As long as I can remember I’ve been a bookworm.
My school holiday highlight was going to the local library to get as many books as I could carry and I always had difficulties in only picking 10 to take home.
Frequently bed time reading time would include the phrases “just one more chapter” and “don’t turn the light out yet!”
So yesterday when I bumped into something in the kitchen and my partner said “why don’t you get your nose out of that book and watch where you’re going”, I immediately replied “yes Mum” out of habit.
I took advantage of knitters block and spent almost all weekend with my nose in 3 books, read in quick succession.
Diary Of A Young Girl or The Diary Of Anne Frank has been on my to read list for a long time.
With the announcement this week that Neutral Milk Hotel are reforming (and coming to Australia squee!!!) it rekindled my original interest in the book.
It has been well documented that their album In The Aeroplane Over The Sea could be based around Anne Frank’s writing. I had Holland, 1945 swirling around my head whilst I was reading.
After reading it I spent the next few hours looking at Wikipedia articles about the same topic.
I am the first to admit that my knowledge of history is pretty terrible so I am trying to rectify that with my reading this year.
What struck me most was how well she wrote and how well she knew herself.
I don’t think I was that mature and self aware until I was much, much older.
Still on that vein I went looking for more to read on that subject and I found Adolescence in Auschwitz by Regina Frankel
Although not as well known as Anne Frank, her recollections and experiences have been documented and exist now as a gruesome memoir. It was a challenging read even with some details being left out, but I felt it was important to finish it.
I was particularly struck by one quote by Joseph Stalin “The death of one man is a tragedy, the death of millions is a statistic.”
I’m not going to say too much more about these two books mostly because its very difficult, conflicting, and I need to be a better writer to articulate my feelings clearly enough to do these events justice.
After those two I needed something a little lighter so my dreams wouldn’t be haunted by the experiences of those two remarkable women.
I’ve Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella fit the bill nicely.
It’s an easy to read story about a girl who loses her engagement ring, and then finds a mobile phone which becomes her lifeline.
It’s the sort of book I usually read, and I do own a lot of her novels.
It’s a bit formulaic but her characters are relatable and fun.
Now to decide what to read next?
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