hello.

This month I’ve enjoyed 4 books, 2 of which I highly recommend.

Ticket to Ride is one of those books you need to take your time with. At least I found that. It’s also the sort of book I plan to reread to fully appreciate it. I wrote a short review for our Feb update at All Things Girl. If you like your reads clean, structured and with a happy ending, then skip this. If, however, you like to be a little challenged and prefer a story that leaves you with more questions than answers, then this is for you.


The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. I finished this today and bawled. This is a heart-breaking story, but also one that shows the real beauty of humans, along with their brutality. Death narrates the story of Liesel, a 9 year old girl sent to live with foster parents. It’s 1939, Germany. No doubt, you can imagine this is not an entirely happy story. It is however, one about the power of words – for good and for bad, about friendships that endure through the harshest of barriers, and death. Zusak gives you a new perspective on the Holocaust. One that paints it, as it should be, as a grey time. Things are never black and white. The writing itself is…beautiful. Zusak cleverly describes things in a way that makes you stop, reread the description and really absorb it. I highly recommend this book, although be equipped with a box of Kleenex. Granted, I am the type who cries at commercials, so perhaps I’m just a wuss.

i used to finish a book, no matter what. if i started it, it meant i finished it. part of this was because i have an aversion to leaving things undone, and part of it was blind hope that somehow, along the way, the book would redeem itself, become enjoyable or be worth the effort. with this approach, i have read a number of books i wouldn’t recommend. that’s not to say they aren’t books others may enjoy, they just weren’t my cup of tea. likewise, i have spent a number of hours rather bored, trudging through the pages of a less-than-enticing novel.

well, no more. i realise now (too late to gain back those wasted hours) that there are far too many good books to read and far too little time. if a book isn’t worth the time, i’m not going to waste it. now, i do have a tendency to start a book and if it doesn’t grip me within the first few chapters, i may put it back down for a while until the right mood comes along. i will always come back to it and give it a proper chance, but if, reaching the half-way mark, the book is still a battle rather than an enjoyment, and there is nothing with the writing-style, characters or story that i find appealing, what’s the point?

i have at least 20 books on my bookshelf which i haven’t read yet, and today i went and bought 4 more. i know i will get to all of these eventually, but i also know i have to be in the right frame of mind. the book, and author’s hard work, deserves my full attention and if i’m not in the mood for that type of book/story, they won’t get it. that’s not fair to the author, or to me, as i may miss out on a really good read.

it’s taken me awhile to realise that it is ok to leave a book unfinished. it’s ok to leave some things undone. time is short and it’s important to spend what time you have on things that are worthy of it.

I’m proud to be an utter bookworm. I love books and I have a pile of them waiting to be read, with an even longer list of books I still want to get my hands on. Below are some of my recent reads which I’d recommend. For those of you on Goodreads, let me know.

The Outsider by Albert Camus. Camus is most widely associated with existentialism although he apparently did not care for this label. The Outsider is, basically, the story of a man put on trial for murder, but judged by society according to his overall personality and response, or lack of response, to his mother’s earlier death. Very interesting and thought-provoking. The main character can be absurd (in it’s purest sense) in what you as the reader expect, but that is really part of the whole story. Ultimately, it is a story about one man refusing to pretend to be something he is not, and facing the high consequences of this.


Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Phillips. This is a really fun and quick read. Phillips has a great sense of humour and really is able to bring you into this idea of a different, yet familiar world. The Greek gods (Artemis, Apollo, Aphrodite, Ares and others) are living amongst us in the 21st century but they are no longer the powerful Gods of the past. They continue to run the world on their diminished powers, and as expected, in their own selfish games, end up meddling with the lives of mere mortals. Some meddling goes too far though when Apollo is made (by the arrow from Eros) to fall in love with a meek girl, Alice. Things get out of hand and gods and mortal must work together before the end of the world.


Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett is my favourite play. I’ve read this a few times but picked it up yet again this week since we just got our tickets to see a performance of Waiting for Godot with Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart in May. I’m thrilled and can’t wait to see these two exceptional actors take on the roles of Vladimir and Estragon. The play itself is about these two characters waiting for a man named Godot. Saying anything more is not really in keeping with the point of the play…or pointlessness perhaps. Worth reading.


Persuasion by Jane Austen is not one of the more widely known novels by Austen, but is is just as good. What else would you expect from her? It is Austen’s last completed novel and a real gem, especially for anyone who has enjoyed her other more popular novels. She continues to tackle the ideas of society expectations and personal desires with wit and humour, strong female characters and of course, love. There also seems to be a bit more of a “bite” in some of the main characters lines. Perhaps a little bitterness that has crept into Austen herself. Beautifully written and at all times, engaging, I couldn’t put Persuasion down.


The End of Faith by Sam Harris. Provocative, insightful and daring this is a book I wish more people would read and consider. I don’t agree with all the viewpoints – especially the more dooming ones – but Harris brings many ideas and ideals to consider and reconsider. It is a powerful read and extremely timely. No doubt many people will hate it as it attacks certain ideals that many hold dear – and in fact hold above life itself – but I feel this is worth reading to, at the very least, gain a different perspective.