Lucybird

Haven't been online for a few days. Couple of days ago went to the library and have been reading the only book I got out; The Polysyllabic Spree ever since. I wanted Wicked too but it was already out on loan and I am awful about remembering when I need to take books back so didn't want may.

I like Janet's too, and I like Echo's new one.

A Girl Made of Dust- Nathalie Abi-Ezzi Synopsis (from Amazon) A rich and beautiful novel set during the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in the early 1980s, and based on the author's personal experiences of the conflict. Ten-year-old Ruba lives in a village outside Beirut. From her family home, she can see the buildings shimmering on the horizon and the sea stretched out beside them. She can also hear the rumble of the shelling -- this is Lebanon in the 1980s and civil war is tearing the country apart. Ruba, however, has her own worries. Her father hardly ever speaks and spends most of his days sitting in his armchair, avoiding work and family. Her mother looks so sad that Ruba thinks her heart might have withered in the heat like a fig. Her elder brother, Naji, has started to spend his time with older boys -- and some of them have guns. When Ruba decides she has to save her father, and uncovers his secret, she begins a journey which takes her from childhood to the beginnings of adulthood. As Israeli troops invade and danger comes ever closer, she realises that she may not be able to keep her family safe. This is a first novel with tremendous heart, which captures both a country and a childhood in turmoil. Review. I was rather disappointed by this book, there was little sense of what it felt like for a child living during a war, and while there was some impression of her ideas around why the war was happening there was litte about how she felt about that it actually was happening, in fact there was only really one point where I got a good sense of this. I don't feel the blurb represented the book very well really. Yes Ruba grew up but I saw little connection with her Father's secret, and while the secret was something important for understanding her Father I felt it had little to do with her growing up, or at least less that the impression given by the blurb. I did quite like the voice of the book though, it seemed to fit a girl of Ruba'd age quite well and was engaging. It reminded me somewhat of the tone of The Cure for Death by Lightening which was one of my favourite books last year. 3.5/5

Am 4 chapters into Head Trip

I'm up for The Bell Jar. I think my sister has it so should be easy to get hold of. My ratings: Gone with the wind: 4.5/5 (If you want a round number make it 4) Wuthering Heights: 2.5/5 (of 2)

Finished A Girl made of Dust and started Head Trip Jeff Warren.

Haven't even got Wicked yet...let alone read it. Am going to visit the library at some point soon

Well everyone I know squeezes their tea bags out to make sure it's as strong as possible (and stop it dripping) so you would have to put a spoon in either way.

grrr. Which ones were you trying to order?

There are a load of Jodi Piccoult books on half price at Amazon at the moment. I'm really tempted to get House Rules but really shouldn't be spending money.

I knew there was a tea thread somewhere. It didn't pop up when I searched. Twinnings is giving away free tea ta the moment on their website here. Am going to get the breakfast blend but don't know which other to try.

Until your hair becomes resistant...

A Curly Wurly

Yeah...the hair did go in that spot though!

Hmm my friend is a trained beauty therapist and I find when she waxes it doesn't hurt. Those ready to wax strips are awful though, really hurt and when I used them they didn't remove the hair but did leave a giant bruise, attractive!

I want to try these, but haven't tried any yet.

Oooh sounds nice. I'm having chicken paprika

The Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty.

About halfway through A girl made of dust I really liked it, want to read the sequel now.

I read this earlier in the year. Did you enjoy it?

Started A Girl Made of Dust- Nathalie Abi-Ezzi. Not sure what I think yet.

It does sound good, thanks Poppy.

Middlesex is really good, I hope you enjoy it.

Beauty- Raphael Selbourne Synopsis (from Amazon, adapted by me) Beauty - in both name and appearance - is a twenty-year-old Bangladeshi, back in England having shocked her family by fleeing an abusive arranged marriage. Now she is forced onto the jobseekers' treadmill. Her fractious encounters with officialdom, fellow claimants, strangers and passers-by in the city streets, exacerbated by the restrictions (and comfort) of her language and culture, place her at the mercy of such unlikely helpers as Mark, a friendly, dog-owning ex-offender, and Peter, the middle-class underachiever on the rebound from a bitter relationship. . WINNER OF THE COSTA FIRST NOVEL AWARD 2009 Review I really enjoyed this. There was a really good sense of scene and of character. I live quite near to Wolverhampton and the sense of place and people was really well built- the characters were really believable. They were imperfect too, and realistic. At first I really disliked one of the characters (I won't say who to avoid spoilers) but ended up really liking him, I think that was Selbourne's intention and it was done well. I think he tried to reverse it with another character, but I never really trusted that one. 4.5/5