When we first arrived, Nelson sponsored Busker Festival - loads of fun.

Since we've been here, I've had time for quite a bit of reading. It's been really fun plucking books from Kathleen and Robert's shelves and finding treasures. I've also joined a bookclub at the local bookstore. I've gained an appreciation between the distinction of American English and that of the rest of the English speaking world. I'm torn - is it colour or color, civilized or civilised? Who knew Microsoft had a special US English version. My world has grown.

Okay, so here are some of my reviews. My favorites/favourites have all come from 8 Maire Street.

Small Island by Andrea Levy - This was a Whitbread Book of the Year and Orange Prize for Fiction winner. It's the story of two Jamaicans who move to England. One as a volunteer for the English Army in WWII, the other as his reluctant bride after the war. Gilbert is a happy-go-lucky guy, Hortense is educated and proud. Both are disillusioned when England fails to deliver its promise from their Jamaican dreams. I really liked this book.

The Bird Artist by Howard Norman - How could I resist a book with that title? A quirkly tale of murder set in New Foundland in the early 1900s. It has a magical realism quality to it. The writing is spare, the characters understated, yet complex. Written in 1994 it was a National Book Award Finalist. I suppose because of its setting , it was compared to The Shipping News. I loved this book and its characters - especially Margaret.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak - Set in WWII Germany (always an intriguing topic for me), this is a story of Liesel who finds solace and escape with books. She arrives at her foster family illiterate, but learns to read from her compassionate accordian playing (just like my Opa) foster father. Okay, this is Nazi Germany, how happy can anything be, but there is a humanism to this story and I highly recommend it.

The Blood of Flowers by Anita Amirrezvani - Just okay for me, the book is about a young Persian girl who aspires to design carpets. I believe it is the 1700s in Iran. I did like when her uncle, a carpet designer himself, teaches her about good design and colour. I could relate.

The Delivery Room by Sylvia Brownrigg - Highly ambitious, this novel undertakes birth, death, war and bereavement. Wow. Brownrigg is remarkably observant of human nature. I began this book underlining one insight after another. Our main character is a Serbian psychotherapist living in London. Taking place during the Serbian War, we meet a cast of characters working through divorce, infertility, loss, etc... I never fell in love with the book or its characters, yet it is an intelligent book and I am glad to have read it.

That's all for now. Happy reading!