October 12, 2008
It is a cold, bright morning here and a fire burns in the woodstove – a wonderful day to curl up with a good book. And so I have…
The Secret River, by Kate Grenville was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2006 and it has been languishing on my stacks for quite some time now. But the other day, I cracked it open and began reading and have not been able to put it down. Set in New South Wales – Australia’s oldest state – during the early part of the 19th century, The Secret River is the story of the fictional William Thornhill, a Londoner convicted of stealing and exiled to a New South Wales penal colony along with his wife and two children. Grenville writes beautifully…her descriptions are lush and vivid which makes me feel like I am there among the sea breezes and dense forests. The first part of the book takes place in London and is rather bleak, but once Will and his family arrive in Australia the novel takes a turn toward the hopeful. I should finish this book by tonight or tomorrow and will post my review then. I have no idea what I’ll read next – but it will most likely be one of my review books (which are beginning to take over my bedside table).
The novel Music and Silence, by Rose Tremain consumed my time for the first part of the month. This is a magnificent piece of historical fiction (read my review) set in 1630 during the reign of King Christian IV of Denmark. Tremain is a relatively new to me author and I have nothing but praise for her writing.
Dewey’s 24 Hour Read-A-Thon is coming up this Saturday and I’ve decided to participate as a reader again. As you may know, this event is not just about reading and blogging, but is also a charity event. I’ve decided to raise funds for Triple Creek Ranch Inc, a program for which I have volunteered since 2003. I hope you’ll take the time to read my post about this fundraiser, as well as my post about the horses of the ranch. I’ve also decided to give away my hard cover edition of The Emperor’s Children, by Claire Messud (read my review). There are three options to enter for the giveaway, so check out my post about it. The giveaway is open internationally, and I will draw a winner on October 19th.
What are you reading today? Whatever it is, I hope it transports you to another place or time and introduces you to an amazing character.
= Excellent
= Good/Very Good
= Okay read
= Not recommended
= Ugh! Don't waste your time.
The Secret River sounds gorgeous! Oh, my poor TBR list…
Great set of books there. I haven’t read any of them – I just want to, but am similarly afflicted with an unstable TBR pile. One day, one day…
Hey Wendi and thanks for stopping by APOOO. Good luck with next weeks read-a-thon…and today I’m reading Blood Colony by Tananarive Due…the first 100 pages were good…but I struggled with the next 100 pages…these kids are giving me a headache…lol…I still have 200 pages to go…since Ms. Due is one of my favorite authors I will stick it out but I hope that the next few pages are much better!
Wish me luck!
Good luck with the Read-a-Thon. Haven’t read Rose Tremain’s Music and Silence but I agree with you, she’s a great writer.
I was just browsing through The Secret River and wondering whether to read it – now I must!
And Rose Tremain is also on my list of must-reads
“The Secret River” sounds really interesting, especially seeing as I like anything with the name ‘Man Booker’ attached to it (even if it is just a shortlister). This one got under my radar though so I’ll have to look into this one further. Thanks for the ‘heads up’
Rob
It was nearly 80 here today and I wish that it was cool enough for using a woodstove. I love the smell. My parents heated our house that way when I was young and it was so nice to come in one a freezing day and heat my hands and bum standing by that stove.
I am so glad you are enjoying The Secret River, like you I had trouble putting it down when I read it last year. You might also enjoy the book Kate Grenville wrote about her experience of researching and writing this book called Searching For The Secret River. I really enjoyed this and found it a great insight into the process she went through.
Wow I haven’t read these yet!
Memory: I finished The Secret River today – Wow…really engrossing. I’ll be posting my review in awhile.
Clare: My only hope is to avert my eyes from the TBR mountain…only then can I pretend I’m actually on top of my reading!
Yasmin: I hope your reading gets better…there is nothing I hate worse than struggling through a book. Thanks for stopping by!
Seachanges: Thanks – oh, if you like Tremain, you really should read Music and Silence!
Becca: Looks like we are on the same page with books
Rob: I just finished it…it is well worth the read (especially if you like the Bookers).
LH: Oh my, such hot weather! I love when I can light the fire…there is nothing so comforting as a fire crackling in the stove and a good book.
Karen: I need to check out your review of Grenville’s book – I finished it today! And it *has* piqued my interest in her nonfiction about how she wrote it…fascinating historical information which I admit to not knowing a lot about.
Carla: They’re worth checking into!
The Secret River is one of my all time favorite books! I’m glad that you are enjoying it.
Teddy: It was a WONDERFUL read for me