Thanks to a new LED lantern it was easy enough to read the print and quite fun to be able to read for a long period without interruption. The narrator’s point of view took me right back to my own childhood; what at first seemed like a fudge of commentary on the story, became eventually a rounded out picture of a family living through tragedy, crisis and grief.

The book is no namby pandy botch-up of a story about loss. It tackles prejudice on all sorts of levels. All in all I was impressed at the craft of the writer. It reminds me slightly of The curious incident of the dog in the night……… but only in the sense that the story-teller’s voice unfolds in tune with his understanding and emotional growth.

Interestingly, I was given this book by our Mobile Librarian – I suspect someone else’s mistake is my gain.  It leads me on to think of reading some other children’s literature. Any ideas and views? (Apart from Harry Potter of course!)

Related Posts

• Women again (0)
• A Perfect Day – and yet….. (8)

The hero is a member of the United States Army who finds love but also finds himself conflicted with duty to his country following the events of 9/11  He falls in love with a girl who holds the key to helping him understand his father and their unusual ways of communicating.

It is not really a “feel-good” book – or is it? Certainly, the plot twists and turns in unusual ways. As readers we learn about maturity and tolerance and ultimately we are convinced of the reality of true love. I read it whilst struggling with a biography of the Queen (more about that if I ever finish it,)  In fact, I found myself almost unable to put Dear John down. And that despite the fact that the plot was not going the way I wanted it to. Perhaps I am too influenced by fairy stories or romcom films.

I think it deserves a nine out of ten. What do you think?

Related Posts

• Sunday Priorities (6)
• Monday mornings (14)
• Lesley’s Challenge (2)
• Double oven (5)
• Enid Blyton (8)

I saw the book about Oogy – who is an injured Doga (Argentinian mastiff) and thought that it would be a story which would bring me to tears, and after all, tears sometimes are good for one. HBTW just shook his head in a resigned fashioin.

I took the book home and haven’t been able to put it down since. It is certainly not a sentimental book – I didn’t have even a tear in my eye. It is about adoption of an injured dog and adoption of twin boys. It is about growing a family – a special kind of family. The book is about courage, acceptance and incredible hope. I have to admit that I am very wary of any dog that resembles a fighting dog. Everything to do with dog fighting is anathema to me. And I have shared in my blog before about how anxious I can be since Misty was attacked by a rescue dog. So this book is as much about learning to overcome prejudice as an animal story.

At the risk of spoiling it, I will just say that Oogy is now in training to be a pet therapy dog. That says it all.

Has anyone else encountered it?

Related Posts

• Boundaries (6)
• Speaking about family (1)
• Visitors (7)
• House Rules (0)
• Worth pondering (1)

It’s quite a slim book and has nice illustrations, but the information and background to the Glycaemic Index and the theory surrounding it, is quite complicated. That’s why I say that Low GI eating has become a new hobby. HBTW is the principle chef in our household, I’m the clearer-upper and planner. I’ve come to the conclusion so far that this way of eating has to be introduced gradually, giving the brain cells time to adjust along the way, as well as giving the innards time to get used to the extra bulk or as we used to call it in days of yore – “roughage.” Dieticians were always keen to emphasise that people should eat sufficient roughage and terrible things were predicted should one not comply.

The fun part of any cookery course is when you get to the stage of devising your own recipes, or adapting someone else’s to fit with what is in the cupboard. Having the right ingredients is kind of crucial. Our village shop is very good for basics, but limited as far as fruit and veg are concerned. The nearest supermarket is 27 miles away and fresh herbs/salads/veg wilt after a couple of days – thus we have to learn to be inventive with what ingredients are to hand. (Talking of which, have you ever seen Nigella’s walk-in pantry……….. yummm.)

There is another side to the hobby of GI eating, and that concerns trawling the internet for recipes to adapt, and searching ebay for bargain cookbooks. All great fun. And yes, I know, I know, I haven’t forgotten to use the pink weights and am still signing in regularly to the Wii-Fit. Is it doing any good? Well, I’m not losing any weight, but I’m raring to go to Dance Class tonight.

Off now for turkey stir-fry with sweet potato and winter vegetables.
What are you having?

Related Posts

• A little bit of this and that (2)
• Wii Fit update (5)
• Medical check up time (8)
• Shopping (9)
• Fitness or not? (4)

I couldn’t put it down. Actually, I had been looking for an easy read and Yes, though it was easy to read, it was also fascinating, compelling and harrowing in parts. But more than anything it is the story of someone who comes across as a great hero.

There’s not much more to say than that – at least not if I don’t want to spoil it for you if you are inclined to have a go.  Have a go at reading, I mean, rather than having a go at climbing. My days of climbing mountains are over and the highest I ever managed was 3000 feet, but in my heart I sometimes go striding over the mountains around Dalamory.

What about you?
Have you read the book?
Do you like climbing?
Do you like tales of heroes.

Related Posts

• No Related Post

For every half-dozen romcoms, or chicklits or crime novels, I try to read a decent book which is literary or worthy or just plain brilliant. The Enemy of the Good is all of these as well as being thought-provoking and mind-blowing all at the same time.

Michael Arditti is a well known author on religious topics, but this a step further into spirituality and the great themes of life and death. At first I had to struggle, then my mind was stretched and challenged, then I couldn’t put it down and finally I felt as if I had come home to a place where I belonged and where I could relax and know that God loves us all, quirks and all.

The story is told through the eyes of four of the main characters, though not in any annoying leaps back and forward of timing, that leave the reader confused. The narrative is taken forward by each character in turn, allowing for a deeper insight to that particular person and their relation to ongoing events as well as the other people.

We are introduced to a family where the older parents are a retired bishop, who has lost his faith, his wife who is an infamous anthropologist and their children, a religious artist who happens to be gay, his sister who explores the closed world of Chassidic Jews. As if that is not enough of a mix, we look at terminal illness, HIV and above all the conflict between liberalism and fundamentalism in religion.

I don’t want to give away much more of the plot, but as you can see there is plenty of scope for action. If you’ve read it, do let me know what you think. If you get the chance and are ready for a challenge, do have a go. I give it a 9.5 out of 10.0.

Related Posts

• No Related Post

If you’ve never read them, do have a go and let me know what you think.

Related Posts

• No Related Post

There is this little wave happily bobbing along in the sea,
and then he suddenly sees that the waves all crash onto the shore.
Understandably he gets really upset.
Then along comes another little wave who asks what is wrong.
The first little wave says, “We’re all going to crash!”
But the second little wave says,
“It’s OK – you don’t understand, we’re all part of the ocean.”

I mentioned it here, six years ago.

My suspicion is that I was probably reading the same book back then, Tuesdays with Morrie. It is an account of Morrie Schwartz – his life and his death – written by a previous student of his, Mitch Albom. Morrie has motor neurone disease and contrary to what you may suppose, it is one of the most uplifting books on living and dying that I have ever read.

I picked it up again this week to help make sense of one of the media topics of the week: assisted suicide or euthanasia. I have written about dying in several places in my blog, indeed it was one of the subjects I studied as a topic in my Honours course in Practical Theology. Over the last 25 years of so my own position on the subject has become informed by relatives who have died and books I have read.

This week the BBC showed a programme fronted by Terry Pratchett, who himself has terminal Alzheimer’s disease. Terry is interested in treatments, but also in terminal care and the implications of assisted suicide. The film - Choosing to Die – shows Terry accompanying a dying man to Switzerland, which is the only place that offers help with suicide to dying people from the rest of Europe.

Leaving aside the ethics of suicide and the legal obligations of relatives and loved ones, there is a point to make as far as I am concerned which shows how flawed the UK position is. If someone is dying and wishes to terminate their life rather than face the pain and indignity of a possible awful death, they are put into the position of having to choose to die sooner than they might wish to, simply to avoid their companions being subject to a jail sentence of up to 14 years on a charge of assisted suicide. To be absolutely sure that there will be no prosecution, the person dying must be able to arrange travel, physically get to Switzerland and able to lift and drink the poison which will kill them.

With regard to my views on euthanasia and assisted suicide in cases of terminal illness, I would want to see a position where everyone is assured of a dignified and peaceful death. Sadly, this cannot be guaranteed. Even more sadly, it too often happens that an individual dies in pain and alone in a medical facility devoted to mending people’s bodies rather than specialised in helping them to die well.

I believe that the way we treat our vulnerable people, our dying people and our disabled people, is a measure of the way we are a caring society. Sometimes we do brilliantly, at other times it all goes wrong. Terry Pratchett is facing a future where his mind disappears little by little; thousands of people face similar things day by day. On a weekly basis here in the UK we read stories of cruelty and abuse towards the vulnerable in our midst.

So – my prayer today is, that all the little waves are helped to overcome their fear, and that we all join joyfully and smoothly into the ocean, where we know the depths of belonging and love.

Related Posts

• Living the prayer (2)
• Paperclog (5)
• Hogmanay (5)
• Bertie (3)
• Nativity Set (4)

I found myself trawling the bookshelves for something interesting to read and came across the 2003 memoirs of Queen Noor of Jordain. She is an American born part Arab who married King Hussein in 1978; she was his fourth wife and they were married until his death in 1999.

I haven’t quite finished the book, because it is quite hard going in places. There is a lot of political activism and descriptions of behind the scenes negotiations in the Arab world. At this time of the so-called Arab Spring, it makes for fascinating reading. Noor becomes a Muslim and describes that experience as a coming home for her. She still leads a high-profile life, particularly in relation to Women’s Issues. It is interesting to look her up on google to see how her life has developed since her husband’s death.

Something about her determination to make a difference helps me to be more positive about the difficult things in life. Specifically this week I find that I am able :-

• To be more hopeful that the Middle East and Arab states will talk to one another because they have to.
• To be thankful that Islam at its best is a peaceful religion, whilst recognising that certain elements seek to subvert this.
• To stay clear of the fear that comes from ignorance.

This being the case, the book has done its job well; in addition I am better able to look at the politics of the UK and acknowledge that those involved, of all parties, are seeking the best for the nation. In other words, I have had my own leaps of faith, and it feels better than being upset and worried about the future.Having another perspective on world events helps take away some of the fears and insecurities we all live with.

Related Posts

• No Related Post

The intermix of characters and description of landscape, sea, sky and living conditions is truly awe-inspiring. The book takes the form of a thriller in its style of writing and the reader is swept along by the story itself. I don’t want to give too much away, except to say that it is a romance with a twist, but with an unfortunately wearily drawn out ending. I feel a bit guilty criticising someone’s work in this manner, and would be really interested in hearing the view of anyone who has read the book. Let’s face it, I would love to be able to write like Rosie Thomas, and I have been glued to the book for the most part of the last couple of days.

In conclusion, I’m glad to have read it, I found the book gripping and believable. And perhaps the cool grey of a Scottish summer is not so bad after all.

Related Posts

• Enid Blyton (8)
• Wish I could see what happens (5)
• Library van (0)