An evening of laughter with lovely ladies and chatting about all sorts of interesting topics was just what I needed, and I had to get myself away from my poor family so it was the perfect balm to my grumpy soul.
The book we chose to read this month is Wool by Hugh Howey I've downloaded the omnibus 5 book edition so I'll be reading this stuff for a while but it looks super interesting...'Life is good in the silo. The people are friendly, food is plentiful, healthcare is readily available when needed. Those in charge are democratically elected and take their office on the top floor. A skilled IT department keeps channels of communication open throughout. And the whole silo is kept ticking over by the engineers in Mechanical, deep in the belly of the Earth. Just one look at the screens projecting video images of the bleak, uninhabitable landscape outside, and the inhabitants of the silo know how good they've got it. There are always some crazy folk who question this from time to time. How did the silo get here? What exactly is out there, out of view of the lens? These ungrateful dissenters are punished by being cast out with a woolen cloth to clean the cameras so that everyone else can continue to enjoy the view - fated to certain death. But one day sheriff Holston, the sensible and much-respected warden of the silo, joins the dissident ranks and chooses to go outside. This sets in motion a chain of events that shake the foundations of the entire community.'
If you want to read it too then please feel free to join in with your comments below. If you have read it already then no spoilers please :-)
I love reading and over the years I have read enjoyed some real treasures, so I thought I would share with you my top best reads, incase you are casting about for something to read right now...
Taste is a big issues and I tend to like my books with a bit of a fantasy, sci fi, historical, or surreal element, but most important is that I like books that share a feeling of redemption, or personal evolution, journeys of self discovery or something progressive and positive. I also like to get into the mind of someone who thinks differently to me and feel another world perspective too. I don't like horror or depressing books. I've read a few great books set around the second world war but they disturb me so much that I can't include them here...got to be uplifting to some extent. The only exception to that are the thrillers like 'Gone Girl' and 'Girl on a Train' which I really loved but you've probably already read them because the whole world has read them. If you haven't read them though, get out from under that rock you've been living under and do it, they are brilliant.
'The Signature of all Things' by Elizabeth Gilbert. I found this such a beautiful uplifting book...'From the moment Alma Whittaker steps into the world, everything about life intrigues her. Instilled with an unquenchable sense of wonder by her father, a botanical explorer and the richest man in the New World, Alma is raised in a house of luxury and curiosity. It is not long before she becomes a gifted botanist in her own right. But as she flourishes and her research takes her deeper into the mysteries of evolution, the man she comes to love draws her in the opposite direction - into the realm of the spiritual, the divine and the magical.
The Signature of All Things soars across the globe of the nineteenth century, from London and Peru, to Philadelphia, Tahiti and beyond. Peopled with extraordinary characters along the way, most of all it has an unforgettable heroine in Alma Whittaker.'
The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell just took my breath away...'Set in the 21st century - between 20 and 60 years from now - The Sparrow is the story of a charismatic Jesuit priest and talented linguist, Emilio Sandoz, who - in response to a remarkable radio signal from the depths of space - leads a scientific mission to make first contact with an extraterrestrial culture. In the true tradition of Jesuit adventurers before him, Sandoz and his companions are prepared to endure isolation, suffering - even death - but nothing can prepare them for the civilisation they encounter, or for the tragic misunderstanding that brings the mission to a devastating end. Once considered a living saint, Sandoz returns alone to Earth horrifically maimed, both physically and spiritually, the mission's sole survivor - only to be blamed for the mission's failure and accused of heinous crimes.
Written in clean, effortless prose and peopled with memorable, superbly-realised characters who never lose their humanity or humour, The Sparrow is a powerful, haunting fiction - a tragic but ultimately triumphant novel about the nature of faith, of love and what it means to be 'human'.
The thing is, if you read this book you have to read the sequel, Children of God because the first books ends very tragically and needs the second book to make sense of it. It is, in the words of Amazon, '...Dazzlingly imaginative and philosophically provocative ...'
So those are my tips. If you have read any of them and want to tell me what you thought about them I would love to hear.
Have a wonderful spooky weekend and if it is a damp rubbish autumn day where you are, then curl up with a hot drink and good book...
Oh! I nearly forgot.. I have to add my favourite non fiction book too!
I read a lot of non fiction, mostly about geopolitics, philosophy, economics and such but this beauty kind of covers it all. This book got mixed reviews from the people I know who read it, from same as me, loved it, to boredom and bewilderment, so I guess it depends on what kind of person you are. Ultimately I felt like I understood the world better as a result of reading this book so I wholeheartedly recommend it, but it is not light reading, be warned...
'Planet Earth is 4.5 billion years old. In just a fraction of that time, one species among countless others has conquered it. Us.
We are the most advanced and most destructive animals ever to have lived. What makes us brilliant? What makes us deadly? What makes us Sapiens?
In this bold and provocative book, Yuval Noah Harari explores who we are, how we got here and where we’re going.
Sapiens is a thrilling account of humankind’s extraordinary history – from the Stone Age to the Silicon Age – and our journey from insignificant apes to rulers of the world'
