Pamela’s Book Spot and other interesting things

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by  MizB of Should Be  Reading . Anyone can play along! Just do the following: * Grab your current read * Open to a random page * Share 2 “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page * BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) * Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! This weeks Teaser Tuesday is a special one for me because my dearest friend, Scott Gardiner, composed the beautiful music that you will hear in the trailer below. I hope you love it as much as I do! Plus, as you all know, I do love beautiful cover art! I am really excited to start this book today so my teaser comes from the kindle  edition at 3% p.12: " And as the rain trickled down the windowpanes, Vanessa performed, letting all of the grief pour out of her...

Title: The Happiest Refugee: My Journey from Tragedy to Comedy Author : Ahn Do Published: Allen & Unwin No. Pages: 304 Themes: Refugees, life, family Genre: Autobiography Rating : 4.5 stars Review   The Happiest Refugee is the life story of Australian comedian Ahn Do. It documents his early life in Vietnam, the plight of his family as they travelled by boat to Australia as refugees and their new life in Australia. It is a story that will move you to tears at times but make you laugh out loud at others. Reading about the journey from Vietnam to Australia really brings to light the horrendous and unimaginable trauma that refugees such as Ahn Doe and his family have suffered. It is a tale that certainly made me realise how lucky I am to be born in a country like Australia. I found it heartwarming to read about the genuine and profound gratitude and love for Australia that Ahn and his family show and I was inspired by the generosity and kindness they have shown to...

Title : The Lake of Dreams Author : Kim Edwards Published: No. Pages: 371 Themes: Love, loss, redemption, women's suffrage Genre: Fiction Rating : 3 stars Review   The Lake of Dreams is a story of love, loss and redemption that delves into the darkness of one family’s grief stricken past uncovering a history of lies and secrets. When Lucy returns home to the Lake of Dreams she is quickly entangled in uncovering the story of an unknown distant relative and her quest to solve the mysteries of her family’s past takes her on a journey that ultimately allows her to come to terms with her own grief around the passing of her father when she was a child. This was a good read and quite interesting at times when dealing with the topic of women’s suffrage. The plot is strong and the characters are both well developed and believable. Not amazing, but I definitely enjoyed The Lake of Dreams and it was an easy read. Further reading suggestions : The Memory Keeper’s ...

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly  meme hosted by Sheila @  Book Journey  where you can share  what you are reading each week. Be sure to visit Book Journey to link up  if want to join in! Last week I finished The Other Hand by Chris Cleave. It was a great read, but I had some conflicting thoughts about the blurb and the storyline.  Click here to read my review. Other than that I am still reading The Lost Art of Being Happy, by Tony Wilkinson, Life of Pi, by Yann Martel and A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness which I have nearly finished.

Title: The Other Hand   (also published as 'Little Bee') Author : Chris Cleave Published:  Sceptre No. Pages:  374 Genre:  Fiction Rating : 4 stars Yesterday I finished reading 'The Other Hand' By Chris Cleave also published as 'Little Bee'. This book was a real eye opener for me in regard to the issues that it dealt with and I really was drawn in to the story very quickly. It was really fast paced and I couldn't put it down, but it certainly wasn't anything like I imagined it would be.  The blurb for this book gave nothing away at all, but it did give the impression (to me anyway) of a heartwarming or ultimately uplifting tale which it certainly is not! It is a great read that has an important social message, but it is confronting and it is heartbreaking. I really think that readers should have been given more information about the topic/issues addressed in this book via the blurb to allow them to make an informed choice as to whether or not t...

This year I have made myself a promise to make more time to do the things I love and to be more creative! Too often I find myself working when I get home instead of enjoying myself so this is an area of my life I really have to work on.  Anyway, at the beginning of the year I took down my old calendar and said to myself, as I do each year, ' The pictures in this calendar are beautiful! I'll keep this calendar and frame some of them or cover something with them '. I then placed the old calendar on the bench ready for me to re-use. It has been sitting there ever since and I am sure I have a number of calendars I thought I would do the same thing with just sitting in my garage waiting for me. As I was cleaning up today I picked up the calendar from the bench and thought ' I am never going to actually do anything with this! ' and headed out to the recycling bin but in the time it took to walk outside, guilt crept in and wrapped itself around my thoughts as I rememb...

  The Friday 56 is hosted by Freda over at  Freda's Voice . The rules are simple: *Grab a book, any book. *Turn to page 56. *Find any sentence that grabs you. (I cheat sometimes and put a little more than a sentence!) *Post it. *Add your post URL to the Link. This weeks 56 comes from The Other Hand by Chris Cleave which I got the other day. I picked it up and read the first page and before I knew it I was half way through! WOW! I am totally engrossed in reading this great book which is also known as 'Little Bee'. I have never read anything by Chris Cleave before - WHY NOT???? Amazing writing and storytelling. "I looked up and saw the two of them watching me, grey faced and serious. Neon crackled. On the wall clock, a fresh minute snapped over the old one." The Other Hand  Chris Cleave p.56

  J j This great meme is hosted by Jenny Matlock.  Click here  to visit the website and join in the fun!  I am going to use Alphabet Thursday to show off some of my favourite children's picture books each week! I love using picture books in my teaching and do have a particular fondness for vintage picture books.   This weeks book is an old favourite of mine written by Jenny Wagner and illustrated beautifully by Ron Brooks  called John Brown, Rose and the Midnight Cat. It is about a dog called John Brown, his owner - Rose and a cat that comes in the night. It is a story about change, but it is also a beautiful tale of the love between people and animals. I loved this book when I was at school. Have you heard of it before? I was very sad this morning when I was unable to find my copy of this wonderful book! I know it is here somewhere as I saw it recently, but I have obviously put it somewhere safe if I can't even find it! lol :) Here is a picture of...

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly  meme hosted by Sheila @  Book Journey  where you can share  what you are reading each week. Be sure to visit Book Journey to link up  if want to join in! Last week I finished The Lacuna, By Barbara Kingsolver and it was such a great read - definitely a must read for Historical Fiction lovers. As part of the 2013 Nerdy Non-Fiction Readers Challenge I am readingThe Lost Art of Being Happy, By Tony Wilkinson. I started reading this a while ago but didn't finish so am giving it another go. I don't know if it will live up to some of my favourites such as The Power of Now, By Eckhart Tolle, but definitely has a lot of great content to consider. In the beginning chapters I felt a bit like Wilkinson was arguing the same point over and over again, but now it is moving more into the practise of skills I am enjoying it much more. I am re-reading Life of Pi, by Yann Martel which I read years ago and absolutely LOVED!!! My...

Title : The Lacuna  Author : Barbara Kingsolver Published:  Faber and Faber No. Pages:  618 Genre:  Historical Fiction Rating : 4.5 stars WOW - Barbara Kingsolver is fast becoming one of favourite authors! The Lacuna is an awesome read and it certainly lived up to (if not surpassed) my expectations after having read The Poisonwood Bible. The writing, the story, the pace, the characters - all fantastic! If you love reading historical fiction then you will certainly enjoy The Lacuna By Barbara Kingsolver. 

Hosted by  Freda's Voice This weeks theme is 'cold'. I posted these 'cold' quotes mistakingly last week - but then took them down and saved them for this week. I feel like I am cheating! heheheh :) "Death comes to all, but great acheivements build a monument which shall endure until the sun grows cold." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson 1803 - 1882~ American Poet, Lecturer and Essayist "May you have warm words on a cold evening, a full moon on a dark night and a smooth road all the way to your door." ~Irish Blessing~

  Ii This great meme is hosted by Jenny Matlock.  Click here  to visit the website and join in the fun!  I am going to use Alphabet Thursday to show off some of my favourite children's picture books each week! I love using picture books in my teaching and do have a particular fondness for vintage picture books.   Here i s this weeks book by Pamela Allen who i s one of my favourite children's authors! I t i s called  I Wish I Had a Pirate Suit, recommended for children aged between 5-9 years. My copy i s a  new edition - I would love to find an old hardcover edition at the second hand bookshop one day though!! Were you the youngest child who always had to be the crew or the maid or the monster, but never the pirate or the Queen/King or the Hero???? Were you the one who got all the second hand costumes, clothes, shoes etc?? The poor little brother i n this book was! This i s a great book to teach about playing nicely and let...

 

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by  MizB of Should Be  Reading . Anyone can play along! Just do the following: * Grab your current read * Open to a random page * Share 2 “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page * BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) * Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! Well, here is my teaser for this week....taken from 'A Short History of the World' by H. G. Wells which I picked up at the second hand bookstore the other day. It is so interesting to compare the understanding of the world in 1922 with what we know and have achieved today! " The deepest ocean dredgings go down five miles. The highest recorded flight of an aeroplane is little more than four miles. Men have reached to seven miles up in balloons but at a cost of ...

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly  meme hosted by Sheila @  Book Journey  where you can share  what you are reading each week. Be sure to visit Book Journey to link up  if want to join in!  I am still reading The Lacuna & The Discovery of Witches.  I am totally engrossed in them now and can't wait to finish both this week! I have not given 'The Harp in the South' much attention so it has gone back on the TBR pile for now. I had seen 'The Discovery of Witches' at the bookshop so often and picked it up numerous times, but always put it back for some reason - I can't believe I did that cause it is so good!! lol :) 

Hosted by  Freda's Voice The theme is January! The poem and interesting facts about January in this post came from KoffeeKlatch Gals on HubPages. Click here to go to the site and find some more! Some interesting facts about January: Leap years exempted, January always begins on the same day as October. January's birthstone is the Garnet. January's birth flower is the carnation. January's horoscope signs are Capricorn and Aquarius. January Morn Bare branches of each tree on this chilly January morn look so cold so forlorn, Gray skies dip ever so low left from yesterday's dusting of snow. Yet in the heart of each tree waiting for each who wait to see, new life as warm sun and breeze will blow, like magic, unlock springs sap to flow, buds, new leaves, then blooms will grow. Nelda Hartmann

The Friday 56 is hosted by Freda over at  Freda's Voice . The rules are simple: *Grab a book, any book. *Turn to page 56. *Find any sentence that grabs you. (I cheat sometimes and put a little more than a sentence!) *Post it. *Add your post URL to the Link. This weeks 56 comes from The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver which I am still reading and enjoying. It is the Last Will and Testament of Harrison Shepherd (aged approximately 13 years old). He has written this Will prior to entering a cave, just in case he doesn't make it out alive (and I'm not telling you if he did!).  Let it be known. If HWS drowns in the cave, he  leaves nothing to anyone. His earthly possessions are stolen things: pocket watch. This book. One year of good luck. He leaves his body for the fishes to eat. He leaves Leandro to wonder where he has gone. He leaves Mother and Mr. Produce the Cash to enjoy the company of the devil. The Lacuna, p.56 Barbara Kingsolver

Okay, I have just come back from the second hand bookshop and as usual I have a box of picture books in tow! I know I have to stop doing this, but I can't help myself when I see amazing and beautiful picture books for kids that I can use in my classroom. Does anybody else out there come home with a stack of books every time you go to the second hand bookshop?? I'm sure I'm not the only one...lol :)  You meet really interesting people at second hand bookshops too, and every person has a passion for a specific type of book. I love finding out what they are looking for - such diversity within one little shop! I also love it when you find something inside the book like a note, a postcard or newspaper clipping that tells you a little bit more about the book and the person or people who have read it. I will have to show you the newspaper clipping I found inside a book about cats one day, but that is another story! Anyway, the one that I am sooooo excited about today is this ...

Hh This great meme is hosted by Jenny Matlock. Click here to visit the website and join in the fun!  I am going to use Alphabet Thursday to show off some of my favourite children's picture books each week! I love using picture books in my teaching and do have a particular fondness for vintage picture books.  Here are this weeks books! I love the illustrations in Henny Penny so much. Henny Penny by Paul Galdone  Holly Hobbie's Alphabet Book by Holly Hobby.

An imposter in my worm farm!!

Hosted by  Freda's Voice "'Where there is a will there is a way,' is an old and true saying. He who resolves upon doing a thing, by that very resolution often scales the barriers to it, and secures its achievement."                    ~ Samuel Smiles 1812 - 1904 ~ Scottish author and reformer "We spend January 1 walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched.  Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives... not looking for flaws, but for potential."   ~ Ellen Goodman 1941 ~ American journalist and Pulitzer Prize winning syndicated columnist. Every man should be born again on the first day of January. Start with a fresh page. Take up one hole more in the buckle if necessary, or let down one, according to circumstances; but on the first day of January...

Title : The Radleys Author : Matt Haig Published: Canongate Books No. Pages:  352 Genre:  Paranormal Fiction Rating : 4.5 stars I was surprised at how much I really enjoyed this book! The Radleys are not your typical family. This book is the story of their lives and their struggle to live 'normally' whilst suppressing who and what they truly are. It is a great read! I would definitely recommend 'The Radleys' to anyone who enjoys a good paranormal/suspense fiction read.