This is a delightful novel. Well worth reading as it has a good combination of story and suspense and adventure.
Set in 1772-3 it records the journey of a lowly assistant cook, Buddy Leigh, from northwest England to Florence. She travels with her Mistress Carinna, who is seeking to escape her marriage to an old man full of the pox to whom she was married so as to gain an inheritance.
The story is recorded by Biddy in the "The Cook's Jewel", an old recipe book she has inherited from the cook who apprenticed her. She records the behaviour of Lady Carinna and her maid, the journey to Italy and most enjoyable, the recipes of food she tastes along the way.
I love travel and food, so this was a lovely story to read. The history of food and eating is well researched, I particularly enjoyed the history of the 'notion' of restaurants. Each chapter begins with a recipe written out, from the UK fare right to Italian confections.
Mixed in with all that is a mystery of sorts, which is lightly handled and not too taxying.
A very enjoyable read. Makes you hungry though!!
Monday, July 28, 2014
Friday, July 25, 2014
The Town that Drowned | Riel Nason
This is a great story, well crafted, with strong characters. A young teenager Ruby Carson falls through the ice while skating, and as she plummets she sees a vision of her town submerged in a lake, and a few of the town's people float past her. Ruby is not one of the popular kids, and is teased because of this vision, which she blurted out as she was being rescued.
We feel tension mount as Ruby struggles to find meaning in her vision, and as she tries to come to terms with being a teenager in a very small community.
As weeks go by, stakes are found in the ground, mysterious people show up measuring and marking things around the town. It transpires that a dam is going to be built upstream and they will all lose their homes and the town itself, as it will be submerged. People start dying, the same people Ruby saw in the vision.
The story is well worth reading, as Ruby and her younger brother are beautifully drawn, as are the many odd people who live in this community.
We feel tension mount as Ruby struggles to find meaning in her vision, and as she tries to come to terms with being a teenager in a very small community.
As weeks go by, stakes are found in the ground, mysterious people show up measuring and marking things around the town. It transpires that a dam is going to be built upstream and they will all lose their homes and the town itself, as it will be submerged. People start dying, the same people Ruby saw in the vision.
The story is well worth reading, as Ruby and her younger brother are beautifully drawn, as are the many odd people who live in this community.
The Boy who harnessed the wind | William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer
Now here is an inspiring story. A young boy called William (born 1987), living in Malawi saw first hand the devastating effects of the famines that hit during his childhood. He was too poor to go to school so he read the books in the town's library. A series of science and engineering books had been donated from America. He studied there and learned about windmills, something he had never seen in Malawi.
He decided to build a windmill by his house so his family could have electricity and power a water-pump so that in the future their crops would not fail. The villagers around him thought he was crazy or practising witchcraft, opposing at every turn. But this is why this story is inspiring above all else. William had a dream, he worked towards it undeterred by his circumstances or by the negative response of his community. He knew he could do it, so he did.
There were no 'proper' parts for him to build it with, so he scavenged around, looking for metal parts, bulbs, wiring etc in the local dump and old cars left out to rust. He made his components out of junk left lying about the village. I would love children to read this book and be inspired by what William achieved. His family was the first to have electricity, he figured out a way to make a plug so all those in the village could charge their cellphones.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/William_Kamkwambas_old_windmill.jpg
Through a passing reporter's interest William became famous in Africa, attended the TED conference and has now travelled around the world inspiring other children to work on innovation enterprise.
He decided to build a windmill by his house so his family could have electricity and power a water-pump so that in the future their crops would not fail. The villagers around him thought he was crazy or practising witchcraft, opposing at every turn. But this is why this story is inspiring above all else. William had a dream, he worked towards it undeterred by his circumstances or by the negative response of his community. He knew he could do it, so he did.
There were no 'proper' parts for him to build it with, so he scavenged around, looking for metal parts, bulbs, wiring etc in the local dump and old cars left out to rust. He made his components out of junk left lying about the village. I would love children to read this book and be inspired by what William achieved. His family was the first to have electricity, he figured out a way to make a plug so all those in the village could charge their cellphones.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/William_Kamkwambas_old_windmill.jpg
Through a passing reporter's interest William became famous in Africa, attended the TED conference and has now travelled around the world inspiring other children to work on innovation enterprise.
Thursday, July 24, 2014
You're still hot to me | Jean Kittson
If you are over 40, regardless of gender, you should read this book!
Kittson was interviewed on Radio New Zealand National, and after hearing her I got her book. It is an easy, informative and very funny book, about ....menopause. Don't discard this review yet, keep reading.
When Kittson started looking into menopause, there was little information available and it was either totally frivolous or so convoluted, it meant nothing. She also found not many women or men were talking about this period (or lack thereof) in a woman's life.
This is NOT a 'poor me' book, it is a candid look at what women go through at a time in their lives when they are busy, effective and are integral to the lives of their families and work places. From one day to the next, they have physical and psychological symptoms which destabilise and impede their performance in many areas. So, let's get informed.
Read this for yourself and your partner, for all the women in your life. They are NOT going insane, their hormones are changing, they are going to be ok, eventually. Be the support crew, drink a glass of wine together and eat more chocolate....Read this book!
Kittson was interviewed on Radio New Zealand National, and after hearing her I got her book. It is an easy, informative and very funny book, about ....menopause. Don't discard this review yet, keep reading.
When Kittson started looking into menopause, there was little information available and it was either totally frivolous or so convoluted, it meant nothing. She also found not many women or men were talking about this period (or lack thereof) in a woman's life.
This is NOT a 'poor me' book, it is a candid look at what women go through at a time in their lives when they are busy, effective and are integral to the lives of their families and work places. From one day to the next, they have physical and psychological symptoms which destabilise and impede their performance in many areas. So, let's get informed.
Read this for yourself and your partner, for all the women in your life. They are NOT going insane, their hormones are changing, they are going to be ok, eventually. Be the support crew, drink a glass of wine together and eat more chocolate....Read this book!
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
Ariel's Crossing | Bradford Morrow
This is the second novel of a trilogy, I read it as a stand alone and it held up.
The Ariel of the title is a young woman in New York who, as an adult, discovers the identity of her biological father. He is Kip Calder, a Vietnam vet who disappeared before her birth, leaving her mum to marry their mutual best friend, who posed as Ariel's father.
Turmoil, questions, identity crisis and a road trip ensues. Meanwhile Calder has returned to a small New Mexico town where he was born. He is dying and wants to make peace with his past and is trying to find his daughter. He works for a local family which is full of great characters and historical figures. The story is well told, well developed and gorgeously written.
Mainly character driven, with a bit of magical realism thrown in, well worth reading.
This is a book which reminded me a lot of Cormack McCarthy's writing. If you enjoy McCarthy, you will enjoy this one.
The Ranger's Apprentice | John Flanagan
My youngest son (11) insisted I read this book, the first in a series, which he discovered at school. As I am wont to recommend books to all and sundry, I figured I should return the favour. I also thought I could speed read and skim read and be done in an hour.
The surprising thing about this book and this author is that i didn't want to speed or skim, I read every word. It targets children about 10-12 I would think, but does not talk down to them or 'write down' to engage with them. It's thoroughly well written and engaging even for adults! A rare find.
As the title suggests, there is a Ranger (called Halt) and an apprentice (called Will) who live in a made up land of various kingdoms. It reads like a medieval story, with only a few made up creatures, making it more believable. There are battles, conflicts and relationships to navigate and good vs evil. All the elements of a great story. Flanagan initially wrote it as a short story to get his son into reading and it grew from there to 12 in the series thus far. He is also involved in writing the screenplay for the movie which is being developed at the moment.
My son has read five in the series of about 12, I am now starting number 2. Well worth it, we also take turns reading aloud to each other. It's a rare treat to find books that the kids love and are not tedious for parents to read.
The surprising thing about this book and this author is that i didn't want to speed or skim, I read every word. It targets children about 10-12 I would think, but does not talk down to them or 'write down' to engage with them. It's thoroughly well written and engaging even for adults! A rare find.
As the title suggests, there is a Ranger (called Halt) and an apprentice (called Will) who live in a made up land of various kingdoms. It reads like a medieval story, with only a few made up creatures, making it more believable. There are battles, conflicts and relationships to navigate and good vs evil. All the elements of a great story. Flanagan initially wrote it as a short story to get his son into reading and it grew from there to 12 in the series thus far. He is also involved in writing the screenplay for the movie which is being developed at the moment.
My son has read five in the series of about 12, I am now starting number 2. Well worth it, we also take turns reading aloud to each other. It's a rare treat to find books that the kids love and are not tedious for parents to read.
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