Last post for February...

Once again, it is unseasonably mild on this Sunday morning as I enjoy a cup of chai tea and a slice of freshly baked Date Bread.  

This will be a very short post, as I am only halfway through the book we are going to be discussing next weekend with my volunteer book group, Life After Life by Kate Atkinson.  This novel is on all the book club lists and was a bestseller for ages, and I have enjoyed Atkinson’s books in the past, particularly her “Jackson Brodie” series, but I was sure I would not enjoy this book at all, as it does not in any way sound like my type of book (I added it to our list because I knew it was the only way I would try to read it).  The main character, Ursula Todd, born in 1910 in the English countryside, meets an unfortunate end before she even has a chance for her life to begin… until her life begins again, and she survives, only to meet an unfortunate end as a very young girl… and then her life begins again, and she learns to survive a little bit longer, until she once again meets an unfortunate end… and so on, and so on, and so on... I tend to prefer more linear stories, which this clearly is not. But I'm totally enjoying this book - it is awesome!  I’ll tell you all about it once I finish and we’ve had our meeting, but for anyone who is avoiding this book because it sounds too strange, I would urge you to give it a try.

And a few weeks ago I had some macarons as a treat with my tea and was wondering which book it was where I first read about and discovered these delicacies.  I have recently answered my own question - it was in Liane Moriatry’s The Husband’s Secret.  One of the character’s daughter-in-law gives her a box of these and when she tries one, she discovered that they really are as delectable as she’s heard they were.  I'm listening to this excellent audiobook right now, and enjoying every minute of it.

OK, that’s it.  Sorry for the short post, but the new kitty has taken up much of my free time over the past week.  Little Hannah seems to be fully integrated into the routines of the other cats now, so things should be back to normal soon.  Whew!  It’s a lot of work, but they’re worth it!

Have a great day!

Bye for now…
Julie

PS I forgot to mention in last week’s post that it was Freedom to Read week, my favourite week of the year, so I hope everyone took the opportunity to read a banned or challenged book!  I always read a challenged book to the students at my schools, and they are always amazed at the reasons for these challenges.  This year we read Dr. Seuss’s Hop on Pop :  check out this link to find out where and why it was challenged http://www.cbc.ca/newsblogs/yourcommunity/2014/04/toronto-library-asked-to-ban-violent-dr-seuss-book-hop-on-pop.html