Loadshedding and more time to read!

If there are any advantages to the load shedding that we are being subjected to, it has to be that it has given me more time to read - and I am hearing this from many others to.  A Kindle is great for reading in the dark but I have also seen pics of people reading with a headlamp strapped to their head - Great idea! February brings Oscar season and a flood of really good movies hit the circuit, so it seems currently there are a lot of really good books around and I have been flying through some of them.

My bookclub loved Where the Crawdads sing by Delia Owens, is a book about exclusion, loneliness and small town living. Kya is called the Marsh Girl, left to fend for herself by her abused mother and alcoholic father as a young girl, she survives by using her wits, humour and her love for the marshland. She evades the authorities and lives alone in a cabin in the wild. Most of the community shun her but a coloured couple keep an eye out for her and help where they can.  Nature is her classroom and the gulls her only friends until a young man takes pity on her and teaches her to read. Their friendship grows to love but he goes away to college and she is alone again ostracized by the townsfolk, she is flattered and seduced when a local hero pays her attention and when he is found dead - the community believe that only the marsh girl can be responsible. This book is beautifully written - a masterpiece! I was hypnotized by her story and couldn't put it down.

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng. The  bookclub girls are flying through so I downloaded it and was not disappointed - it reminded me a little of The Lovely Bones - "Lydia is dead but they don't know this yet." So starts the story of a Chinese /American family and their love for the favourite daughter, Lydia. When she is found at the bottom of the lake, the delicate balancing act that has kept the Lee family together is destroyed, tumbling them into chaos. Its a story of family relationships, a story of the isolation, of being different and not fitting in. A story of shattered dreams, ambitious parents and sibling rivalry. The tale is woven chapter by chapter from the perspectives of each member of the family - a bother - a sister and the parents. Her death affects them all differently and you cannot wait to find out "what happened to Lydia".

Its a long time since I have read a Marion Keys book but I felt like something light and relaxing so I downloaded, "The Woman who stole my Life". It was light and relaxing but within the story is a character, Stella Sweeney, diagnosed with Guillain- Barre syndrome, leaving her unable to move for months. Her family struggle with her inability to communicate and her marriage suffers but doctor and her develop a method of communication through blinking - of course they fall for one another! Time passes and eventually she recovers - she leaves hospital and months later a bound book arrives - One Blink at a Time - written by her recording the messages she has given to her doctor. Its a love story written in typical Marion Keys style, a bit predictable and full of cliches and cringe-inducing sex scenes. I enjoyed it in parts - mostly the parts about Guillain- Barre but the rest was just easy reading and quite forgettable!

I was lost for something different to read and my niece came to the rescue and suggested I read The Trick to Time by Kit De Waal. I was saved! This was a lovely book and I am looking forward to reading more by the same author (Me name is Leon). Divided between the past and present, this book is beautiful from start to finish. Again set in Ireland and England in the 70s, Mona is a young girl raised by her widowed father and living in a remote coastal town when she falls head over heels in love with William - a story teller, a charmer and a dreamer. They leave Ireland to find work in England and are trying to build a life there when tragedy strikes. Years later Mona is living alone in a gift shop on the coast of England and is helping women come to terms with loss through doll making. The story ends beautifully and leaves you thinking about the characters for days. I loved it!

The Paris Secret by Lily Graham was one of those Amazon books on offer for next to nothing but I liked the description and took a chance.  I have later learned that she grew up in South Africa and now lives in West Sussex! Hello I think I am following her! Anyway - she writes well and I was captivated by the story of Valerie on a journey of discovery and searching for her roots in Paris. She finds work at a bookshop run by an old man (she knows he is her grandfather but he does not know she is his granddaughter). Her mother lived in Paris with her grandfather during the occupation and ran the bookshop. Valerie retraces her footsteps and slowly uncovers her mothers story. Paris, a bookshop, a love story, an attic room with a kettle and views over the rooftops of the city - What is there not to like? An easy read for a rainy day and great value for money. I will be looking for more by this author too.

The Importance of Being Aisling and Oh my God what a Complete Aisling by Emer McLysaght and Sarah Breen. Two delightful books that reminded me of Bridget Jones' Diary. Hilariously funny  - if you feel like getting to know an Irish Bridget then get these.Like a hug in a book!

So that's me for the last couple of months - I am really not sure if you find my recommendations useful as I am not sure who reads this blog - but anyway its one way of me keeping track of what I have read! Please feel free to comment and please if you have any books that you think I may enjoy - please make recommendations. I think loadshedding will be back and if not Winter is on its way and what better way to keep warm than under the duvet with a book!
Back in the Uk next week, I will be looking for a bookclub to join in the West Sussex area.........