She would read to him from his books - (Pg 159)

Parvana by Deborah Ellis, another story about women in Afghanistan. It is a Junior Fiction novel, and I read it in a couple of hours (mainly as I couldn't put it down).

It is the story of a young woman and her family in Afghanistan during the time of the Taliban. Her father is taken by the Taliban one day without warning and it falls on Parvana to dress as a boy so that she can go out and work and get food for her mother, sisters and baby brother.

Parvana's father is a history teacher, and through this, a simplified history and a greater understanding of this troubled country is presented clearly to the reader.

Ellis herself has written a number of inspirational stories about child refugees and is somewhat of an inspiration herself.

Parvana is a quick read which I highly recommend if you have read and enjoyed The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul and Kabul Beauty School.

280 Days Remaining, 19 Books to go

I read book after book about Afghanistan - (Pg 64)

The Kabul Beauty School is a biography by Deborah Rodriguez. Once again, as in her work of fiction, the storytelling is fantastic and the characters are truly beautiful.

If you are able to overlook some of the odd decisions made by Rodriguez, such as her numerous marriages and leaving her young children behind in America, this is a pretty amazing adventure.

After reading this I did do a little more research about Rodriguez and there is quite a bit of speculation as to whether the events and her involvement in the beauty school are as in depth as she presents them.

There is also much controversy about the stories that she retells. Even though she changed names, apparently the women who revealed their stories to Rodriguez are afraid of being found out and of the repercussions. Of course there is no way to tell what is the truth in this situation.

Putting all that aside, read this book, it's another real eye opener into that part of the world.

280 Days Remaining, 20 Books to go

Australian Press Release
RAWA - International
SAWA - Australia

He wanted to be sure every word could be read - (Pg 36)

The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul by Deborah Rodriguez was, quite simply, a wonderful story.

Rodriguez is an amazing storyteller. With very few words she is able to paint a vivid picture of the people of Kabul, their surroundings, the time of year, everything.

This story is filled with fantastic and inspirational characters. It is a rather large cast, however I always knew who was who, never got lost and was genuinely interested in every single one of them.

It paints a very real picture of women in Afghanistan, and at the same time I think it spares the reader of the worst atrocities. Most of the women's stories are not told as they happen, but in past tense, which somehow makes it easier to take as you know that the women somehow survived.

This story gave me a strong desire to learn more about the situation in Afghanistan and to try and help in any way that I possibly can. See below for some links if you too are interested in helping out or learning more.

 280 Days Remaining, 21 Books to go

Australian Press Release
RAWA - International
SAWA - Australia

I read that in college twenty-five years ago - (Pg 186)

I wasn't really a fan of Observations Of A Short Man by Nigel Marsh. His observations were mainly other peoples' philosophies or ideas that he has taken on board. No real narrative or objective which was probably my main issue.

There was a lot of 'I'm not saying this, I'm just saying that' So what are you saying? Yet another endorsement by David Koch should have given it away.

I was also well and truly over the Sydney love affair. I don't care how much you love Sydney, really I don't. Just as much as I don't care about all the 'observations' which I quite frankly could have read on an inspirational desk calendar.

A little harsh, it wasn't horrible, just not really my cup of tea.

 280 Days Remaining, 22 Books to go

Please Note

I have 4 books to write about! I had a week away from home staying with my parents who, by chasing after my son, allowed me some very valuable reading time. Since getting home however, I have not yet blogged. I hope to catch up with the books I have read over the next few days.

I went without a new shawl so that I might buy a book instead - (pg 58)

Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier was a wonderful book. I have always been a fan of Chevalier's work. I believe The Virgin Blue is my favourite and I would like to go back and re-read that, as well as The Girl With A Pearl Earring.

Chevalier always manages to create a wonderful sense of time and place. This story is set in the English coastal town of Lyme in the 1800's and centers around historical figure Mary Anning, one of the first fossil hunters and certainly the first female.

It is very Austen-eske, and although there are no romances, I enjoyed the flirtations and the strong female characters.

It blends fact and fiction beautifully and made me want to know more about the lives of all of the characters. However I think Chevalier's novels always manage to do that. Had me from start to finish.

300 Days Remaining, 23 Books to go

E Readers

I am not going to review a book and an e reader at the same time, that's not fair. So I am just going to put in my two cents after reading a novel on an ipad using ibooks.

I am not a fan. I realise there are dedicated e readers that may be better and less cumbersome than the ipad, however I can only comment on my experience. The magical ipad kept loosing my place, I couldn't just throw it in my bag when I was going out, I had to make sure the jolly thing was charged all the time, and I know you can lock the screen, but it seemed a pain to constantly change the settings for one application.

I longed to be reading the story in a good old fashioned book. I wanted nothing better than to feel the cool rough pagers beneath my fingers, to hear the page turning, to earmark a page, to put in a bookmark and come back to it and see without question where I am up to.

I am even considering buying the book I read on the ipad in book form so I can have a tangible copy of it.

It is books for me, books as far as the eye can see.