Books of 2014

After reading Lulu's post of her latest reads, I decided to do one of my own. These have been my books of 2014, thus far.

A story about an orphan, a medal, Art, a convent and love. This book really made me want to go back to Spain. ASAP.

The true story of Solomon Northup's life. I really wanted to read this before I watch the nominated Oscar movie. It reads like a diary and although the writing is sometimes simple, I really enjoyed it.

I know this book has been around for a while, but I only read it recently. So far this is my pick for book of 2014. It left me reeling. I was so engrossed in the characters' twisted lives. I think I will definitely read this again one day.

This is a long book. 771 pages. It was on the NY Times 10 Best Books of 2013 List, and I am a sucker for these lists. I had to read it. It has so many stories rolled into one. A love story, and "mafia" type story, a story of friendship......the list goes on. It took me a while to get into it, but I loved it eventually.



What are you reading?



LMM

xoxo

Cape Town Book Fair

I am going to Cape Town Book Fair today. Couldn't imagine anything better to do on a Sunday, than peruse books and be inspired!

What are you up to today?

LMM

xoxo

Note: Cape Town Book Fair is next weekend, realised this as I arrived to an empty CTICC :(

Latest Read

I haven't done a book post for a while and it's probably because I haven't been reading a lot lately. Living in London, one spends a large portion of the day commuting to and from work. I used this time to listen to my iPod and whizzed through loads of books. Now that I am back in Cape Town; driving to work, coming home to two adorable puppies, who need loads of love and attention, the books have fallen by the wayside.

A colleague told me about this book and I absolutely HAD to read it.

This true story follows Lawrence Anthony as he inherits a herd of rogue, violent elephants. He has no choice  but to take them, saving them from death. His game reserve, Thula Thula, becomes their home, as he fights for their survival, their trust, and finally their friendship.

Lawrence with Nana, the Matriarch.    source

Think this would make a brilliant movie, except for the impossibility of having an elephant as the main lead.

LMM

xoxo

Book Giveaway

I recently won this book on Tanya Kovarsky's blog, Rattle and Mum.

I had actually won Paige Nick's first book on her blog, A Million Miles From Normal, and could not wait to sink my teeth into the second. Paige Nick is a blogging extraordinaire, copywriter and columnist for The Sunday Times...her book could never in a million years not be great!

We follow the lives of two contrasting characters. One being Stella, who is newly married and happily plodding along in her controlled bliss, until the day that shatters her existence, family and marriage; and Poppy who is hitch-hiking across America, with nothing but a backpack and a pink hairdo. Paige Nick manages to create moments that are equally hilarious, yet poignantly serious at the same time.

I absolutely loved this book and after just coming back from London, I cherished the many South Africanisms. I am excitedly awaiting the third novel :)

I also got a copy of Julie and Julia, which I had already read, but who can ever get enough of that book?


LMM
xoxo

Orange Longlist 2012

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It's that time again! I am so excited to get my grubby little paws on a few of these books. The Orange Prize for Fiction is an accolade that is awarded to a female author, whose novel is published in the UK. These are the books nominated for this year's longlist...

•Island of Wings by Karin Altenberg (Quercus) - Swedish; 1st Novel

•On the Floor by Aifric Campbell (Serpent's Tail) - Irish; 3rd Novel
•The Grief of Others by Leah Hager Cohen (The Clerkenwell Press) - American; 4th Novel
•The Sealed Letter by Emma Donoghue (Picador) - Irish; 7th Novel
•Half Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan (Serpent's Tail) - Canadian; 2nd Novel
•The Forgotten Waltz by Anne Enright (Jonathan Cape) - Irish; 5th Novel
•The Flying Man by Roopa Farooki (Headline Review) - British; 5th Novel
•Lord of Misrule by Jaimy Gordon (Quercus) - American; 4th Novel
•Painter of Silence by Georgina Harding (Bloomsbury) - British; 3rd Novel
•Gillespie and I by Jane Harris (Faber & Faber) - British; 2nd Novel
•The Translation of the Bones by Francesca Kay (Weidenfeld & Nicolson) - British; 2nd Novel
•The Blue Book by A.L. Kennedy (Jonathan Cape) - British; 6th Novel
•The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (Harvill Secker) - American; 1st Novel
•The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller (Bloomsbury) - American; 1st Novel
•Foreign Bodies by Cynthia Ozick (Atlantic Books) - American; 7th Novel
•State of Wonder by Ann Patchett (Bloomsbury) - American; 6th Novel
•There but for the by Ali Smith (Hamish Hamilton) - British; 5th Novel
•The Pink Hotel by Anna Stothard (Alma Books) - British; 2nd Novel
•Tides of War by Stella Tillyard (Chatto & Windus) - British; 1st Novel
•The Submission by Amy Waldman (William Heinemann) - American; 1st Novel



The shortlist will be announced on the 17th of April and the winner on the 30th of May. My first read will be Emma Donoghue's book, as I absolutely fell in love with Room last year.

Happy reading!

LMM
xoxo

Jamrach's Menagerie - Carol Birch

As a small project I decided that I wanted to read the 6 books shortlisted for The Man Booker Prize 2011. I already know who has won, but I am going to keep going regardless and then decide which one I liked best. First on the list was Jamrach's Menagerie by Carol Birch.

It is her 11th novel and is a mixture of Robinson Crusoe, Life of Pi and Oliver Twist all rolled into one. The main character, Jaffy Brown, is eight years old. We first meet him when he find's himself in the jaws of a Bengal tiger on the streets of London. He is rescued by the owner, Mr Jamrach, who runs a menagerie. As a reward he offers Jaffy a job, cleaning out cages. This is where Jaffy is first exposed to the wonderous collection of animals that Mr Jamrach owns. From Tasmanian devils, to toucans and even elephants, Jaffy is transported to an exotic life, faraway from his everyday life in East London. Here he meets Tim Linver, who becomes his best friend, his rival and later on a companion through life changing ordeal. Jaffy and Tim are invited to set sail on the Lysander, in search of a rare "dragon" and both decide to partake in this epic adventure. One is then transported to life at sea. From the drunken seamen to the crazy crew, Jaffy finally finds a foothold in life and begins to grow up and mature.

A number of exciting, gruesome, heart breaking and dangerous things happen aboard the Lysander and without giving anything away, it is what made the book for me. I felt like I was reading a children's book, with a moral byline, but still captivating enough to make me reflect on the book, once it was done. This book is something completely different to anything I have ever read and that's what made it such a brilliant read!

8/10



Happy 1st of December...let the Christmas Festivities begin!
LMM

xoxo

Weekend in Dublin

I have spent the last 3 days in Dublin. I heart Dublin. We drank Guinness, sat in cosy pubs listening to traditional irish music and even gave hurling a go.

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My favourite place was by far the Long Room Library in Trinity College. It is a beautiful establishment, which left me in awe. I have never seen so may books in one place and also such ancient books. This would be my heaven. I could live in this room...in a tent...forever!

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Isn't it magnificent? The room is 64 metres long and holds over 200 000 of the world's oldest books. It was built in 1732 and the shelves are lined by marble busts of great philosophers and writers.


LMM

xoxo

Man Booker Prize 2011 Shortlist

I am on a mission to read the 6 books shorlisted for this year's Man Booker Prize.

Jamrach's Menagerie - Carol Birch
Half Blood Blues - Esi Edugyan
Snowdrops - A.D. Miller
The Sense of an Ending - Julia Barnes
Pigeon English - Stephen Kelman
The Sisters Brothers - Patrick deWitt


You should join me and at least read one of these books!


LMM

xoxo

A Million Miles From Normal

I have been dying to read this book ever since I won this copy on Paige Nick's blog, A Million Miles from Normal. This was another one of my Croatia reads and I absolutely devoured it in 2 days.

"All Rachel Marcus wants is a cool job, a guy who has all his own teeth and a decent cup of tea. Is that too much to ask?"

Rachel Marcus is a copywriter at an advertising agency in Johannesburg, until she gets fired. She picks up and moves to New York City, where she is hired at a "different" kind of ad agency, that specialises in marketing for sanitary pads and socks. She moves into a shoe-box flat, filled with her very own rodents and bugs. What seems like a disaster is somehow transformed into a compelling series of turn of events.

I sunk my teeth into this book immediately and found it to be much more satisfying than a normal chick-lit read. It reminded me a lot of Lindsey Kelk's "I Heart New York". It is filled with hilarious incidents, magical friendships and of course the obligatory touch of romance. What more could you want?

8/10


Thanks for the giveaway Paige!



LMM

xoxo

Room by Emma Donoghue

"Room" is Emma Donoghue's seventh novel and was long listed for the Man Booker Prize in 2010. Ever since buying this book, I knew it would be a story like no other and indeed, it was.


More than half of the novel is set in Room, not a room, but Room, where Jack shares this tiny existence with his Mother. Jack was born in Room, five years ago, after his Mother was abducted and they have been held captive there ever since. He has never experienced anything other than this 12-foot-square world. The brilliance in the writing comes through in the depiction of his world and things that fill his daily life. For example, one becomes familiar with characters such as Meltedy Spoon, Rug and the joy in Sunday Treat. I read this book in complete awe and admiration for "Ma", who is never too tired, bored or depressed to turn a mundane day into one filled with fun activities and learning experiences. She expertly teaches him about their closed off "world", but spares him the pain of knowing and longing for "The Outside".


Eventually, through the courage that Jack inspires, the two of them manage to escape to "The Outside". Here it is not all joy and sunshine, as they both battle with coming to terms with a new life, in which they are seen as individuals. They instantly become famous and need more than dark glasses and sunscreen to protect them. Jack grapples with spacial awareness and "Ma" with being her own person, whilst she has to deal with their family, her own mental stability, and putting herself first for the first time in her life.


This novel explores the themes of selfless parenthood, torture and the rediscovery of one's soul. An excellent read, which I highly recommend to anyone looking for something slightly different yet inspirational. This has been my best read of 2011! Read it!


LMM

xoxo

When God was a Rabbit

"This is a story about a brother and a sister.

It's a book about childhood and growing up, friendships and families, triumph and tragedy and everything in between.

More than anything, it's a book about love in all its forms."


Sarah Winman's debut novel was my latest monthly bookclub read. The protagonist is Elly and the story spans four decades of her life shared out between Essex, Cornwall and NYC. It is divided into two parts, her childhood and twenty years later as an adult. Colourful characters enhance her daily life: her eccentric family, an aged neighbour, Jenny Penny, who smells of chips and has crazy hair, a Shirley Bassey impersonator and of course the rabbit called God.

Throughout the dark encounters, trials of friendship and different forms of love, her one constant, is her brother, Joe. He has experienced every moment of ectasy and every day of sorrow with her, keeping her untold secret and understanding why she is the way she is.

This isn't a book I would normally choose to read, but I am thrilled that I had the chance to delve into the story that is Elly. I was slightly disappointed with the number of unexplained things, but I suppose those were there for the reader to decide for themselves. All in all a good read and something slightly different.



LMM

xoxo

Resolutions

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At the beginning of this year I decided not to make any resolutions. I never stick to any of them, especially the ones involving food and exercise. BUT I have realised that subconsiously I still have made some and am intending to try and fulfill most of them. I keep thinking I still have 6 months, but it is August and I need to get cracking!!!!! These are some of them:

1. Read 52 books - am on 22 so far so not doing too badly but still 30 to go in 21 weeks EISH!

2. Travel to Spain - check :)

3. Write a short story - this I am determined to do!

4. See The Northern Lights - hopefully my cash flow will allow this

5. Do hip hop dance classes - have already found out where to go, just have to get my arse there.

6. Buy a Canon 550D

7. Eat more salads

8. Sail around Croatia - booked for September whoop whoop!

9. Watch more plays/ballets/shows - easy to do in London.

10. Have 100 blog followers - that is where you come in! Ambitious but hopefully at least 50.


What are your resolutions and how are you doing?


LMM

xoxo

The Long Song by Andrea Levy

Andrea Levy's latest book, The Long Song won the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction 2011 and was shortlisted for The Man Booker Prize 2010.

Set in Jamaica on a sugarcane plantation in the early 1800s, when slavery was rife, this story is narrated by July. She was born to slave Kitty after a harrowing rape by the plantation's overseer. She tells her story as an elderly woman, encouraged by her publisher son, Thomas.

July's life has been set in stone. She is to be a farm slave, as her Mother and Grandmother have been, until one fateful day, Caroline Mortimer, snatches her away to become a house slave, a lady's maid. She is now renamed "Marguerite" and her life is forever changed. The story follows a course of love, betrayal, loyality and isolation. On the 31st of July 1938, slavery is abolished and July's future suddenly changes course.

I don't want to give away too much, but it really is a wonderful read and without sounding too morbid, I really do find stories about slavery fascinating.

Hope you get to read this one...it's a keeper!

LMM

xoxo

Latest Reads

I have been devouring books the last few weeks. Here are 2 books that I recently read.......

This is a beautiful book that follows the story of two characters, Dexter and Emma, through the exact day, over twenty years. They first meet in 1988 at University and have a drunken fling and we see how their relationship evolves as we peek into their lives on the 15th of June each year. Initially their relationship is purely platonic and as they travel together, share hardships and face failures, we see how things take shape each year.

Dexter is the guy who you love to hate. Arrogant, selfish, devilishly handsome, but too preoccupied with his own reflection to give anything the time of day. Emma is the typical girl next door. She works hard, is selfless and completely unaware of how beautiful she actually is.

Without giving too much away, it is the perfect story of the imperfect lovestory and I relished every page.

This was my Bookclub's read for the month. I had heard a lot about this book and was eager to see what it was all about. Being Haruki Murakami's most famous book, a dysfunctional love story set in the 1960s in Tokyo. The main character, Watanabe, falls in love with Naoko. Naoko is a troubled soul and after one night shared together, the rest of their brief encounters are at an asylum, where she is a patient. Watanabe becomes a lover and friend to many other strange characters, Nagasawa, Midori and Reiko.

To be honest, I found this book a bit odd and didn't appreciate the sexual events that occurred. It was all a bit strange and I felt like I should have been on some form of drug to fully "get" it.


Here are some of my other reads:

A Week in December
The White Woman on the Green Bicycle
My Books Page




LMM

xoxo

A Week in December

I have just finished this book. It was my first read in my new bookclub, where each month someone picks a book and we all read it. Previous bookclubs have involved too much wine and gossip, whilst a pile of books lie discarded in the corner, so its nice to have something intelluctual to report back at the end of each month, with a glass of wine :)

Unfortunately I missed the last meeting and decided to blog my thoughts instead.

The story is set in London in one week in December in 2007. Living in london and reading this book, whilst on the tube, made it very real and I loved saying in my head "I've been there!" The story is made up of various characters, who are linked in some way or other. It has a little bit for everyone; the soccer star, the radical Muslim, Reality TV, a love story and a few dinner parties.

My favourite character was the Tube driver and following her romance. I kept waiting for a big climax in the book and it never came. I was a bit disappointed at the end of it, but loved every moment and page.

Have you read it? What do you think?


LMM


xoxo

The White Woman on the Green Bicycle

The White Woman on the Green Bicycle
by Monique Roffey

This is my latest read, which was on the Orange Prize 2010 Shortlist. It was an interesting read and I have mixed feelings as to whether I loved it, or liked it. It is set in Trinidad and spans the 60 years of George and the main character, Sabine's immigration to Trinidad. It is full of the politics of the West Indies, the heat and the disintegration of their marriage, as each one becomes more entwined into their seperate lives. George revels in the freedom and tempting lifestyle, whereas Sabine battles with the sweltering humidity and the racial toils that are rife in the country.

I fully escaped into this life and could feel the intense heat of the country, even though I was bundled up in my duvet, amidst the snow. Monique Roffey has a wonderful way with words, that makes the sentences effortlessly fall off the page. all in all a great read.

Read it!

xoxo

Lastest Read

I have just read Lindsey Kelk's first book in the I Heart Series, called I Heart New York.

This book is the perfect quick, girly read. I was in the mood for a light-hearted read, but was so thrilled at how entertaining it was. It follows the story of Angela Clarke, who takes the plunge, after an unfortunate event, and moves to the Big Apple. She finds a BFF, gorgeous outfits and a dream job, writing a blog for a fashion magazine. Follow Angela's adventures, from finding love to shopping in the swanky city that never sleeps.

I heart it!


xoxo