May is Festival month

Auckland Writers and Readers Festival 2013 from Wednesday 15 May to Sunday 19 May promises readings, interviews and discussions to suit every taste. Everyone is invited to "think between the lines" and discover the best writers and thinkers who will be examining:
Faraway lands - Anita Desai (India), Sharad Paul (Tibet), Shehan Karunatilaka (Sri Lanka), John Sinclair (China) and Diego Marani (Finland)
Science and Reason - Dr Helena Popovic, Sir LLoyd Geering, Rebecca Priestley, Sylvia Nasar
Art, Music and Poetry - Jackie Kay, Ian Wedde, Fleur Adcock, Bill Manhire
There's examples of architecture, history, philosophy, ecology and food and plenty of fiction that I'm looking forward to the most - Life after life by Kate Atkinson, The writing class by Stephanie Johnson, The Crane wife by Patrick Ness, exciting new novels that really come to life when you hear the author talk about the ideas and characters they have created.

Join me there!

The country diary of a New Zealand lady

I'm impressed by Back to the land : a year of country gardening by Linda Hallinan, well known for her columns in New Zealand Gardener and The Sunday Times. Divided into the four seasons it is composed of diary entries about her life and her garden, including practical tips on cooking, preserving, keeping chickens, planting trees, raising plants, harvesting vegetables, cracking nuts and selling produce at the farmers' market. Along the way we are treated to insights into family life and rural living. Hallinane's writing is down-to-earth and amusing; she explains mistakes and disappointments but the beautiful photographs illustrate her many successes.
I've already made her "never fails to set" damson jam - it was easy and delicious. And I'm determined to get out to the Clevedon Farmers' Market some time soon.

Looks are deceptive.....

.... for two slight books from small publishers that are so full of intensity that they were shortlisted for the 2012 Booker prize. And deservedly so.

The Lighthouse by Alison Moore follows the journey and thoughts of Futh as he takes a walking tour in Germany. It is what is not stated rather than what is written that is so effective in this short novel. This story leaves a haunting impression of sadness and missed opportunity. The motif of the lighthouse is very significant and adds to the eerie atmosphere.
To find out more watch Carole Beu's review on Triangle TV.

Swimming home by Deborah Levy is a tense description of a summer holiday in a gite in the South of France. There is something unnerving about each of the characters and an underlying tension that surprises when it snaps. Very cleverly written and again there is a significance in the title.

The value of books

Nearing the end of 2012, I realise that I have read the same number of books this year as last year. My post on my reading year 2011 notes that I read 57 or maybe 59 books. This year I have noted each title in the side bar and have reached 58 to date with one more at my bedside currently bookmarked. Coincidentally, I have also recommended a similar number of titles during this year.

Two recently enjoyed titles have been intimately concerned with books and reading. The End of your life bookclub by Will Schwabe describes the last years of his mother's life and discusses the books they read together. I had read several of the titles mentioned and discussed them in my book groups but it was interesting to revisit them in a different context. Will and Mary know these are the last books that they will read together and so their reflections often touch upon illness, loss, death and grief, but their conversations also explore memory, relationships, social structures and world events. They talk often about kindness and gratitude and express their own personal values - and this is what makes the book such worthwhile reading. As an added extra, the 6 page appendix of titles read would make a good starting list for any book group.

The Little Bookstore of Big Stone Gap by Wendy Welch is also about the importance of good books but this time from a business as well as a personal perspective. The author founded a second-hand bookstore and discovered friendship and community. A good addition to my list of books about books.

Look out for my new list of books read in 2013. Happy new year and happy reading.

Taking flight

This is your summer must-read!

Flight behaviour by Barbara Kingsolver begins with a vision, both beautiful and terrifying, and its implications are explored through the thoughts, feelings and actions of some interesting characters. It also incorporates issues in class, poverty and climate change but these are integrated into the story so that we are able to understand the complexities that create and surround our lives.

Names for the sea

In Iceland in winter the surface of the sea freezes but there are people still swimming in the hot pools. In this book, Sarah Moss, writes about a year in Iceland with her young family. The tone is conversational but the content is so informative: ranging from vulcanology to knitting, from poetry to fruit (or lack of), from the financial crash to historic treasures, from bad driving to the Aurora Borealis; all the ups and downs of life made fascinating.

The title Names for the sea is from W.H. Auden's Letters from Iceland written in 1936 and hints at the isolation felt by Icelanders. Moss also found that they were disenfranchised by distance especially aggravated by the eruption of the volcano and its implications for travel. The most heartfelt moments, though, are the personal stories about being in another country, not understanding the langauage and culture but learning so much about people and places and different ways of doing things. And it's so well written.

Iceland is on my visiting list too!

An alternative alphabet

The ACB with Honora Lee by Kate de Goldi is another charming family story for well-read children and adults. Kate de Goldi understands people; 9 year old Perry and her grandmother Honora are special individuals and when they get together they are amusing and charming. In making her own alphabet book Perry chooses "jolly old" for J - an apt play on words. Kate de Goldi has a way with words; the conversations between Perry and her grandmother and between Perry and her parents give insights into their thoughts, feelings and hopes. The perceptive drawings by Greg O'Brien also add humour to the story. Indeed, it is a beautifully packaged little book and worth reading slowly to enjoy all the nuances.

Praised as heart-warming and endearing, this book shows how we can all get along together with kindness, patience and acceptance.

See this interesting article for Kate's experience of trying to understand and accept dementia.