Category: New books

The Heart and Other Monsters

~ Lisa Helm ~ Leave a comment

The Heart and Other Monsters by Rose Anderson

In this non-fiction piece, Rose Anderson writes of the death of her younger sister due to a drug overdose. Her sister’s death serves as the focus of this memoir, and around it, Anderson shares her own personal history. The memoir seems to serve as a means of healing for the author. It is a very heart wrenching read as we hear of Anderson’s struggle with dealing with her grief and her attempt to understand why her sister lived such a tragic life.

I read this book in one evening. It was impossible to put down. It is raw and real and very very heart wrenching but at times possessive of poetic language and imagery.

Read it.
It is amazing.

Thank you Netgalley and Bloomsbury for the free ARC

The Night Swim

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The Night Swim by Megan Goldin
Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for sending me a free advanced copy of The Night Swim.

This book turned out to be a good distraction during this time of quarantine. It was an easy read and didn’t require a lot of concentration…which is just the only type of book I seem to be able to read lately.
Rachel is reporter, researcher and host of the true-crime podcast “Guilty or Not Guilty” a show that “puts you in the jury box”. On her way to Neopolis, Rachel stops at a truck stop for something to eat. Upon returning to her car, she finds a note written by a young woman by the name of Hannah. In her letter, Hannah asks Rachel to help her find those responsible for her sister’s death. Coincidentally Hannah’s sister was killed in the same town as the rape trial Rachel is covering. Will Rachel be intrigued enough to take this on? Will Rachel have the time to cover two crimes?
Years ago Hannah tragically lost her sister in a “swimming accident”. Her body was found in the water under a pier. Hannah always knew her sister’s death wasn’t an accident and is now after all these years is ready to make those that are responsible pay. Hannah believes True Crime reporter and podcaster Rachel can help her find the killer(s).
Each chapter in this novel is written by alternating perspectives. There are chapters consist of letters written by Hannah that, over the course of the novel, slowly reveal clues about the night her sister was killed. There are Chapters written that follow Rachel’s actions and thoughts, and then there are chapters that are a transcript of Rachel’s podcast.
Besides being an engaging read, Goldin also takes the time to honestly deal with the topic of rape and stresses through the format of podcast transcripts the importance of following facts free of bias.
This was a quick read revolving around a timely topic. It would be a very suitable title for a book club and would offer in-depth discussion. I would also feel comfortable suggesting it as a title for high school students to read.

You can buy The Night Swim August 2020

Things in Jars

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Things in Jars by Jess Kidd

I read this novel in a day. And it wasn’t because it was practising social distancing and had nowhere to go and nothing to do (ok, maybe that was a smidge of the reason). But mostly it was the kind of novel where I had to put life on hold and just get it read.

Birdie Devine is our main character, and I wish to high heaven that we will see her again soon in another story. She is brash and quirky, brave and highly intelligent. Birdy is a private detective in Victorian England. She is also a “surgeon” that treats “boils, warts, and extractions”. Birdie has been hired by a Barron to find his daughter, Christabel. The Barron, however, doesn’t offer any clues as to what Christabel looks like or the circumstances surrounding the case, making it difficult for Birdie to solve the case. Why does the Barron only offer scant information? Because his daughter is beyond peculiar. The prologue itself explains how Christabel can trap you in a memory merely by looking you in the eye. She is also creepily described as looking both like “a church angel” and “a corpse among the living”.

There is also a second mystery Birdie has to solve, and this one is my favourite of the two. Birdie is haunted by a ghost. Maybe haunted isn’t the word, rather she is accompanied by a ghost, a boxer by the name of Ruby who helps her in her sleuthing. Ruby loves Birdie and tells her that she knows him but will not tell her how she knows him. Discovering this connection is a mystery she must solve on her own.

     Things in Jars was a perfect read at the perfect time. It transported me away from the anxiety of current events to a place filled with all sorts of wonderfully odd and interesting characters. It is a story that is funny, captivating and just a wee bit gruesome, a perfect combination if you ask me!

What to Read During Social Distancing

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What interesting times we live in! For those of you who are looking for book titles for kiddos in junior and senior high, I’ve compiled a list of books I’ve read and recommend and a few titles I haven’t read but were recommended by various publishing houses and educational websites. Weblinks for more information concerning each included. Just click on the title!  Enjoy!

Books I’ve read

  1. “Dumplin’” by Julie Murphy.   LOVE this novel! A great story about a plump high school girl with THE most positive body image.  Love Willowdean’s voice. She’s funny and smart and a warrior princess at heart. There is a follow-up novel “Puddin’ that I haven’t read. (jr/sr high)
  2. “Sorcerer and the Crown” by Zen Cho. Who doesn’t like magic and British folklore? Another book with a strong young female character who, although is not our protagonist, is one of my favourite characters that I’ve met this year.(jr/sr high)
  3. “The Nest” by Kenneth Oppel. I’d describe this as a “supernatural allegory”. Creepy but beautiful at the same time. A story about the love of family told from the perspective of a young boy.(jr high)
  4. “Belzhar” by Meg Wolitzer Literary summer school for troubled youth where the author for discussion is Sylvia Plath.  A book that possesses enchanted journals as a plot device.(jr/sr high)
  5. The “Unwind” series by Neal Shusterman series…all four of them. You want to generate a great discussion with your kid?  Read the series with him/her. Seriously one of my favourite series EVER! (jr/sr high)
  6. “Lumber Janes” graphic novel series by Noelle Stevenson, Grace Ellis and Shannon Waters and Brooke Allen.  A group of “kick-ass” girls who go to summer camp and fight supernatural creatures. LOVE the art, love the story with a diverse cast of characters.(elem/jr high)
  7. “Nimona” by Noelle Stevenson. a graphic novel that again possesses a VERY strong (and hilarious) character that can morph into other beings. So funny and sarcastic.(jr high)
  8. “Bridge of Clay” by Markus Zusak. A gaggle of rough and tumble brothers who have to raise themselves after their mother dies and their father abandons them. They beat each other up every chance they get but they also love each other beyond belief. (jr/sr high)
  9. “The Boy the Mouse the Fox and the Horse” by Charlie Mackesy. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. Makes me cry everytime I read it. Short, sweet, and hugely profound. (ages 8-80)
  10. 142 Ostriches” by April Davila. Why are the ostriches dying? Truly a mystery. Tallulah has to deal with the unexpected death of her grandmother and successfully manage the ostrich farm she has thereby inherited. Things don’t go well. (sr high)
  11. “When We Were Vikings” by Andrew David MacDonald. A young woman who struggles developmentally is the narrator of this novel. She loves Vikings, in fact, she believes she is one! Can her warrior spirit help her navigate the world of adulthood especially when her only family is her brother and he has substance abuse issues. I LOVED this novel. More appropriate for high school students. (sr high)
  12. The Martian” by Andy Weir. I bought 6 copies for my classroom…they went missing right away. My 10th-grade boys LOVED this novel. I stayed up all night reading it (even though math was involved). My students say the book is better than the movie. (jr/sr high)
  13. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. Seriously, I shouldn’t have to tell you why this is a good one. (elementary/jr high)
  14. Creatures by Crissy Van Meter. The story about a failure of a father trying to convince his daughter (or himself) that they are fortunate to live and “adventure of being homeless and selling drugs for food because facing reality would be devastating. This daughter feels it is her duty to keep her father together long enough to see herself into adulthood.(sr high)
  15. Island by Johanna Skibsrud. Skibsrud’s reimagining of Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness” is a timely novel in the age of “us”  and “them” a mentality that seems exacerbated by the current political situation. This novel forces us to contemplate our role in the various structures that form our identity be it political, historical or societal. It reminds us that governments can be built on precarious scaffolds that strive more towards power than people. (sr high)
  16. The Water Cure by Sophie Mackintosh. When the outside world suddenly infringes upon your “haven” making you question the only life you’ve ever known, do you fight against it? Or do you let it consume you? Love this book. It would make for an amazing discussion. (sr high)
  17. Women Talking by Miriam Toews. This is an important book. This is a disturbing book. This is a book where the voices of women who can no longer be silenced by tradition and fear. Horrifyingly based on a true story, Miriam Toews tells a story of a group of Mennonite women, members of a traditional colony in Bolivia who are forced to meet in the hayloft of a barn and determine whether or not they will break from the colony, the only home they’ve ever known. (sr high)
  18. The Girl With All the Gifts” by M.R. Carey. “Zombie literature” at its best. A story about a gifted little girl who just happens to be “hungry”. Turns out, humans are more terrifying than the “hungries”. I had our High School librarian buy 6 copies for students. Like “Unwind” it is a novel that conjures some deep topics of discussion. (jr/sr high)
  19. “Far From the Madding Crowd” by Thomas Hardy. A good classic. (sr. high)
  20. The Southern Reach Trilogy” by Jeff Vandermeer. I taught “Annihilation” the first of this trilogy to my 10th grade English class. It was a tough read BUT students loved it. Environmental Dystopian Literature. (sr. high)
  21. “My Brilliant Friend” by Elena Ferrante. Easy enough to read but deep in theme especially regarding relationships” (sr. high)
  22. The Sparrow by Doria Russell. Science Fiction. Theological. Heartbreaking. Jesuits in space. Sounds intriguing, doesn’t it? (sr. high)
  23. The Unexpected Spy by Tracy Walder. Have you ever wanted to be a spy? Tracy Walder gives a first-person account of what it was like to work for the CIA during 911. It is more than just a story about tracking terrorists though, it is also a story of how she was treated as a woman in a patriarchal society, it is a reflection of her insecurities as an adolescent and how she learned to overcome them. Non-fiction. (jr/sr high)
  24. I am Afraid of Men Vivek Shraya (I’ve read this one. It is awesome but definitely for high school students. Deals with issues of gender identity, homophobia, bullying). (Sr high).
  25. Smoke by Dan Vyleta. When you sin your body emits smoke. Only the “dregs” of society (the poor and oppressed) smoke. Upper class goes through life without nary a stain on their pristine white collars. Themes of social class, discrimination. Dan Vyleta has come out with a second in the series called “Soot” (jr/sr high)
  26. Washington Black by Esi Edugyan. The story of a young boy, a slave from a sugar plantation in Barbados, who travels with his “master”, an adventurer and inventor, to the Arctic and then to Eastern Canada. Washington is a gifted artist who is asked to illustrate academic texts from the various eccentrics he meets. (sr. high)

Titles I haven’t read but were recommended by various educational/publishing sites: (be sure to read them before handing them out to the kiddos)

Turtles all the way Down  John Green

All The Bright Places  Jennifer Niven

Chicken Girl Heather Smith

Frankly in Love   David Yoon

Darius the Great is Not Ok Adib Khorram

Of Curses and Kisses Sandhya Menon

Chain of Gold Cassandra Clare 

We Are the Wildcats  Siobhan Vivian

Winterwood Shea Ernshaw

Don’t Call the Wolf Aleksandra Ross

The Grace Year Kim Liggett

Feed M. T. Anderson

Swim the fly Don Calame

For reluctant male readers

Random Tom Leeven

Trapped Michael Northrop

Long Way Down Jason Reynolds

Orbiting Jupiter  Gary Schmidt

Noggin John Corey Whaley

Dear Martin Nic Stone

Gym Candy Carl Deuker

Ghost Boy  Jewel Parker Rhodes

The Wilder Boys Brandon Wallace

 

The Unexpected Spy

~ Lisa Helm ~ Leave a comment

I was lucky enough to be sent an advanced copy of The Unexpected Spy through Macmillan and Netgalley. This is the true story of a young woman’s experience being recruited by the CIA right out of university and getting immersed into the world of searching for terrorist activity. She then makes a move to the FBI, and then ultimately and bravely makes the decision to become a high school History teacher.

Sadly, this is the first TRUE story I’ve read about a woman’s experience as a spy. Now, I know there are probably other memoirs out there and maybe it’s because I’ve had my head buried in historical fiction and murder mysteries that I’ve never come across them.

I so enjoyed this book. Maybe it was because I wanted to be a secret service agent when I was a kid. In seventh grade was the attempted assassination of President Regan. I was obsessed. I clipped all the newspaper articles of the assassin and kept them in a folder. I would read, and reread the contents of my folder, imagining myself in a dark suit and sunglasses shoving the President aside and taking down the assassin with one perfectly aimed gunshot, thus saving the day. Or maybe because Tracy, like me, is a high school teacher, and I too, find joy and fulfilment educating and inspiring young women.

Tracy’s journey was not an easy one. She is honest about the sexism and harassment that exits in both the CIA and the FBI. She is often patronized and treated with condescension with a constant pressure of having to prove herself. I appreciated how she paralleled childhood insecurities she possessed as a child with the experiences she was experiencing in their professional life. It is these parallels that make me strongly consider this as a welcome addition to any classroom library.

Walder’s story would serve as a strong non-fiction choice for literature circles. Walder’s book is well written, honest and indeed inspiring. High school is a time where young women need to be exposed to a plethora of examples of what they can do with their life outside of high school. I don’t believe “spy” is an option most women consider an option and how wonderful is it to know that you can choose to live a life of adventure saving the world from bad guys!

When We Were Vikings by Andrew David MacDonald

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I was given an advanced reading copy of When We Were Vikings By Simon and Schuster. This is a wonderful story of a young woman given a life filled with all sorts of battles. Zelda is up for the fight. She has a fascination with the Vikings, in fact, she believes she is a Viking. As a Viking, she has to accomplish various quests in order to create her own legend
Gert is Zelda’s brother, he too has many battles to fight. Having to care for his sister on his is own, he finds it tempting to resort to unsavoury means of making a living. Taking care of Zelda is not easy. Even though she is no longer a child, she needs several support systems in place to help her function in society. Lists are essential, as is counting backwards when she is anxious, especially when the “Grendels” skulk about.
I really loved this book. It is wonderfully written from Zelda’s point of view. Her quirks and fascinations and sense of humour make her story an interesting one to read.
This is a novel that is all about having the courage to create your own story and have it legendary.

The Whisper Man by Alex North

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If you leave a door half-open, soon you’ll hear the whisper spoken.

If you play outside alone, soon you won’t be going home.

If you widow’s left unlatched, you’ll hear him tapping at the glass.

If you’re lonely, sad and blue, The Whisper Man will come for you.

                                       The Whisper Man

Have you ever reached the end of a novel, closed the cover and said aloud, to an empty room “that was awesome.” This was the perfect novel to end my summer holidays. It was creepy enough to be unsettling, but still, I could NOT put it down. Tom Kennedy flees with his son Jake to the small town of Featherbank in an attempt to escape the heartache caused by the unexpected death of his wife. Featherbank, however, is far from being a sanctuary of peace and contentment. No, it is a town with a dark history, children disappear, believed to be taken, by someone deemed “The Whisper Man”.

North successfully weaves elements of horror, mystery, and crime with a touch of supernatural (or is it?). This novel was dark without being gratuitously gory. I appreciated the various shifts in point of view, where we, the readers, have a  firsthand account of the principal characters’ thought processes.

As you read, questions will arise regarding plot and character motivation. North answered all of my questions, just not with the answers I predicted. This, to me, is a sign of good writing.

“The Whisper Man” is exceptionally atmospheric (do NOT read at night with your window open). Although it deals with child abduction, it also portrays the strength and resilience of children. One of the main themes, however, is fatherhood, but I cannot discuss how because I’d be spoiling too much.

 

Such a satisfying read!

 

I Will Make You Pay by Teresa Driscoll

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I Will Make You Pay by Teresa Driscoll

I received an advanced copy of “I Will Make You Pay” by Teresa Driscoll. I do love a good psychological thriller, and this one is just that.

Ok, this novel creeped me out slightly when I first began reading- nothing like answering a phone call and receiving a good graphic death threat. Alice is our victim. She tries so hard to be a strong independent journalist, and now this call is making it difficult to do so. Thankfully she has her boyfriend Tom there to protect her.

But, it’s not that simple. There are secrets in this novel, secrets that can save and secrets that can kill.

This book is written in one of my favourite formats, one with a variety of points of view. Chapters labelled “Alice” ( our protagonist), “Matthew” (an ex-policeman hired bodyguard) and “Him” (our villain). These chapters successfully weave together to build suspense and create our story. I appreciate chapters written from the villain’s point of view because it makes his motivation for violence more believable.

I found Alice a bit annoying and scattered. I didn’t feel she gave any of her decisions any forethought and I wanted to reach into the novel and shake her on occasion.

This was the perfect holiday read, not too deep and wonderfully engaging with just the right amount of suspense.

I Will Make You Pay is my first Teresa Driscoll novel. I have Googled her other novels and will most definitely be reading her again.

You will be able to purchase this novel October 10

 

More Book Club Selections for 2015!

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Our book club FINALLY met last week (thank you Pam for hostessing)!  We are a month late because life was über complicated for several of us,

as life is wont to be,

but meet we did indeed!

And it was a wonderful celebration of friendship and reading!

So many book suggestions!! ALL of them calling to be read.

Here are the chosen eight, (after a long and hard deliberation from all members).  We also include “honourable mentions”…so those titles don’t feel shunned.  : )

Enjoy!

 

The Chosen Ones

The History of the Rain by Niall Williams – November

In Falling Snow by Rosemary MacColl – December

‘S’ by J.J. Abrams and Doug Dorset – January

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr – February

The Book of Lost Fragrances by M.J. Rose – March

The Luminaries by Elinor Catton – April

The Rosie Project by Graham Simsion – May

The World Before Us – Aislinn Hunter  -June

Honourable Mentions

The Ocean at the End of the Lane – Neil Gaiman

Belzhar – Meg Worlitzer

The Girl Who Couldn’t Read – John Harding

The Bird Box – John Malloran

The Paying Guests – Sarah Waters

A Train in Winter – Carolyn Morehead

Adultery – Paulo Coelho

Winter of the World –Ken Follett

What We Really Talk About When We Talk About God – Rob Bell

The Other Side of the Bridge – Mary Lawson

 

 

Hurray for Summer Reading!

~ Lisa Helm ~ Leave a comment

Summer!  Sand, surf, BBQs, fruity drinks with umbrellas, and books!  Lots and lots of books.  I see summer as a time of literary exploration where I can muck about with titles and tombs I wouldn’t normally reading during the year because spare time is at a premium. Classics, gothic, mystery, crime, horror, historical. I keep a running list of titles of novels I want to read in Note on my  iPhone (I’ve learned the hard way NOT to keep this list on a piece of paper at home….) and accumulate books throughout the year.  A purchase here, a download there.  Here are the books I’ve tackled so far this summer:

 

  1. Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oyeyemi
  2. The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton
  3. Marya by Joyce Carol Oates
  4. The Killing Floor by Lee Child
  5. The Fire Witness Lars Keplar
  6. The Quick by Lauren Owen
  7. Bird Box by Josh Malerman
  8. Middlemarch by George Eliot  (ongoing…by no means anywhere near to being finished)
  9. The People in Trees by Hanya Yagagihara

 

Readers (me) are always looking for book suggestions so PEASE share your summer reading list!

 

THE list.

~ Lisa Helm ~ Leave a comment

I’ve gotten smarter.  Whenever I come across a title of a book that looks like an absolutely delightful read I type it into Notes on my iPhone.

I know, I know, a logical solution to keeping track of a literary wish list.  But it did take me awhile to clue into the fact that this would be the most officious way.

A lot better than writing titles on little scraps of paper and backs of envelopes I then lose in the bottomless black hole that exists in my handbag….

…the place where grocery lists go to die.

Anyway, here’s the list:

Mastermind  by Marina Konnikova

Leaving the Sea by Ben Marcus

Last Train to Paris by Michelle Zackheim

The Human Comedy – Balzac

Ulrich Obtrists  do it: the Compendium

Praying Drunk – Kyle Minor

Inside Madeleine- Paula Bomer

The Last Illusion -Porochista Khakpour

The rules of civility

Watch how we walk – Jennifer Love Grove

The Son of a Certain Woman – Wayne Johnston

Born Weird – Andrew Kaufman

The Blind Man’s Garden – Nadeem Aslam

Golden Land Past Dark – Chandler Kelang Smith

Look at Me – Jennifer Egan

Conversation in the Cathedral – Mario Vargas Llosa

Middlemarch – George Eliot (lost my copy from uni)

A Book of Memories -Peter Nadas

Life and Fate Vasily Grossman

All the Broken Things -Kathryn Kuitenbrouwer

The Invention of Wings – Sue Monk kidd

The Cartographer of No Mans Land – PS Duffy

Hild – Nicola Griffith

Weirdo – Cathi Unsworth

Bristol House-  Beverly Swerling

AND

the novel I CANNOT WAIT to read – The Gospel of Loki by Joanne Harris

What’s on YOUR “Books to Buy”  list?

Christmas Book Ideas

~ Lisa Helm ~ Leave a comment

I teach High School English.  One of my classes has decided they wanted to have a “secret Santa” so

I acquiesced but only on the condition that the gifts MUST be a book

and not just any book

a used book

nothing over 5 dollars.

Well, the enthusiasm that ensued was far beyond my expectation.  Students have been leaving little notes on my “Potluck and Prose” for Secret Santa informing him of their literary preference.

Recently I received a post asking what “were the books that “have most stayed with me in some way” (Thanks Darlene!) and I compiled a list…then proceeded to send the same post to a few of my friends.

Here are the titles that appeared.  All of them wonderful suggestions for gift ideas (new and used) this Christmas.  After reading the list please add a few of your own in the comments!

What were some books that stayed with you over the years??

  • .Watsons Go To Birmingham 1963
  • Harry Potter -series
  • Sanctus
  • The Giving Tree
  • Press Here
  • The Pact
  • Misery (taught me that a book can scare you 1/2 to death)
  • Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
  • Catching Fire
  • Morris The Moose Goes To School
  • Gone with the Wind.
  •  A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
  •  The Book Thief
  •  Cold Mountain
  •  Wuthering Heights
  •  Great Expectations
  •  Are You There God It’s Me Margaret
  • The Sound and The Fury
  • The Pilgrim of Tinker Creek
  •  Captain Corelli’s Mandolin
  • The Hobbit
  • Lord of the Rings
  • Dune
  • Marcovaldo
  • A Wizard of Earthsea
  • Nonsense Novels
  • The Tombs of Atuan
  • The Elements of Style
  • Hocus Pocus
  • Catch 22
  • Heidi
  • Famous Five Series
  • A Christmas Carol
  • The Secret Scripture
  •  That They May Face the Rising Sun
  • Chocolat
  •  The Bodhran Makers
  • No Great Mischief
  • A Christmas Memory

Shopping for Books…In the Dead of Night

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Last night I couldn’t sleep.  So I did what most people do I in the darkest, loneliest hours of the night…  downloaded free books on my iPad.  Now, I always knew the selection of free books available to the public was extensive but I never realized how wonderfully accessible it all is.  So, like a kid in a candy store, I downloaded works by Kate Chopin, and F. Scott Fitzgerald, Virginia Wolf and Joseph Conrad.  Kipling and Kafka and Carroll.  It was my childhood junk food response all over again

– consume until satiated.

I knew no moderation.

I’ve mentioned before that growing up in small town Alberta we had no REAL bookstores to speak of and then the one that did finally pop up had a collection of “young adult” fiction that extended the length of one shelf of one bookcase.  Thank goodness this miniscule collection included Nancy Drew Mysteries and works by the goddess of young adult literature, Judy Blume.

What filled the huge, cavernous gaps between the acquisition of reading material was the fact my mother had a little collection of literature that she accumulated before she was married and kept it neatly shelved in the storage room beside the “big freezer”. Mom was smart, when she was a young woman it too was impossible for her to purchase books in the middle of the Saskatchewan prairie during the early 1960’s, so she became part of the “Reader’s Digest Book Club” .  She was shipped classics like “Wuthering Heights”, and “Gone with the Wind” every month or so.

Mom was very free in letting me peruse her volumes, reading whatever caught my eye. Once in awhile I’d find a trashy paperback loaned to her by one of her friends (or so the name inside the front cover showed) and I’d secretly read it sitting atop of the freezer consuming all sorts of mild debauchery I couldn’t understand…as well as frozen cookies. I’d quickly replace it  (and the baking) if I heard her footstep on the staircase.

And I still haven’t gotten over the fact the public library wouldn’t allow “farm kids” to get library cards.  I’d LIVE for library time at school so that I could sign out books to my heart’s content (that would be two, two books.  One fiction, one nonfiction).  Needless to say I now abuse my public library privilege and download with a frenzy seen only at blue light specials at Kmart.

As a kid, if I would have known my future would include immediate accessibility to all sorts of stories I would have found the wait torturous and willed myself to fast forward in time.  But alas, I would have had to appease my impatience with the world of H. G Wells… if finding a volume wasn’t as impossible as time travel.

I’ve always loved reading.  The acquisition of a good story sitting at my fingertips is one simple thing that truly makes me happy. Maybe it’s because it was a struggle to simply find a book and doing so was like finding a treasure, a glittering gem in a pile of ash. Needless to say the fact that today a plethora of tales lies at my immediate disposal is like a dream come true and I find myself behaving like a little kid at Christmas surrounded by wrapped gifts…. so giddy and excited she starts unwrapped one gift, then notices another with glittering paper and starts unwrapping it just to drop it for another – often have three or four books on the go because I need to consume as many stories as I can for fear they will be taken away.

What did I download?  From the library “The Hundred-Year-Old-Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared” by Jonas Jonasson and for free “Persuasion” by, who else, Jane Austen.