Christos Tsiolkas

If there is one author everyone must read in the current times I'd say it is Christos Tsiolkas. My brother and his lovely wife recommended him to me during a recent visit. My brother was not much of a reader growing up, so when he suggested I read it I was a bit skeptical, but Tsiolkas' The Slap and Barracuda are two of the most riveting books I have read recently.

His works are thought provoking, make you deeply uncomfortable and force you to acknowledge truths that you tend to live in denial of. This is especially true for an immigrant like me, trying to raise a child, who I believe will develop a sense of belonging if I stay put in one place. Until now I have believed that if we had all stayed in my country of birth and just plodded along we'd all be fine today, that we'd have a strong sense of belonging, but I don't know that for sure. I will never know if that could be true.

The truth of the matter is that regardless of where we are born and raised we have to go through the coming of age ritual. It isn't cultural or traditional and there are no timelines. It is an individual battle and Tsiolkas illustrates that so vividly for a person of mixed parentage in contemporary Australia. It is frightening to think that children battle through such emotions as they grow up. I had my own challenges growing up away from my country of birth, but I doubt I can compare my experiences to what Tsiolkas speaks of in his books. My heart aches a little for my nephew and nieces and my son.

These two books are a must read for everyone. It does not matter where you are raising children, it is not just about ethnic differences or white dominance. It is about class consciousness and what matters to an individual at each stage of his or her life. There is a lot to take in with these two books, but the one thing I want to hold on to is to try and look at life through my child's eyes so I can be empathetic to what he goes through as he finds his niche in this complicated mess we have created.

Chicken stir-fry wraps a la Martha

I bought a cook book a while back, Great Food Fast, with Martha Stewart's recipes. I must admit I did not know who she was until she was arrested, but now that I have this book I am truly beginning to appreciate what she does. This book is fantastic for someone like me. The recipes are easy and most of the time I have the ingredients in my pantry, and when I don't it is not all that hard to find them.

I have tried quite a few of the recipes and just did a search on the internet and found the link to Martha's website. Some of the recipes from the book are on it. But the chicken stir-fry isn't. The book suggested serving it as a wrap with Boston lettuce. But I know that will not go down well with my boys so I served it with rice and green beans.

I think I will work my way through this book. I am glad I have the book because I find that way easier than looking things up on the internet. I guess I have a long way to go before I start reading e-books...or whatever those books on computers are called. Books are bit like food for me, I have to be able to smell them as I read them.

Delicious, Divine, Dreamy

Some books you read, put aside, and never give it a second thought. Others you read and remember parts of it. And then there are some books you read and will remember for life. This is one of those books. Elizabeth Gilbert does a fastastic job of taking you along on her amazing journey through a tumultuous couple of years. The movie does the book no justice, so I recommend you do not watch it. But the book goes from delicious to divine and absolutely dreamy.

The book is divided into 108 sections for reasons the author explains. And if you really want to do justice to her work and her journey, you ought to take 108 days to read it. Read one section a day, experience it with her.

In the first third of her book you will want to indulge in yummy desserts.Of course you can't go to Italy, but you could go over to the closest pasty shop for some tiramisu. I did! (And then some sushi, just to mix it up a little).

When I got to India with Gilbert I wanted to try meditating. Try it! If you've never tried it before you will learn how difficult it is to not think about anything. When you begin to think about how much you are thinking, then you can work on not thinking. Does that make sense? Gilbert explains it a lot better than I ever can.

And the final section of her time in Bali is so honest and so beautiful. It is just inspiring to learn that when you work on the changes you want in life it will come to you. I can't exactly take a year off to go around the world right now, and there really is no need for that. But that does not mean I don't want to. Regardless, I can't imagine anyone reading this book, man or woman, will find it difficult to relate to. There is something in it for everyone.

The faraway blogs

Have you heard of the Magic Faraway Tree? If you have, then you must be a kindred spirit. The Tree featured in two of Enid Blyton's awesome books, my all time favourite children's author (there is a serious contender for the position now though). What got me thinking of the book is that recently I have gotten to clicking on the "next blog" thingy (link?) on my blog. I find that each day it takes me to a new blog. Each day I get to visit new people, new places, new information, just a surprise every day! I love it!

That was the wonder of the Faraway Tree, it took you places when you got to the top most branch and climbed up through the hole in the clouds. Each day there was a land of some sort that arrived (sometimes they stuck around for a bit). Sometimes they were wonderful, full of treats and funny tricks and carnivals. Other times they were not so great, like 'Topsy Turvy Land'. If you were not careful to get out of the land before it left the top of the tree you could get whisked away with it and have to wait a really long time to get back to the Tree.

After I had read the book as a child I had always imagined myself in a land I preferred to the land I was in. I guess I do that even  now...escape in to some one else's world for just a while, so this land of mine is as much a surprise and wonder as their's when I return.

Secret daughter

After an entire year of reading peer reviewed journal articles and academic books and what not I was craving, yes craving, a novel. And I read the Shilpi Gowda's Secret Daughter.

I got through it pretty quickly considering I have a toddler and a husband. Its a good read, almost a must for anyone contemplating adoption. Gowda does a fantastic job of taking the reader through the emotions of the parents and the adopted child, especially when ethnicities and all the little details that is exclusive to the different ethnic groups. I loved the detail. I felt she rambled in parts, probably because I am familiar with some of what Gowda speaks about. Someone totally unfamiliar with Indian culture might appreciate the detail better.

All in all a good read and am onto my favourite now, thanks to hubby dearest for finding Archer's latest for me.