more than nervous about long haul flights again. I would love to return to Poland, France, Germany, the Czech Republic and Scandanavia, hopefully one day.
I would love to return to Helsinki one day and perhaps travel further around the country.
Another destination? One of my favourite cities, even though I got mugged here. I loved Denmark, I wish more of it's writers work was translated into English so we could all enjoy it.
I took my talking book machine to work yesterday as I had not slept well the night before and wanted to listen to something other than music which may have put me to sleep at my desk. Finishing the Readers Digest I searched for something new and opened this book.
A memoir like so many other New Zealand memoirs, it evokes our own past, the way we live here in New Zealand and the everyday happenings that make an interesting story. I have got as far as her secondary school years and can totally empathise with her attempts to avoid reading out loud due to a stammer. The embarrassment so many of us felt with childhood stammers when it was seen as acceptable and 'good' for us to take a turn at reading out-loud has provoked lifelong consequences. I was middle-aged before I felt comfortable making a phone call to someone important, speaking publicly and similar. I look forward to continuing this gorgeous memoir which is also filled with wonderful recipes destined to return many of us to our country childhoods.
I spent my power account Brownie points recently on a 6 month subscription to NZ House and Garden.
http://nzhouseandgarden.co.nz/ I am hoping to enjoy a vicarious look at some of our most beautiful homes, perhaps pick up a decorating idea or two, possibly even a delicious recipe. My first issue was waiting in the mail box when I returned from work yesterday so some sun, a nice coffee and a look into its pages is my next task.
Kindle books continue to enhance my reading experience. Last night I purchased several new books beginning with Victoria Twead's new memoir, Two Old Souls in Spain Again. She is a member of the FB memoir page I have joined and seems to be an enthusiastic individual. I also bought Italian Journey by James Shaw, and Art Journal Art Journey by Nicole Rae. Now just to find the time to read!
Several of the staff at work yesterday had been on overseas trips during the holidays. Bali seemed to be the place of choice, despite complaints of sunburn and overwhelming tiredness in the heat. I think even more exotic places should be on the wish list. Perhaps one of these:
This was a city I got so tantalisingly close to, visa and invitation applications made little sense and the person at the embassy did not seem to understand my enquiries. So one of the cities I visited instead was Prague which I think is the most interesting and beautiful city I have visited. More travel dreams!
Finally the rebels in the Ukraine have seen some sense. All that can be hoped for is that the Dutch forensic team can identify everyone, what a horrific job confronts them. My heart goes out to all the families, in particular the Australian couple who lost their three children and grandfather, I cannot even begin to imagine how that couple are feeling. Reports on the news last night seemed to confirm the surprise of the rebels that this had been a plane full of innocent people, their ignorance belies belief.
Instructed by a wise person to learn about 'mindfulness' I decided to purchase this book for my kindle. Last night I finished reading The End of Life Bookclub and decided to read The Happiness Project. I am hoping it will motivate me to meet challenges, read more widely, be happy and laugh more. Yesterday I also purchased a book called Remembering Judith which I understand is written by a member of the Memoirs Facebook page. I just seem unable to read fast enough to keep up with all the books I wish to read.
Yesterday I finally returned to my art journaling, albeit for just a couple of hours.
I now need to read some of the journaling books I have downloaded to my kindle, alongside the actual books I have purchased and use this as an emotional release from stress and anxiety which pervades so many of our lives today.
I have just discovered the most amazing and friendly group on Facebook. We Love Memoirs is all about memoir writing and reading, obviously, but it seems to be so much more. I am already beginning to suspect this may be the group I have been looking for to lead me to good writing, offer encouragement and a place to make new friends. I am not even sure how I found them; I was looking at Goodreads and possibly I found a mention of the FB group in there. My year of reading is becoming exciting again.
I am really enjoying the book references in The End of Life Bookclub but as mentioned in my previous post I do find many of the books esoteric. I find the cancer journey of Americans so interesting, they seem to have so many specialists looking after different aspects of their health, unlike here where most people have an oncologist and their own general practitioner.
The downing of MH017 has devastated so many families - a whole family from Melbourne wiped off the face of the earth, a couple who have lost their three children being taken home to Western Australia by their grandfather, I cannot imagine the depths of their anguish and grief. The behaviour of the Ukranian separatists is appalling; bodies need to be retrieved and returned to loved ones as quickly as possible. It is heartbreaking. I have flown over the the Ukraine, Afghanistan, even parts of Pakistan - now I wonder what could have happened.
Last night I watched Philomena, a movie so unlike the book one wonders how Michael Sixsmith managed to give permission for the movie. When I saw it at the movies I left the theatre really angry and could never understand why. Now I think I know - Philomena's lifelong indoctrination by the Catholic church prevented her acknowledging the damage they had done to both her and Anthony. Also, I think it has stirred up levels of dissidence in me about the level of secrecy around adoption and the lifelong damage this does.
I have recently bought several new kindle books, I cant read fast enough to keep up - they include Fraud on the Court, another adoption story; the Happiness Project and Kayak Morning. I think it is time I purchased some more travel books to help me get the confidence to travel again. Places I have been beckon, as do new ones.
I would love to go here again, I took a friend's advice and only stayed in Venice for 3 days. Three weeks seems more realistic, one day maybe.
Warsaw was amazing, so many remnants of the soviet era make it interesting to the antipodean traveller. I would love to study there, possibly a pipe dream but time spent in Poland is time given to the soul.
