Sunday, January 31, 2010

Day 3 – The most extraordinary eccentrics who were so high brow that they had difficulty in understanding one another (pg 146)

Hi mum! Hope you are enjoying my blog!! I am not sure how this blog will unravel at this stage... about me, about the books... I am hoping I will be able to see it through and finish the task I have set for myself.

This past week I applied for 5 jobs. One small prospect for a short online recruitment film which wouldn't be more than a couple of days of work and seems to be a bit of a dodgy bros operation. Thankfully My Family and Other Animals is doing a wonderful job of taking me somewhere else. Gerry finds so much delight in the little things it’s hard to feel sorry for yourself when he is discovering tortoises emerging from the depths hidden caverns after months of hibernation, or causing an uproar at the dinner table after secreting a matchbox containing a family of scorpions into the house.

As the days go by I am finding that I too am taking delight in the little things. Spiders scrambling across the floor to find some refuge from the heat, even food, the bright colours of vegetables or the fact the inside of my fridge currently has the delicious aroma of fresh juicy pineapple. I can only conclude that 10-year-old Gerry Durrell is having a very positive effect on me and I will be sorry to get to the last page.

Reading this wonderful account has lead me to do a little research on Gerald Durrell, his career and achievements are astounding but at the same time not surprising. I was a little saddened to discover he passed away 15 years ago and am now very interested in reading the two sequels he wrote to My Family and Other Animals which are Birds, Beasts and Relatives and The Garden of the Gods. My thanks once again to the lovely Tessa for introducing me to this world of wildlife and wonder. I do however have a number of other books to get through beforehand and have therefore decided to start a list entitled ‘what to read next’.

Returning to the task at hand; Chapter 13 – The Snow White Villa with 279 days remaining.

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Day 1 - What for you want a bathroom? Have you not got the sea? (pg 22)



So it's not exactly cheating, but I am already 1/3 of the way through My Family and Other Animals. This book is not one from the sale, it was in fact a gift from my good friend Tessa for my birthday last March.

I did catch part of the BBC television movie based on the book some years ago and thought it was wonderful. Once I have finished the book, I would like very much to find and watch the entire film.

I started reading this whilst on holiday in China in sub 0 degree temperatures. An odd place to start reading a book set in summertime on the Greek island of Corfu, however I was engaged from the moment I read the first page.

The book so far is just what a book should be. Although autobiographical, it is charming and whimsical. The story is told with such language and wonder that the reader feels as though they are there on the island having all kinds of adventures. The characters are fantastic and so full of life they jump right off the page. It is somewhat reminiscent of a Enid Blyton Famous Five adventure.

I am now up to Chapter 8 - The Tortoise Hills

The beginning is the most important part of the work - Plato

Last night, in an attempt to quell my thoughts of deepest darkest despair regarding employment (or lack there of) my boyfriend asked me; if you could do anything in the world, what would you do? My answer was quite simply to sit in a quiet, cosy room filled with books, to be still, and to read. As Mark Twain once wrote; Books are for people who wish they were somewhere else.

Thus inspired by the film Julie and Julia (no I have not read the book, however you must remember I am a student of film as well as literature, so this is perfectly acceptable) I have decided to give myself a project to hopefully stop me from completely losing my mind.

In 2008 I went to the ‘Friends of the Library’ book sale in Warragul (Gippsland Victoria) and proceeded to fill a green bag with old and new books for a grand total of $7. While I have read some of these books, the majority have been sitting in a pile which has been added to as birthdays and Christmas’ have passed.


My goal

To complete the 21 books currently sitting in the pile before the next book sale which I believe will take place on Friday 5th November 2010. If any books happen to be added to the pile, through purchase or gift, those too must be read.

Currently there are 21 books to be finished and 281 days remaining.


The Books (in no particular order)

1. My Family and Other Animals – Gerald Durrell
2. Travels with my Aunt – Graham Greene
3. Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen
4. The Little Prince – Antoine De Saint-Exupéry
5. The Catcher in the Rye – J.D. Salinger
6. The Magic Pudding – Norman Lindsay
7. The Lovely Bones – Alice Sebold
8. Sense & Sensibility & Sea Monsters – Jane Austen and Ben H Winters
9. Pride & Prejudice & Zombies – Jane Austen & Seth Grahame-Smith
10. Coastliners – Joanne Harris
11. Five Quarters of the Orange – Joanne Harris
12. One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest – Ken Kesey
13. The Tempest – Shakespeare
14. A Spot of Bother – Mark Haddon
15. Perfectly Correct – Philippa Gregory
16. Friend and Philosopher – Noel Braun
17. Dirt Music – Tim Winton
18. Captain Corelli’s Mandolin – Louis de Berniéres
19. An Equal Music – Vikram Seth
20. White Teeth – Zadie Smith
21. Peter Jackson a filmmakers journey – Brian Sibley