WWW Wednesday 6th May 2020

I’ve had a long hiatus from this post but got inspired in my reading last week and am keen to share 🙂 Thank you to Sam from Taking on a World of Words  for hosting this fun and simple meme, with just three W questions to answer: What are you currently reading? What did you recently finish reading? What do you think you’ll read next? You can also join by answering and linking your blog post back on Sam’s post here.  

What did you recently finish reading:

Last week I found myself reading The Education of an Idealist: A Memoir by Samantha Power. Somehow I came across this on Libby (my library ereader app) and I loved it. I’ve been interested in learning more about the UN for awhile but hadn’t quite managed to open the ‘beginner’s guide’ I’d picked up. This memoir, however, about President Obama’s US Ambassador  to the UN had me eagerly checking wikipedia for more details about titles and descriptions of the UN. Samantha Power has also been a foreign journalist, author (Pulitzner award winner for a book about genocide), human rights advisor etc. etc and her memoir was a real eye opener.

What are you currently reading:

Somehow I’m managed to start and have 3 books currently on the go (not the usual for me). I was only a few pages into The Baghdad Clock by Shahad Al Rawi ( – author and Luke Leafgren -translator) before my hold for Educated by Tara Westover became available and then I realised my loan for The Woman at Number 24 by Juliet Ashton was almost up. So we’ll see what the week brings in getting through any or all of these!

What do you think you’ll read next:

Inspired by how Samantha Power’s memoir got me thinking, I’d like to try my hand at an Australian politician, so my next goal is My Story by Julia Gillard. Will be interesting to see if I get into it or not. Maybe you’ve got a different politician/activist memoir to suggest? Have you heard of Samantha Power or read her memoir?

That’s all folks, happy reading!

 

Happy New Year – WWW Wednesday, 1-January-2020

Wow it’s been over  a year since my last WWW Wednesday with Sam from Taking on a World of Words,  although it’s been a regular part of my weekly blog reading. It is a fun and simple meme, the perfect way to start a new year. Just answer three W questions: What are you currently reading? What did you recently finish reading? What do you think you’ll read next? You can also join by answering and linking your blog post back on Sam’s post here.  

Currently reading: The Philosophy Book – DK Big Ideas, Simply Explained and Friday with my Folks by Amal Awad from Goodreads

Amal Awad’s life changed when her father was diagnosed with kidney failure. Seeing the impact it has had on him, both physically and mentally, and the way the side effects trickle into those around him, Mentally, it had an impact as he was unable to recover from his fresh grief at not having the same freedom to move and live as he had known before. Work had made him feel whole and retirement was a challenge. When he became ill, he didn’t quite know what to do with himself. Amal eventually realised that life offered a new reality. Not always pleasant, but also not unique to her family…

At a time when ageism and health is high on the public’s radar, what we’re not always talking about is how to deal with the anxiety, depression and overall challenges that come with someone you love facing their mortality and a decline in health…

This book stems from a personal experiences, but it expands to a much wider, more universal discussion about life, suffering, coping and hope.

Recently finished: The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang a bit steamier than I expected but definitely a good read. Sadly I won’t be finished Girl by Edna O’Brien about the Boko Haram girls, I feel it’s an important read I just couldn’t face it at this time.

Reading next: Any Ordinary Day by Leigh Sales a bookclub Christmas gift about resilience. I also have The Sociology Book and The Economics Book out from the library but doubt I’ll get to them before they’re due back. The one I’m mostly likely to read next though is The Bride Test by Helen Hoang, while you’re on a good thing 🙂

Wishing you all a year of wonderful reading

GJ

 

WWW Wednesday 10th July 2018

Now I’m back, I’ve been waiting all week to update this meme! Our host is Sam at Taking on a World of Words. It’s fun and simple, with just three W questions to answer: What are you currently reading? What did you recently finish reading? What do you think you’ll read next? You can also join by answering and linking your blog post back on Sam’s post here.  

What did you recently finish reading:

The Household Guide to Dying by Debra Adelaide 

Whilst last week I was a bit unsure about this book, I ended up loving it. From Goodreads

Delia has made a living writing an acerbic advice column and a series of wildly successful modern household guides. As the book opens, she is barely 40 but has only a short time to live. The novel charts her preoccupation with two things: how to make provision for her husband and daughters – and how to make her peace with her past.

I think it was a bit slow starting but in reflection, considering the topic I believe it probably needed to be. The time shifts weren’t smooth but the overall pacing and characterisation were great. I have an interest in palliative care and it was from this perspective I read the book and it delivered. From blood sausages to messages left in the lawn, it was quirky and meaningful and I gave it 5/5.

My only other complaint comes from my christian perspective which didn’t quite fit with the ending but I can cope with that.*

What are you currently reading:

I have quite literally just read the first page of The Break by Katherena Vermette so I could tell the truth in this section! One of it’s opening quotes is, “the most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any” by Alice Walker, which rings truth to me and reminds me of a clip I saw on my facebook feed today of a graduation speech:

 

What do you think you’ll read next:

I’ve added a few books to my Goodreads list this last week but it’s Windfall by Penny Vincenzi I’ve requested from the library. I was on a bit of a doctor theme a few weeks back.

High-five to the reading Wolfpack 🙂

 

* I’m just not sure the world can in times to come – a post for another day (or a question to be asked)

WWW Wednesday 4th July 2018

This is a meme hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words. It’s fun and simple, you just have to answer the three W’s: What are you currently reading? What did you recently finish reading? What do you think you’ll read next? You can also join by answering and linking your blog post back on Sam’s post here.  I’m only a little late posting…might still be Wednesday somewhere….

What did you recently finish reading:

The World Unseen by Shamim Sarif (goodreads link)

I really enjoy listening to this audiobook. I think listening to books from different cultures works well for me because they get all the pronunciations right. The story was set in South Africa in the 1950s with the two main characters being Indian. The book touched on apartheid in a really authentic and saddening way but was primarily about women, their positions in relationships and society. The ending was perhaps a little unsatisfying but took nothing away from the wonderful growth of the characters. 4/5

(The book also came with movie dvd, not sure yet if I’ll make the time to watch it)

What are you currently reading:

The Household Guide to Dying by Debra Adelaide

I’m not quite sure to make of this book yet, the protagonist is preparing for her upcoming death and author has used a few timelines to share her story which I’m not quite on top of, still interested to see where it leads to.

What do you think you’ll read next:

The Break by Katherena Vermette is our next bookclub read but I’m also looking at When Calls the Heart by Janette Oke for a quick fix as needed.

Happy Reading Everyone 🙂

 

June: Six degrees of WWW

I’ve been wondering how to bring myself back into the blogging world after somewhat of a hiatus (just one post since end of March). There are a few drafts sitting around, most of which would take a lot of effort to get back to where I was when I started them.

Today though I finished a great book (not the first since March!) and it may just be my Tipping Point – this months chosen starting title for the meme, Six Degrees of Separation  hosted by booksaremyfavouriteandbest. The meme gets you to take one title, and link through six other titles to see where you end up.

The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell sounds like my kind of book. I’m a big believer in small acts of kindness and my big ambition in life is to make a difference. His focus however it seems is in how products sell so perhaps not so much my thing.

My most recent depressive experience has turned into quite a tipping point for me – I’ve quite my job, not completed one uni subject and extended another. These are pretty big changes and I wouldn’t normally advocate for making such decisions as a result of depression but after good discussions with my hubby, various friends and lots of prayer I’m feeling pretty comfortable.

Alright, now how I am going to link this to my next book….

Yeah I’m not, instead here’s the list of awesome books I’ve recently read:

• The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
• The Kite Runner by Hosseini, Khaled
• Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
• The Very Grumpy Day by Stella Jones

Also for your enjoyment here’s a bit of a review from a WWW Wednesday I attempted rather awhile back

What did you recently finish reading: Tell Me Your Here by Anne Deveson this last (haha) weekend. I really like Deveson’s writing style which in this autobiography (much like her book Resilience)  shares a lot of information and personal story. It showed a harrowing image of mental health care particularly for schizophrenia and around homelessness which thankfully in her Afterword suggested improvement although I’m sure not enough.

 

What do you think you’ll read next:

I have Anthony Lehman’s (an Australian comedian) book This Shirt Won’t Iron Itself which I’m looking forward to having a read of – in fact I finished it last week. There was a bit about country living and families I could relate to, especially the bar man brother but the author and I are very different people so majority of the book was really not my thing.

Thanks for having me back WP, hope you readers are all doing well, I’d love to hear about some of your recent reads or maybe a tipping point in your life.

God bless

GJ

 

WWW Wednesday 21st Mar 2018

This is a meme hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words. It’s fun and simple, you just have to answer the three W’s: What are you currently reading? What did you recently finish reading? What do you think you’ll read next? You can also join by answering and linking your blog post back on Sam’s post here. 

What did you recently finish reading:

My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier – I’d been reading this since the start of January and on a weekend away forced myself to get through it. I hate saying that because the writing was both immediately engaging and also simply wondrous. I really wanted to like this more but it was probably just the genre thats not a favourite of mine. For a good review refer to Bookabye Baby  The plot was rather slow-moving and towards the end the main character Phillip’s journey seemed inevitable. Nonetheless it gets 4/5 stars for the amazing writing.

What are you currently reading:

Yay I finally got to start Tell Me Your Here by Anne Deveson, an autobiography about the authors journey with her son diagnosed with schizophrenia. I’ve also started an audiobook which I had to go out of the car to check the title – Hold the Dark by William Giraldi

What do you think you’ll read next:

I have Anthony Lehman’s (an Australian comedian) book This Shirt Won’t Iron Itself which I’m looking forward to having a read of.

I’m actually not doing a lot of reading at the moment so perhaps reading everyone else’s WWW post will re-inspire me!

Happy reading

 

 

 

 

WWW Wednesday 7th February 2018

This is a meme hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words. It’s fun and simple, you just have to answer the three W’s: What are you currently reading? What did you recently finish reading? What do you think you’ll read next? You can also join by answering and linking your blog post back on Sam’s post here. 

I think this is my first for the year and I certainly wasn’t planning to write a blog today! After a busy start to the week (read tiring!) I’m now refreshed from watching an episode of a new tv favourite and happily sitting next to hubby while he’s taken over the tv for the cricket leaving me free to share –

What did you recently finish reading:

Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry, the second novel in The Giver quartet. I read the first in the series at the end of last year for my Future requirement in the When Are You Reading challenge and my interest was piqued. It was a short book which created another new dystopian world which ended with so much story left to tell. I’m so funny about YA dystopian books. I’m never a big fan but as soon as I see a movie or read a book and get just a bit of a taste I do want to find out as much as possible about the worlds the author creates. I was hoping to find out what happened next in Gathering Blue but instead was given a new world to discover. Sadly I wasn’t really taken with this book except for of course the ending which after a slow book again built pace and interest so yes I will read the third book, which from other reviews seems more well liked.

 

What are you currently reading:

For anyone who met me here last year I’m still reading Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert, well it’s still sitting on my bed side table, not sure reading is an accurate description. I did read another chapter in the summer holidays but can’t imagine getting back to it again until perhaps the next summer holidays!

After Gathering Blue I thought I was going to get myself more thoroughly into My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier. I am loving the writing style of this book and want to read more but at the same time it’s not a complete page turner, hence I was happy enough yesterday to also start Have A Little Faith by Mitch Albom which is my choice for this months bookclub. I have already made notes of a few gems I want to remember. I’m confident in my decision as Albom is a reliably good read.

I also started an audiobook this week for my 6hr plus round study trip – Between Sisters by Cathy Kelly. I’m enjoying it but getting frustrated each time the author introduces a new character narrator!

What do you think you’ll read next:

If I get through my current books it’ll be a true achievement! Next bookclub is The Bells by Richard Harvell but I have until March. I also have Tell Me I’m Here by Anne Deveson out from the library which I really want to get to having read Resilience by the same author.

 

Challenge Progress Tracker

 

1940-1959 – Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel García Márquez,

The Future – Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry

 

Any bloggers out there that can help me with spacing in my blogs? Ie between paragraphs I just can’t figure it out!

WWW Wednesday 27th September

Seems September Season is WWW Wednesday for me :p

This is a meme hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words. It’s fun and simple, you just have to answer the three W’s: What are you currently reading? What did you recently finish reading? What do you think you’ll read next? You can also join by answering and linking your blog post back on Sam’s post here. 

What did you recently finish reading:

Nothing this week, although I did finish some required chapters from my textbook Emotion-Focused Couples Therapy: The Dynamics of Emotion, Love and Power … now to start the next two chapters, not to mention journal my thoughts on them….gotta love study!

Also rated a few more kids books the children picked out from the library. What the Ladybird Heard by Julia Donaldson (who doesn’t love a glittery ladybug!) and Shearing Time by Allison Paterson particularly relevant as we did (aka the men) have been doing crutching on the farm.

What are you currently reading:

I did start Truly, Madly, Deeply by Lianne Moriarty and am already very intrigued. I loved reading Big Little Lies earlier in the year.

What do you think you’ll read next:

Brick Lane by Monica Ali is next for bookclub but although school holidays begin friday until I finish some assignments I think Blogs and Facebook will be my leisure reading.

I would truly appreciate some input though on suggestions for a book set in the 1500-1599’s for the When Are You Reading Challenge,I have nothing so far despite an ever-growing TBR…any ideas??

Happy Reading 🙂

 

WWW Wednesday 20th Septemeber

Sooooo before I explain what this is all about about I just have to share….

I FINISHED Silence!!!!!!

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words. It’s fun and simple, you just have to answer the three W’s: What are you currently reading? What did you recently finish reading? What do you think you’ll read next? You can also join by answering and linking your blog post back on Sam’s post.

To participate, and to see how others responded, click here. 

What did you recently finish reading:

Silence by Shūsaku Endō, I started reading this back in May and am so excited to have finally finished. I chose it to meet a requirement in my When Are You Reading Challenge, based on a review in my church magazine of the Martin Scorsese movie adaption but I just never got into it. I never clicked with the narrator/main character and found it a struggle to get through. I wish I could go back and start it again at a time when I could finish it in just a few sittings as I think that could have made a difference but then again maybe not.

From Goodreads – It is 1640 and Father Sebastian Rodrigues, an idealistic Jesuit priest, sets sale for Japan determined to help the brutally oppressed Christians there. He is also desperate to discover the truth about his former mentor, rumoured to have renounced his faith under torture. Rodrigues cannot believe the stories about a man he so revered, but as his journey takes him deeper into Japan and then into the hands of those who would crush his faith, he finds himself forced to make an impossible choice: whether to abandon his flock or his God….As empathetic as it is powerful, it is an astonishing exploration of faith and suffering and an award-winning classic. 

Sounds pretty good doesn’t it! I was glad to read another reviewer found it started slow, for me by the time it got a bit more interesting I was already too far over it.

Another reason I struggled with this book was although a christian I’m not catholic and so concepts of confession and symbolism of images is not as important to me and somewhat rubbed the wrong way.

Most reviews however were highly positive and this page on quotes from the book is impressive.

 

Now I don’t actually have much more to say :p

 

The other adult book I finished recently was Attachments by Rainbow Rowell which I LOVED.

What are you currently reading:

Still reading text books and not much else!

What do you think you’ll read next:

I’ve got Truly, Madly, Deeply by Lianne Moriarty lying around for when I feel on top of my study. I’d also like to find a book from the 1500’s to keep on track with my challenge – any suggestions?

 

Challenge Progress Tracker

Pre 1500 – The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

1500-1599 –

1600-1699 – Silence by Shūsaku Endō

1700-1799 – Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, An Almond for a Parrot by Wray Delaney

1800-1899 – The Luminaries – Eleanor Catton

1900-1919 –

1920-1939 – The Small Woman by Alan Burgess

1940-1959 –

1960-1979 – Exposure by Helen Dunmore

1980-1999 – Attachments by Rainbow Rowel

2000-Present – Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

The Future –

WWW Wednesday 6th September

Gosh it’s been awhile since I’ve done one of these! (Almost 3 months)

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words. It’s fun and simple, you just have to answer the three W’s: What are you currently reading? What did you recently finish reading? What do you think you’ll read next? You can also join by answering and linking your blog post back on Sam’s post.

To participate, and to see how others responded, click here. 

What did you recently finish reading:

Tonight I read Say Please, Louise by Keith Harvey and illustrated by Lauren Beard. My daughter chose it from the library as Louise is her middle name. It was a nice book abut learning to use manners. Whilst enjoyable it was a bit simplistic so only 3/5 stars.

My son chose Hey Mum, I Love you by Corinne Fenton, a seriously sweet book using fairly iconic animal photos to illustrate a love letter to Mum. As a Mum I’m sure I’m slight;y biased 4/5 stars 🙂

Three other picture books I read recently which inspired me to rate them on Goodreads were:

Excuse Me, I’m Trying to Read! By Mary Jo Amani – a great book set in Africa the wording got better towards the end.

Look, a Book! by Libby Gleeson – not many words in this but the illustrations show the true adventure a book can take you on.

Busting! by Aaron Blabey – this rhyming book was just so fun! I bought it to read to my son who continues to have frequent accidents, not sure it’ll help but I loved it!

What are you currently reading:

Still reading Silence by Shūsaku Endō, I just can’t get into it and I’m sure its keeping me from getting into any reading but I’m determined to eventually, one day finish it!

Also reading my textbook Emotion-Focsed Couples Therapy: The Dynamics of Emotion, Love and Power by Leslie Greenberg and Rhonda Goldman which given the current state of my marriage is either a healthy or unhealthy thing to do….

What do you think you’ll read next:

I’m pretty keen to get Matilda by Roald Dahl on audiobook to listen to with the kids in the car.

I’ll get Attachments by Rainbow Rowell for bookclub from a friend tomorrow so looking forward to that too.

Happy Reading All 🙂