The Last American Man by Elizabeth Gilbert

Elizabeth Gilbert wrote Eat, Pray, Love which is one of my recent favourites, although somehow I have not reviewed it yet .. This is a totally different book. Its a sort of biography of Eustace Conway. I had never heard of him but apparently he’s well known for trying to live a natural life, in the woods, killing and growing his own foods, making his own clothes etc. The book is well worth a read and it has that environmental message that you are sort of compelled to contemplate when reading. Conway’s story is an interesting one, and there are little insights into Glibert’s life and thoughts along the way as well. It does make you realise that no-one is perfect, everyone has their issues and we have have our burdens to carry. Some people just try harder.

The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder by Rebecca Wells.

Rebecca Wells is the author of the Ya-Ya books. I did like those books but I can’t say I loved them. They seemed a bit disconnected from my reality. This one is too but somehow it spoke to me more. I loved it. It made me contemplate the way I live my life, in the context of how Calla does. She lives such an authentic life (to borrow from Oprah) and she is so true and open and honest. That is something I need to work on and this book was a timely reminder. Its also a good balance of drama, personal insight and life lessons with believable characters and charming scenery.

The Witch of Portobello by Paul Coelho

This book sent me a little crazy. Paul Coelho writes books that deal with the meaning of life and are generally inspirational in nature. However this one got under my skin, in some good ways and some very frustrating ways. The story is of a woman who is eventually seen as a witch – she finds her bliss by dancing and encourages others to do so. She is seeking for the meaning of life and purpose. The story is told from the point of view of at least 10 people – none of them being the witch herself . Instead her story is told as if to a reporter – by her parents, her teacher, people she met along the way. There are some moments when I found the book fascinating, especially in the second half. Mostly, however, it made me uncomfortable and I was looking forward to finishing it, so I could be done with it. I’m not sure whether that is a good thing. There are many passages I could quote, but I will just choose one for now :

What do you want ? You can’t want to be happy because that’s too easy and too boring. You can’t want only to love, because that’s impossible. What do you want ? You want to justify your life, to live it as intensely as possible. That is at once a trap and a source of ecstasy. Try to be alert to that danger, and experience the joy and the adventure of being that woman who is beyond the image reflected in the mirror.

A Room at the Top by Heath Ducker and Samantha Trenoweth

Heath Ducker is a young Australian who had a pretty harsh upbringing. His mother had 10 children and no income and they lived in dilapidated surroundings. While his mother was loving she was absent in many ways and Heath did not have the usual support that children need as they grow up. Despite many difficult circumstances he was determined to make something of his life and through a series of government  and self help organisations and the support of people outside his immediate family,  he managed to get himself through high school and university and is now a lawyer and outspoken on issues of social services and help for you at risk. The story is certainly a compelling one, but a bit more abstracted than I like to see in books. He mentions many people by name but it feels like he had to get their names in there (understandably) without them actually adding to the story as it is written. While his story is worthy and he seems an inspiring character, the book was just ok for me.

Twenty Chickens for a Saddle by Robyn Scott

This is a memoir about growing up in Botswana, Africa. LIke all memoirs there is a certain abstractness to the book, where we feel we are looking in on something but not actually there. However, the author does a much better job than most at making a readable story out of her life and making many aspects of it actually fascinating. The characters, who are in fact real people, appear real and we get to know them well. There are many amused memories and generalisations which add to the charm of the book. I enjoyed reading it.

You or Someone Like You by Chandler Burr

This is an odd book. Its set in Los Angeles, in the midst of characters who are consumed with the movie industry. I have read books set in this environment before and they all have a shallowness to their characters which I now realise is deliberate. And not something I like. The characters in this book have their struggles with religion and parenting and relating to each other but they are abrupt and narrow minded and speak to each other in a way that is not normal in the rest of the world. They quote poetry and film dialogue and dictionary definitions at each other. Books like that make me, on the one hand, feel envious of someone who has the intellectual capacity to do such a thing and at the same time, irritated at their attempt at feeling supercilious. So I read the book, enjoying aspects of it but feeling irritated too. I remember some interesting quotes but cannot find any of them now.

Buddha Da by Anne Donovan

This is a great book. It tells the story of a Scottish man who takes up Buddhism and the effect it has on his very ordinary family. The story is told in alternating chapters – his own point of view and that of his wife and daughter. The downside to the book is that its written in a phoentic Scottish accent. : “she set aff doon the lobby wi us follow on behind” or “he’d dae anythin for a laugh so he wid”. For the first half of the book I had to read very slowly, almost out loud to get the meaning of some of the sentences. Once I got into the swing of it I really enjoyed it though. Its well written and has some pretty mainstream storylines but they work in the context of the Buddhist conversion.

Thanks for the memories – Cecelia Ahern

Cecelia Ahern is one my favourite authors. Her books are definitely chick lit but so much more intelligent than the average version and they inevitably contain a much quirkier storyline. This one deals with a character who has sudden unexplained memories and knowledge after a hospital visit. The characters are well developed and likeable and this is a very easy read.

The Pact by Jodi Picoult

Jodi Picoult’s books are always somewhat confronting but this was particularly challenging for me. The thought of parents dealing with suicide is horrifying and an entire novel about such a thing is exhausting. It was very well written as always and covered all the angles. Apparently there is a movie of the book, which I’d like to see.

What stunned me most was the idea that someone could get inside their own head so much that they could come to the conclusion that suicide was the only way out. A difficult concept to grasp when you’re not in that mindset, and a solid basis for a novel.

She’s the one by Cathy Kelly

I ejoyoed this book but I didn t love it. I kept getting annoyed at the character’s jumping to conclusions that led to more drama than was really needed. And the switching back and forth between characters is something I normally like, but I found that I would get engrossed in one story and then have to switch over to the other and it was actually a little irritating. The stor is your usual chikc lit fare – woman leaves husband, gets new job, finds new man. Couple with a similar story about a woman going through the same sort of stuff but at a different stage in her life. Definitely readable, just not awesome ….