Photo ABC

I am a member of a photo group where we get a prompt for every day and have to take an appropriate picture. Because we had the alphabet one month, I decided to do a book theme.

I always added either the link to my blog or to the books. I have decided to post a picture every week so my booky friends can enjoy them, as well.

TWO.

This is my blog entry for this book:
Seth, Vikram "Two Lives"

Scott, Mary "One of the Family"

Scott, Mary "One of the Family" - 1958

Another lovely book by Mary Scott. I read somewhere that it was one of her most successful ones, I have no idea why because they are all nice but here you go. I would have probably chosen another one as my favourite but this certainly is also a good one.

Yes, uncle Robert returns from England after having taught hundreds of boys in his life. He visits his niece on a remote farm, a niece he has never seen in his life. But apparently, they all get on well together and so uncle Robert stays on for a lot longer than he had intended to.

Anyway, as in most books by Mary Scott (to whom I dedicated her own blog entry here), there are a lot of wonderful people living in the backblocks and they all help each other, the good ones win in the end. I don't think I'm telling anyone any secrets. If you've read some of her books, you will know anyway.

Unfortunately, Mary Scott's books are out of print and only available second hand. I have heard in the meantime, that you can buy some of them as eBooks, like this one here.

From the back cover (translated): "Robert Macalister, teacher, childless and widowed, retires and returns to England. Because he wants to spend his old age in his native New Zealand. On the sheep farm of his niece Dora Moore.
The fact that the farm is in big trouble does not frighten him. On the contrary. He wants to help his niece. And so his planned short visit turns into a longer stay.
At the end of the first year, it turns out that Uncle Robert has stood his ground. He's just the best. For him, only one thing counts: He started a new life in old age and breached his loneliness ..."

I also happened to find an article about Mary Scott and her novels called "The New Zealand Novel".

Book Quotes of the Week

"Home is where the books are." Richard Francis Burton

"Sometimes, you read a book and it fills you with this weird evangelical zeal, and you become convinced that the shattered world will never be put back together unless and until all living humans read the book. And then there are books... which you can't tell people about, books so special and rare and yours that advertising your affection feels like a betrayal. It wasn't even that the book was so good or anything; it was just that the author... seemed to understand me in weird and impossible ways." John Green, The Fault in Our Stars, 2012
[The omitted words in this quotation refer to a fictitious book and author - An Imperial Affliction by Peter Van Houten - the title of which is taken from an Emily Dickinson poem "There's a certain slant of light..." According to Green, if you want to "read" the imaginary book, read "Infinite Jest" by David Foster Wallace and "The Blood of the Lamb" by Peter De Vries and then try to blend the feeling of those two books.]

"The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go." Dr Seuss

"You know you’ve read a good book when you turn the last page and feel a little as if you have lost a friend." Paul Sweeney

"Let your bookcases and your shelves be your gardens and your pleasure-grounds. Pluck the fruit that grows therein, gather the roses, the spices, and the myrrh." Judah Ibn Tibbon

Find more book quotes here.

Photo ABC

I am a member of a photo group where we get a prompt for every day and have to take an appropriate picture. Because we had the alphabet one month, I decided to do a book theme.

I always added either the link to my blog or to the books. I have decided to post a picture every week so my booky friends can enjoy them, as well.
 
ONE. 

This is my blog entry for this book:
Simmonds, Jeremy "Number One in Heaven – The heroes who died for Rock ‘n’ Roll" 

Talshir, Anat "If I Forget Thee"

Talshir, Anat "About the Night" aka "If I Forget Thee" (Hebrew: אם אשכך ירושלים/Im Eshkahekh) - 2010

A beautiful story about a love that overcomes all obstacles, even though a lot of problems do occur anyway. This book doesn't just tell the love story of Lila and Elias, it also tells the story of Israel, of the Jewish and Palestinian inhabitants of this country's difficult history. I have read a lot of books about this particular part of the world and I always find it fascinating but this was really personal.

Of course, with a background like this, it can only be a sad love story but it is beautiful nonetheless.

A very important part in their lives is played by Nomi, a young neighbour girl who represents the new generation. We also learn a lot about life in Israel today.

Anat Talshir is a journalist who has received several awards for her investigative documentaries. This is her first novel and I hope she will write more because I would love to read more from her.

From the back cover:

"Awarded the Israeli Bookseller Association's Gold Prize

In Jerusalem, in the final days of the British Mandate for Palestine, a man and a woman meet on a grandstand overlooking a parade marking the anniversary of the inauguration of King George VI. Lila Cassuto, a young Jewish woman from an impoverished family, and Elias Riani, an Arab tea merchant with a distinguished pedigree, begin a love affair. But soon war breaks out and Lila and Elias find themselves on opposite sides of a divided city that will be reunited only nineteen years later. Can their love survive the painful and turbulent years of separation and change?

The only party to the secret of their great love is Nomi, the young daughter of Lila’s friend Margo. Nomi walks through life unnoticed but noticing everyone and everything around her, and she becomes the repository for the lovers’ letters of longing, and the person to whom Elias turns with his life’s final request.

IF I FORGET THEE is an impeccably written love story set against the bitter conflict over Jerusalem. With its vivid historical context, this poignant novel resonates long after the last page."

Book Quotes of the Week

"We are the children of a technological age. We have found streamlined ways of doing much of our routine work. Printing is no longer the only way of reproducing books. Reading them, however, has not changed." Lawrence Clark Powell

"A book is to me like a hat or coat - a very uncomfortable thing until the newness has been worn off." Charles B. Fairbanks

"Reading is a discount ticket to everywhere." Elizabeth Hardwick 

"All books are either dreams or swords." Amy Lowell

"Through literacy you can begin to see the universe. Through music you can reach anybody. Between the two there is you, unstoppable." Grace Slick

Find more book quotes here.

Photo ABC

I am a member of a photo group where we get a prompt for every day and have to take an appropriate picture. Because we had the alphabet one month, I decided to do a book theme.

I always added either the link to my blog or to the books. I have decided to post a picture every week so my booky friends can enjoy them, as well.

Z is for ... Zuckerberg

I do use my Facebook and love to stay in touch with my friends that way but I also see the danger of social media.

Happy October

Another month, another beautiful picture from Frank and Hanna Koebsch's calendar. I am happy to be able to share it with you just as last month. I hope you enjoy them just as much as I do.

This one by Frank Koebsch is called "Majestic".

You can check their blog here.