Weblog Archive

Hi

Sorry for being quiet lately but things are very busy around here.  We're in the final stages of preparation for the Readers' Festival on Saturday and also planning the upcoming events with John Hegley and Peter Grimsdale, and so reading time is at a premium.  I have read a couple of interesting books over the last few weeks though and so I thought I'd share them with you.  They weren't chosen by me, and so aren't my usual type at all.  One I enjoyed, the other I wasn't too keen on ... I'll let you try to work out which.  Both are available from North Lincolnshire Libraries.  If you fancy reading one or both, do let me know what you think!

A Girl made of Dust - Nathalie Abi-Ezzi

Whilst a story set in the middle of a war-ravaged country may not be everyone's cup of tea, ten-year-old Ruba's narration turns the book on its head.  Instead of focusing on the battles that are raging all around, you are instead faced with a child's perspective of the world and the crises that are taking place under her own roof.  Bombing raids and punishment beatings fade into the background as Ruba deals with the problems within her own family.  This book will make you smile and cry in equal measure whilst perfectly capturing a world in which a little girl is clinging to her childhood innocence against all the odds.  If you enjoyed To Kill a Mocking Bird, you might like this too, as it struck me as having some startling similarities.

An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England - Brock Clarke

Reading some books can be like a motorway journey taking you straight from A to B at a constant speed, whereas this one is more like a journey in a rally car driven by Mr Bean, changing speed and direction on a sixpence.  Sam Pulsifer accidentally burned down the Emily Dickinson House in Amhurst, Massachusetts, and in the process killed two people.  This is his memoir.  Sam's narration seems to inject both humour and poignancy into virtually every bizarre situation that he somehow manages to land himself in.  This is one of the stranger books that I've read and whilst I initially didn't want to like it, it somehow managed to keep me hooked from beginning to end.

Until next time...

Suzanne