Three for a third

It is a third of the way through the year and I have read three of my designated Mood Boosting books. I have enjoyed all three of them, at the very least it is good to escape into another person's ideas and view of the world. The three reviews I have written for the books are below.

The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald

I got on well with this book, which is interesting as the main character is always going on about preferring books to people. The story concerns a young Swedish woman who arrives in an American small town, Broken Wheel, and almost inadvertently opens a book shop. The book features many soothing descriptions of everyday life and many quirky characters. The book has a happy enough ending and I felt it was a very comforting read.

The Guest Cat by Takashi Hiraide

This is a sweet book. You get to know a bit about the Japanese economy and housing crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s, as well as how a small cat can come to mean so much to an aloof, literary couple. The book was poignant rather than happy, it had a touch of sadness about it, as the march of technology and big business rides roughshod over a dwindling amount of city green spaces. It was also a quick read, it only took a week out of my life.

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

This book is mostly about the growing pains of a fifteen year old boy, Kafka Tamura, as he runs away from home, in a vague attempt to grow up and find himself. The book features quite a bit of death, sex and violence, but also a library, poetic visions, music and art, as we follow Kafka's journey towards manhood as well as the poignant journey of a strange old man called Nakata, who can talk to cats and knows a lot of weird stuff, even though he's quite backward and childlike. This is the first fiction book I have read for over a year, it didn't disappoint; it was mostly sheer escapism.

Extra Good Mothers

On a cold evening in October seven mothers meet in the Chapel Cafe and take part in the Good Mothers' Club where they share their stories and advice on the good, bad and ugly sides of motherhood. Below are character descriptions of the eight women involved.

Sister Eleanor is the mysterious nun who runs the Good Mother's Club in the Chapel Cafe. She is well meaning, virtuous, honest and determined to put the good mothers on the right road through life.

Sapphire Meadows came from Trinidad and married a TV executive. She is a proud woman, determined to do her best for her only son, Eliott.

Christine Bishop is a mother of two who fears her life is becoming more meaningless with every passing year. Despite being a church going Christian she is attracted to a strange new age religion to bring her more fulfilment.

Nadine Verda runs an after school art club. She is a busy mum with three clever children and an emotionally distant husband.

Alice Plummer is a mental health worker and a mum. She's a good enough mother and a good enough psychologist, without endeavouring to be excellent at either. Trouble comes when Alice's only daughter, Lucy, develops a strong bond with a mysterious girl called Emily.

Olivia Marlow is studying computers, helping her husband in the tech industry. She becomes obsessed with the fantasy of being a 1950s housewife and starts to think this lifestyle would be the best way forward for the entire family.

Zoe Wraith is a part time accountant who finds that the school run is the bane of her life. She has triplet daughters who require much of her time and attention and a mosly absent husband.

Madeleine Sharpe is a young single mum. She is tempted to explore her submissive side with a mysterious, older, dominant man who seems to know all about the most secret and exotic experiences available in London.

A book for World Book Night

The Guest Cat by Takashi Hiraide

This is a sweet book. You get to know a bit about the Japanese economy and housing crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s, as well as how a small cat can come to mean so much to an aloof, literary couple. The book was poignant rather than happy, it had a touch of sadness about it, as the march of technology and big business rides roughshod over a dwindling amount of city green spaces. It was also a quick read, it only took a week out of my life.

London Therapy Part One

London can feel rather relentless and my previous London Series have been about trying to find a bit of peace and quiet amongst the noise and busy-ness of the city, these are Secret London and London Interrupted.

These days I mainly think about well-being, so anything I visit in London needs to help with that. I have made a decision to visit more museums (Time Therapy) and art galleries (Art Therapy) and see more plays (Drama Therapy). These pictures are from recent visits to Somerset House, South Bank Centre, British Museum, China Town and National Gallery, which we visited in the last week of March 2019.

London Therapy is still in formation, so I will be posting more of my ideas about it at a later date.

Crafts for a May Fair

It has been nearly a year since I did my last craft fair. I wasn't sure whether I wanted to do another one since doing my first one in 2013, but thought craft fairs in the twenty-teens have been a good enough thing to keep going a little while longer. Above and below are a selection of crafts I will be presenting in May. I have swapped my dolls around and expanded my knitted purses and pouches and fabric brooch collections. The books, lavender scenters and cards remain pretty much the same as before.

 

 

London Therapy : an introduction

I have a dream about moving closer to the sea, but for the time being I am still in London, so I hope to still make the most of the city I have lived in for over fifty years. I am never far away from thinking about well-being and therapy these days, so any London days-out I do should have some therapeutic value to them. Above and below are mindful doodling and colouring sheets reflecting ideas for therapeutic London outings.

My life in books

I have read many books in my life but one of my 50th birthday aims was to get 50 book reviews on GoodReads. To do that I went back to books I had read from the 1970s onwards.

To help my project I also revisited drawings and paintings I had done of my favourite literary heroes and, more prominantly, heroines. The last painting I did was of Madeline Usher from 'Tales of Mystery and Imagination' by Edgar Allan Poe; a book I first read in 1979 and still my favourite author.

The 1980s are represented by Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy. Books I really enjoyed in this decade were 1984 by George Orwell, probably my favourite book ever. I also loved Ariel by Sylvia Plath, The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter and The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

The 1990s are represented by Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier. I read much in this decade mostly because of my daily commute to the libraries I used to work in required a lot of travelling on public transport. The books I particularly enjoyed were A tale of two cities by Charles Dickens, Misery by Stephen King and Memnoch the Devil by Anne Rice.

The 2000s are represented by Vianne Rocher from Chocolat by Joanne Harris. I was very busy in the noughties being a working mum, I was also runing my SubVerse Poetry Group from 2000 to 2005 and teaching the piano from 2008 onwards. However I did find time to read all seven of the Harry Potter series of books by JK Rowling. I also really enjoyed the Other Boleyn Girl by Phillippa Gregory, The woman in black by Susan Hill and The thirteenth tale by Diane Setterfield.

In the 2010s my reading has been more attuned to what my daughter enjoys. That is why this decade is represented by Katniss Everdeen from the Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins, three books I loved reading. I have also acknowledged that reading about flawed people in imperfect situations is much more enjoyable than reading about perfection. Bearing this in mind the top five books I have loved lately are.

1. We need to talk about Kevin by Lionel Shriver
2. The girl on the train by Paula Hawkins
3. Never let me go by Kazuo Ishiguro
4. Gone girl by Gillian Flynn
5. Labor day by Joyce Maynard

To read my book reviews in full please visit my Good Reads page, to view more of my literary heroines please visit my DeviantArt page. My own writing can be found on my WattPad page.