Grief and romance

Again, I am going to talk about two books. The first one is the second of my Christmas books and I really enjoyed it. Twelve Days of Christmas by Trisha Ashley is about a young woman whose husband died around Christmas time in a tragic accident, a few years previously. She is a chef by profession, running house parties in the Summer months, and house-sitting in remote places during the Winter months. This Christmas is no exception and she prepares to house-sit as an emergency replacement. Lots of complications follow and at times it does sound quite stressy, although she sounds like a super-woman in the kitchen. The develops special friendships with people in the area, and the story does have a good happy ending, without being too soppy and sentimental. I like the characters in the book, and the dilemmas that she faces. There is also the added bonus of her grandmother's journals which include a mystery to be solved. This is a good book to read over Christmas by the fireside.

The second book, is another Debbie Macomber. Hannah's List tells the story of a man, widowed a year ago, who is presented with a letter from his late wife, which she had written before she died. The letter asks him to remarry and have the children that they hadn't had. She even suggests three potential candidates. It is very predictable, and it is an okay read, but two things I liked, were the way the author dealt with the issues of cancer, death and grief, and also relationships. It felt realistic and was quite moving in places. There was also a lesson in dealing with arguments in relationships, focusing on compromise and change behaviour. It was really clearly explained, and I can see it being effective in improving relationships, not just personal, but in everyday working relationships too. Anyway, it was fine to read, not my favourite of her books but useful in its own way.

Christmas spirit

I have just finished Last Christmas by Julia Williams, and it was a great read, especially for Christmas. It is set around a small, rural village in Shropshire, called Hope Christmas, and describes the lives of people living in the village or associated with it. There are stories of highs and lows, and real-life issues are dealt with, including mental health, heartbreak, and redundancy. But thanks to a saintly character called Ralph Nicholas, the world is put to rights. It is a lovely story, which makes you feel good inside.

Gosh! How time flies!

I hadn't realised how long it was since my last post. My life has been a little complicated and work has been hard, but good, but my brain has needed some easier reading. And reading is exactly what I have been doing lots of to relax and escape. As previously, I have reverted back to childhood and read some recognisable titles, with a grown-up viewpoint. The Enid Blyton Omnibus is an old favourite - good vs bad, right vs wrong - no hazy areas, everything clear. If you are nice, you get a reward from the fairies; if you are bad, then the goblins will get you!

I was delighted to find two Chalet School books by Elinor M Brent-Dyer, in one of my local charity shops recently. They are such a pleasure to read. The perfect grammer, and beautiful descriptions of the characters and the scenery. I would have loved to have been a pupil there. I love the use of different languages to make you feel that you are experiencing the different cultures attending the school. I have just read Jo of the Chalet School and am looking forward to the next one. I am also going to keep a close eye out in the charity shops to find some more. I know I can get them on eBay, but there is something special about finding them by accident!

I then went onto some classics. First of all, I read Anne of Green Gables, by LM Montgomery, which is such a great story about an orphan moving to Prince Edward Island, who has such a wonderful imagination and keeps everyone in her village entertained, including the family she lives with, who were originally expecting a boy to help them on the farm. I then read A Little Princess, which is just lovely, and similar as it is about a little girl who users her imagination to conjure up the most exciting stories. I love the scenes with the Indian friend and his monkey, and the magic they created. After that, I read The Painted Garden by Noel Streatfeild, which was accidently most appropriate because one area of this story was about a little girl acting in the film of A Little Princess, so I could re-visit the book I had read earlier. I did enjoy this book although sometimes the children quarrelling was a little too realistic!

Another book I got from the charity store is Jumping To Conclusions by Christine Jones, a story about a woman who moves into a little village to open a bookshop. This is my dream! Anyway, it is an easy read, describing the horse-racing industry and rural life. Very much a good holiday read!

I have been taking advantage of 3 for the price of 2 offers, and have recently read By The Shore by Galaxy Craze, which is a story about a 12 year old girl living with her mother and brother in a guesthouse by the sea. The story is told from the girl's point-of-view and it is just a really good tale. The second book out of this collection was The Girl Who Stopped Swimming by Joshilyn Jackson, which is the story about a woman who finds the body of her neighbour's daughter floating in her swimming pool. The story looks at her complex relationships, with her own daughter, her husband, her family, in particular her sister, drawing on past history, and watches her work out what has happened to this girl in her pool. It is very entertaining, sad in places, but keeps you turning the pages until the end. The last one in this collection is Gifted by Nikita Lalwani, about a girl, born in England to Indian parents, who at the age of 5 is discovered to be a maths prodigy. From that discovery, her life changes as her father becomes obsessed with her fulfilling this prophecy that she is a maths phenomenon. The story looks at the differences between East and West, and the expectations of Asian females in England. It is a very human story, because you can feel that the father just wants the best for his daughter and is supporting her as best he can. But you can also sympathise with her, because as she grows into a teenager, she has different desires, and inevitably clashes occur.

So, I have been reading, and enjoying all my books, I am currently reading The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler, so I am going to log off for now, and get back to finishing that one.