Reading

This year I've been trying to read more books. I used to be a voracious reader, but having children put a stop to spending all day (and night) reading and it's been a quite some time since I read more than one or two books a year. Now my children are older, and I'm not spending my evenings breastfeeding or falling asleep as I put the kids to bed, I've rediscovered the book love.

And discovered audio books. My new love.

I was skeptical at first but soon realized that audio books and knitting are a match made in heaven.

I recently finished this (audio)book:

















Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks.
This was such an interesting read (or listen...whatever). Set in the 1600's the story is based on actual events that happened in an English village during the year of the Great Plague of London. At times it was a sob inducing and harrowing read, but what I liked most was the unassuming strong female protagonist and the way she was able to find strength and courage in what must have been a devastating situation.

The plague comes to their small village in a bolt of infected cloth, and the village decides to quarantine itself to stop the spread of the disease. With death and despair wrecking havoc on the community, we see the destruction of relationships, the spread of superstition, the loss of hope, but through it all there is also the exploration of love and learning. At the heart of this book is a gripping tale of survival in the face of disaster.

I thoroughly enjoyed this. 5/5 stars from me.

I have "People of the Book" another of Geraldine Brooks novels on my "to read next" list, and am looking forward to reading more from this author.



















DD (who is now 5 and off at school) came home the other day with a very special book in her reading folder. Her very own copy of "Quaky Cat".

Scholastic, author Diana Noonan and illustrator Gavin Bishop have teamed up to publish this beautiful and touching book set in Christchurch. The story is set on the day of the 7.1 magnitude quake that rocked our city. Sept 4th will forever be a day that is etched into our collective memories - now 3 months on - we are still somewhat in shock that such an event happened here....to us. The book follows the story of Tiger, a beloved pet who runs away from home after the quake and then navigates across the broken city to reunite with his family. I have to admit to being just a little bit teary eyed when I got to the end of the book. It's a lovely story, beautifully illustrated and captures so well some of the emotions that all of us, humans and pets alike, felt during the quake.

Scholastic donated a free copy of this book to all Year 1 & 2 students in Canterbury and it will always have a special place of pride on our bookshelf. Thank you to everyone involved in this project. Proceeds from the book are donated to local charities including the Women's Refuge. You can buy it here.