Notes of Life

I’m currently reading Changes by Jim Butcher. It’s the 12th book in The Dresden Files series – my all-time favourite series of books!

Jim Butcher is a fantasy writer, best known for The Dresden Files series of books (and a TV series of the same name) in which Harry Dresden (Chicago’s first, and only, Wizard Private Investigator) gets into all kinds of bother while trying to investigate several matters (it’s never as simple as he thinks it’s going to be). Jim’s books have humour, drama, love and all kinds of wizardry going ons, and are a real joy to read.

I’ve been reading Jim’s books for a number of years now and each one seems to get better and better (which is amazing, considering I loved the first book – Storm Front). Over the years, I have been recommending Jim’s books to my friends and have managed to get 2 or 3 hooked on them too.

The main character of Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files is Harry Dresden, a lovable wizard who just seems to run into trouble at every corner. Harry is a hero, although some of those in authority just don’t see him that way. Some think he’s a con artist, while others think he’s on the other side (the darker side of Chigaco), but Harry has saved Chicago from all kinds of nasties whether people think they exist or not!

Changes is the latest book in The Dresden Files series and I’m already enjoying reading it.

Find out more about Changes. However, while I feel that you can jump into any Dresden Files book and know what’s going on, why would you want to miss the rest of the series? Why not start with Storm Front -  visit the link to read the 1st two chapters of the book (you’ll also be able to listen to some snippets of James Marsters reading the audio book!).

That’s another thing I love about Jim Butcher… He puts up the first few chapters of his books onto his website as a teaser!

The last book I read (which I finished yesterday morning) was Paul O’Grady’s autobiography – At My Mother’s Knee … And Other Low Joints and having read it, I’m fully expecting there to be a second autobiography as the book finishes when he was 18! I thoroughly enjoyed it though…there was plenty of ups and downs, along with a few laughs.

Posted for It’s Monday! What are you reading?

They say never to judge a book by it’s cover, but this is exactly what I did when I bought The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. The cover with it’s tag line of “When Death tells a story, you really have to listen” looked interesting, the blurb on the back pulled me in and the note that the book is a Sunday Times Bestseller told me I was in for a good read. Stood in a local bookshop, I was attracted to this book so much so that I paid the full cover price for it (£7.99).

Death narrates this story about a young girl who he… it… calls The Book Thief. Death seems captivated by her life, just as I have been captivated by this book (however, I didn’t steal it!).

The Book Thief is a young girl called Liesel Meminger. She gains the name from Death when, at her brother’s graveside, she picks up a book in the snow. The book is called “The Gravedigger’s Handbook”, it’s the first time she steals a book and it changes her life. Liesel grows to love books and words (learning to read along the way), but they are not easy to come by for a poor girl in Nazi Germany, and so she soon starts to steal other books.

Liesel goes to live in Himmel Street in Molching with her foster parents, Hans (Pappa) and Rosa (Mamma) Hubermann. Hans is a kind man with an accordian (which is actually an important item in this book), where as his wife Rosa comes across as harsh and rude (though means well). Next door is Rudy and his family. Rudy becomes Liesel’s best friend, the pair of them getting up to no end of trouble, with Rudy even helping Liesel to steal books at times. Although, while Rudy wants to help his friend get her books, he also hopes they can steal some food too to ease their grumbling stomachs!

The story follows Liesel’s life on Himmel Street and beyond. Her papa’s accordian leads them to getting a visitor, a Jewish fistfighter who must hide in their basement. Liesel is sworn to secrecy, but grows close to the Jew. They have common ground – they have both lost their family and have been taken in to Hubermann’s house in Himmel Street, only Liesel can live freely (well, as freely as a young girl can in Nazi Germany) where as the Jew can barely leave the basement for the fear of what might happen, not just to him but to Liesel and the Hubermanns.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Book Thief and loved the style of Markus Zusak’s writing. Notes, facts and announcements are dotted throughout, along with word definitions. For example, the word definition on the back cover of the book is as follows:

book thief n.
1. person who steals books
2. young girl saved by words

In parts of the book, Markus seemingly gives the game away such as when Death announces that later on we’ll learn the fate of a certain character. Yet, the game isn’t really given away, it’s just a hint at what’s going to happen.

At 584 pages long, The Book Thief is a lengthy book, but I enjoyed every minute of it and didn’t want to put it down. The story takes us through a short period of Liesel’s life, but one which has a profound influence on her life.

The story is about friends and family, and most importantly about words, both written and spoken and the influence they have on people. Liesel was saved by words.

While this book might not be for everyone, I found it an excellent read and even learned some German words along the way!

The Book Thief is now in my list of favourite books I’ve read and would recommend others to give it a go.

You can read an excerpt from The Book Thief over at Markus’s website.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is currently available from Amazon at £3.95.

ISBN-13: 978-0552773898

(Note: Review also features in my Goodreads and Dooyoo accounts).

Posted for Recommend Me – weekly event (run by Kate at The Neverending Shelf) in which participants pick one of their all time favorite reads to share. Above is one of my all time favourite reads!

Something to brighten your day!

I bought a bunch of Tulips a couple of weeks ago for a couple of reasons… 1. to give me something nice & colourful to take photos of; and 2. to brighten up the kitchen a little. Well, after I’d taken some photos, the tulips went to live in a vase in the kitchen window.

The bunch of tulips survived a week and a half despite having to endure being attacked (i.e. bitten) by a couple of cats. They even survived running out of water on one particularly warm evening. They’d been stood upright when I went for a glass of squash, then just half an hour later I found them drooping depressively. However, I didn’t throw them away, I had an idea (and here’s a little tip)… I cut the stems at the base just a little and then put them back in the vase with some more water. Low and behold, just half an hour later they were standing proud again!