Do the 2009 TBR challenge

All the way through this book, I kept thinking I must slow down and savour it because as soon as the 3rd one’s released there’s no more of this. But I couldn’t. I was compelled to read as much of this story as I could as often as I could. Only one more and then this man’s literary magic is lost to the world forever:(

This is the 2nd time I’ve read this book. I read it not long after it came out and I couldn’t really work out what all the fuss was about. I thought I should give it another shot.

I know most people rave about this book (including Oprah) but apart from the section on Bali which I found enjoyable my opinion hasn’t changed from last time. I can’t put my finger on why. The writing was ok, she seems nice enough… Maybe some books and some people just don’t go togther.

This was a recommendation from Restless and LL and what a good one it was! The story is told through letters between the different characters. The characters were were crafted but for me it was the anecdotes about Guernsey in wartime that really shone in this book. My only criticism was that Juliet and Elizabeth McKenna in particular came across as a little too good to be true.

I have to thank Mahinui for recommending this book. She didn’t recommend it to me directly but I must have taken notice of her advice to someone and I am so glad I did. What a wonderful book!

I’m partial to historical fiction and this appears to have been particularly well researched (detailed information at the back of the book). The protagonist tells the story of her life – starting with her early life in Africa before she is abducted into slavery and transported to the United States. Through luck and intelligence, she learns to read and write. She helps the British create “the Book of Negroes”, a list of blacks rewarded for service to the king with safe passage to Nova Scotia. She then gets the chance to go back to Africa when the British abolitionists move 1,200 Nova Scotians to Sierra Leone to create a colony called Freetown.

It wouldn’t surprise me if this book was made into a movie at some point (right up Oprah’s alley I would’ve thought!). I read this book in 3 days and while there were times when I thought that the main character was a little too good to be true, it was a very engaging story.

What cracked me up most reading this book was knowing that this guy is a serious Idol fan.

Some people suffer an incredible amount of bad luck in their lives and this woman seems to be one of them. Yet she’s also been exposed to some amazing experiences. So maybe with the checks and balances it’s just life…

The bad luck – her fiance was killed in a mountain climbing accident, several good friends were killed in various other accidents, she contracted dengue fever, she was in Sri Lanka during the tsunami and made it out of that but on the same day got acute appendicitis…

The good times – incredible travel experiences through places such as Sri Lanka, India, Mongolia, Tibet, Nepal and France – ones that never would’ve taken place if her fiance hadn’t have been killed.

I wasn’t a huge fan of the writing. I think the writer who helped with this book sometimes used words that weren’t right for the conversational tone and this became jolting to read. On the whole though, I came away feeling quite inspired by the author’s lust for life despite the circumstances that have affected her.

I knew nothing about Laura Bush (whose life this novel is loosely based upon) except that she was married to George. I learned a lot about her through this book, and by the end of it I had more respect for her than I expected to. Unfortunately my respect for her husband didn’t change (based on the characterisation in this book). Alice Blackwell was a slightly reluctant First Lady and I wonder if Laura Bush was too. I think the author delivered an interesting concept, making it appealing it to read regardless of your political leanings.

This is a book based on the author’s columns in the Guardian (UK 43ters may have read them) about a family trying to adopt more ethical and environmentally sound lifestyle (well one member is but more on that in a minute). This book covers topics such as waste, holidays, transport, baby care, organic food and clothing. It poses such questions as do you really need a car, does your banker invest your money ethically and should you eat meat?

The other great thing is he intersperses his own experiences with the letters and experiences of others. There are a diverse range of views and you can learn a lot from all of them from the naysayers to the foragers to the people who are just hoping that their small actions make a small difference.

Something I was amused by (and this was acknowledged at the end of the book) was that the author’s wife clearly did not share the same level of enthusiasm for the project. Jane, a little dismissively if I’m honest – asks about the range of organic clothing now on offer. Jane gives me one of her looks. “Stop being ridiculous. We’ve made enough compromises already,” says Jane. If I was Jane I wouldn’t have been very happy with how I was portrayed. I think it proves that key members of the household need to have an equal level of commitment to the principles.

This is a great book/resource and one I’ll probably be reading sections of again.

This book is the reason I haven’t made much of an appearance here for the past few days. I’ve been dedicating all my free time to following the story. It’s a weighty tome with several sub-plots which I think goes a long way to keeping the reader engaged. It’s often disturbing but always gripping. If you like mysteries and psychological thrillers, read this book!

I probably would have got a lot more out of this book if I was more of a foodie, but as a history book I found it very interesting and entertaining.
Two interesting facts:
1. Pizza was not a big hit originally. It was created in Naples which was cholera-ridden. Pizza was considered an unhygenic food, and so a potential carrier of this disease.
2. Spaghetti and meatballs (as a dish) was invented in America not Italy.