It is a bit of a thin post compared to what others have read this month in The Year in Books hosted by Laura. I finished Richard Flanagan's The Narrow Road to the Deep South while on holiday last month but then got stuck with the book I choose to read next.
First though I cannot give enough praise to The Narrow Road to the Deep South. It might sound odd for a book about an unpleasant period in history but I really enjoyed it. The story was well written with a small amount of humour to lift an otherwise bleak subject. Nothing was held back however, when describing the conditions of life as a prisoner of war. Some of these were pretty horrific to be honest.
I presumed the whole book would have been set in the prisoner of war camp but instead the story is only partially set there. I would not hesitate to recommend this book to others.
I then started to read Neel Mukherjee's The Lives of Others. This is where everything ground to a halt! I just can't get into this book but hate giving up on a book. I have read eighty pages despite starting the book over a month ago. Has anyone else read it? Is it worth struggling on with?
My best friend wrote about not reading books you are not enjoying and I just wish I could make the decision without feeling guilty and move onto something else!
Until I decide what to do about The Lives of Others I have been reading Enid Blyton's The Enchanted Wood and reliving my childhood!!
Christmas is fast approaching and I am really struggling to find my Christmas mojo this year. I've not baked a cake and it is only in the last few days that I have started my Christmas shopping!
Since returning from the Isle of Lewis I have been full of cold. I now feel like I have a mild dose of flu! On top of that our boiler has not worked since returning home. Luckily we have a wood burning stove in the lounge so we have some form of heat. It does mean no running hot water. So I am not able to have a hot streamy bath which I am sure would help my chest! Hopefully by the end of this week (keeping everything crossed) we should be back up and running.
One thing we always do in December is visit Santa Paws at Dogs Trust Leeds. This is the
rehoming centre we got Fizz from over six years ago. They do a great job and will never put a healthy dog to sleep. For a small fee Fizz gets to have her photo taken with Santa and receives a present to take home. Its always entertaining as Fizz does not trust Santa and would prefer to sit and face him rather than sit and pose for the camera! Sunday was no exception! We all had to visit Santa in his grotto and have our photo taken! It is always nice going back as some of the staff, who have worked there a while, remember the very skinny but excitable stray they took in and named Fizz.
I hope your preparations are going well and that you are managing to avoid all the bugs that seem to be doing the rounds at the moment!
