When I was
a child, we did not have a TV .I was brought up by a Victorian Grand mother and
two maiden aunts after my mother died when I was two and my father re-married.
I spent a lot of time alone and found through the local library a love of
books. I read everything and went along the shelves with no guidance and lived
inside which ever book I read. I didn't need to go to ballet lessons I read all
about it in ‘Ballet Shoes,’ I didn't need a dog I had Timmy, George's dog in
the ‘Famous Five’.. I flew aeroplanes with ‘Biggles’ and lived in the wilds
with ‘North American Indians.’ Today as a much older 'child' I read more than
anything else in my life, it is my greatest love!!
And having been bought a Kindle by DH, a few years ago I have been able to supplement my library
books with ebooks. And the ease of buying a book instantly has given me more
and more books to read.
Some books
like this one I loved so much, that I gave
away two copies and then bought another
copy for myself.
It’s the story of two young girls, Bobbie and Cynthia, who are
best friends and also of their mothers. It's a book about friendship and
tragedy and forgiveness and so much more besides. We live with them all through
two decades and through wonderful times and terrible times and when we leave
them behind at the end it's with a sigh and a tear. I didn’t want it to end and
when it did I felt bereft!
My Favourite author 7 years ago was Emily Barr, ( I change favourite authors as I read more and more) But then, I read
everything she wrote, ‘Cuban Heels,’ ‘The First Wife,’ ‘Stranded,’ Backpack.’ ‘The Sisterhood.’ My
love of her books was helped by the librarian of the local library loving her
books too, so I was able to read all ten of them. But then in 2014, a new book
was published,
‘The Sleeper’ A sort of
mystery. What a disappointment it was, and I bought it which was another
downer too, have you ever found that? You've longed for another book and you feel let down; but is it that you have changed?
I cried through ‘ A Song for Jenny.’
A mother’s story of
how she and the family coped or didn’t cope when her daughter Jenny was first
missing and then confirmed dead in the London 7/7 bombings (2005).. so sad. It
made me feel blessed. My daughter worked in London a few years earlier and used
the underground every day on her way to work.
Having thoroughly
enjoyed Hosseini's former books – ‘The Kite Runner’ and ‘A Thousand Splendid
Suns’ - I harboured the suspicion that he could not pull it off again. Oh what
little faith I had, 'And The Mountains Echoed' is an excellent book and I am
confident that anyone reading it will not be disappointed. Set mainly in Afghanistan, the story starts
with a poor farming family, barely able to feed themselves. The father's
brother-in-law works for a rich couple who are unable to have children
themselves. In exchange for his daughter, they will offer money so that the
father is able to feed the rest of his family. He succumbs to this temptation
and so starts the interweaving of the different generations and to the finale
leading to a family reunion. A beautiful and very moving book
that brought me to tears on several occasions, this isn't fundamentally about
politics or war; it is about the unforgettable people who populate its pages -
about humanity. And though there is sadness and sorrow here, there is also love
and joy and a deep sense of hope.
For my 5th book, I chose… well if I just tell you of
some of the stories and perhaps you can guess. It has incest, rape, homosexuality,
heads cut off, daughters sold to old men, theft and crimes that will make you
cringe, brothers killing brothers, sons killing fathers. Hatred and wars, lovers and passion and tender love. ....
And then a friend who betrays his greatest
friend who is then killed in the most abominable way.. beaten and crucified.
Have you guessed???
The greatest book ever written, the most sold book ever and
translated into every language there is….
Yes it is The BIBLE!!! Would you believe it has such stories, well it does!
I am joining again with Amy for Five on Friday...and these five books are just some that I have loved. I read on average 60 to 90 books each year. I live inside which ever book I am reading at that time and when the dark evenings start, I like to retire to bed early just to read; I have even stayed awake till nearly day break, because I have to find out what happens next!
http://lovemademyhome.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Five%20on%20Friday
What are your favourites, have you ever stayed awake till nearly
daylight just to read, have you ever cried and cried over a book, have you ever
read a book that had such a powerful effect on you, you couldn’t forget it? I
can’t imagine life without books, what about you?
XX
Happy reading!!
