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May. 21st, 2017 12:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tvordljMy tiny great niece is doing well. My niece is busy helping at the neonatal unit, working on pumping milk and helping to look after baby. She's so tiny, like a baby doll! I haven't met her yet but my niece is a bit overwhelmed and quite busy so I'm going to wait and go over after work this week instead. My mother got to go yesterday and was emotional with it. They've called her Bree Alisson. Alisson is daddy Alex's sister and she's thrilled at being name checked. Bree has dark hair, too which her daddy has. If it stays dark. They put little knitted hats on her that look far too big and her diaper, even though it's for preemies, looks enormous!
My sister is over the moon with joy and it's so wonderful to see her so happy. Not that she isnt normally a cheerful person but life has its ups and downs, it's worries and stresses but having a grandchild is such a special gift.
Catch up for books
Truly Madly Guilty by Lianne Moriarty
By the same author as Big Little Lies, this one has three couples that get together for a bbq and something big happens. Again, you don't find out what it is for more than half of the book but it is something that was life changing for all three couples. Even after the reveal there are still a couple of twists. It's not bad, but the formula could get old quickly.
Short for Chameleon by Viki Grant
Quick easy read, by local author. A teenager and his father rent themselves out to people who need spare relatives or people at functions. It's not a scam, it's just an acting job but the teen meets an unusual older woman and a funky young one his own age and there are scrapes and situations and it's a fun little story.
The Cat's Table - Michael Ondaatje
One of Canada's better writers, Ondaatje also wrote The English Patient (and though the movie has it's fans and detractors, the book is quite good). In this book, three boys are on a ship from Sri Lanka to England in the late 1950s, on their own. There are interesting characters that they encounter and a prisoner that is brought out on deck at night for exercise and a bit of a mystery. The people that the narrator meets as a boy on the ship have had a lasting effect on him.
The Diviners - Margaret Laurence
I tried to read this last year but the ebook copy i'd downloaded was full of garbage characters. I managed to get a good copy from the library and got through it. I quite enjoyed it. It's a middle aged writer looking back on her life as her teenage daughter has left to go traveling. Laurence is another well respected Canadian author.
The Edible Woman - Margaret Atwood
The first novel by Canadian literary star Margaret Atwood written in the 1960s and published in 69. It's both a product of and a bit ahead of its time as far as feminist issues go. Centers around a woman in her 20s who gets engaged and then stops eating. Her fiance comes across as very traditional and old fashioned by our standards and Miriam must find a way to figure out her own way in life.
The Red Garden - Alice Hoffman
Supposed to tell the story of the founding families and their descendants in a small New England town over several centuries. It's really just anecdotes, or short stories about someone, a descendant from one of the original four families, over each subsequent generation. There's no depth really. The first few stories from the original settlers are the best, the rest are just really snapshots. I like Hoffman but her proper novels are better.
My Italian Bulldozer - Alexander McCall Smith
By the author of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency books, this is a standalone story about a food and wine writer who goes to Tuscany to finish his latest book after a breakup. Due to a mix up he has to rent a bulldozer instead of a car (yes, a bit unbelievable but just go with it!). He finds love again but it might not be from where he expects it. It's a nice, light read, quite enjoyable.
My sister is over the moon with joy and it's so wonderful to see her so happy. Not that she isnt normally a cheerful person but life has its ups and downs, it's worries and stresses but having a grandchild is such a special gift.
Catch up for books
Truly Madly Guilty by Lianne Moriarty
By the same author as Big Little Lies, this one has three couples that get together for a bbq and something big happens. Again, you don't find out what it is for more than half of the book but it is something that was life changing for all three couples. Even after the reveal there are still a couple of twists. It's not bad, but the formula could get old quickly.
Short for Chameleon by Viki Grant
Quick easy read, by local author. A teenager and his father rent themselves out to people who need spare relatives or people at functions. It's not a scam, it's just an acting job but the teen meets an unusual older woman and a funky young one his own age and there are scrapes and situations and it's a fun little story.
The Cat's Table - Michael Ondaatje
One of Canada's better writers, Ondaatje also wrote The English Patient (and though the movie has it's fans and detractors, the book is quite good). In this book, three boys are on a ship from Sri Lanka to England in the late 1950s, on their own. There are interesting characters that they encounter and a prisoner that is brought out on deck at night for exercise and a bit of a mystery. The people that the narrator meets as a boy on the ship have had a lasting effect on him.
The Diviners - Margaret Laurence
I tried to read this last year but the ebook copy i'd downloaded was full of garbage characters. I managed to get a good copy from the library and got through it. I quite enjoyed it. It's a middle aged writer looking back on her life as her teenage daughter has left to go traveling. Laurence is another well respected Canadian author.
The Edible Woman - Margaret Atwood
The first novel by Canadian literary star Margaret Atwood written in the 1960s and published in 69. It's both a product of and a bit ahead of its time as far as feminist issues go. Centers around a woman in her 20s who gets engaged and then stops eating. Her fiance comes across as very traditional and old fashioned by our standards and Miriam must find a way to figure out her own way in life.
The Red Garden - Alice Hoffman
Supposed to tell the story of the founding families and their descendants in a small New England town over several centuries. It's really just anecdotes, or short stories about someone, a descendant from one of the original four families, over each subsequent generation. There's no depth really. The first few stories from the original settlers are the best, the rest are just really snapshots. I like Hoffman but her proper novels are better.
My Italian Bulldozer - Alexander McCall Smith
By the author of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency books, this is a standalone story about a food and wine writer who goes to Tuscany to finish his latest book after a breakup. Due to a mix up he has to rent a bulldozer instead of a car (yes, a bit unbelievable but just go with it!). He finds love again but it might not be from where he expects it. It's a nice, light read, quite enjoyable.
