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    Asia & Oceania Travel  --  Reading Wednesday

    Book Review In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson

    December 6, 2023
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    We listened to a couple of Audible book this past month while tooling about Australia in a Motorhome. If you haven’t been following that journey you might want to check it out here Caravan Travel Australia Part One and Part Two. Anyway, my friend Pam asked if I had read Bill Bryson’s In a Sunburned Country. This book is old…published in 2000, one my husband read it when it came out. But I had not, and so it seemed like the perfect story for our long drive. Thanks Pam. Here is my book review In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson.

    Bill Bryson

    First of all, if you have never read Bill Bryson you are missing out on one of America’s greatest gems. What a writer, humorist, humanitarian and witty observer of people he is. Bryson has numerous book, but I had never read his book about traveling around Australia. Nothing could have been more perfect for us to enjoy, agree with and guffaw at on our road trip.

    Discovering the Undiscovered Country

    Bryson spends weeks and weeks while researching this book, traversing this incredibly empty, huge and surprising continent/country of Australia. In his telling of the journey he meets Australia’s most amazing creatures, encounters the most unlikely characters, falls in love with the solitude, all while finding humor in each and every unexpected moment.

    In a Sunburned Country brings to life a place that many will never get the opportunity to discover. I am lucky to have been here twice. And much of Bryson’s prose echo my own feelings about this lethal place (“more things that can kill you in malicious ways than anywhere else in the world”) and yet it’s like you just can’t get enough – forget the danger!

    Book Review In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson

    In a Sunburned Country brings to life this usually forgotten country – with solid and cheerful people, low crime, safe cities, abundant sunshine, fascinating history and the craziest collection of animals. And yet, we hear so little about Australia in the media. Another reason you should visit. And whether you visit on your own, or via Bryson’s wonderful storytelling, you should get to know amazing Australia.

    Thanks for reading my book review In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson.

    *****Five stars – I definitely recommend it to travelers or those who dream to travel.

    Read last week’s book review Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

    My current read The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher

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    In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson
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    Reading Wednesday

    Book Review Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

    November 29, 2023
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    How deep is the connection of family? Of sisters seperated at birth? How deep is love through the worst of life’s trials, terror and torment? In this novel we learn the deep connections through eight generations. Here is my book review Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi.

    West Africa

    As the slave trade is gearing up and England has colonized, the native tribes turn against each other. It’s the eighteenth century in Ghana. Two half sisters are born, in different villages. Neither will ever know the other, but their connection is inscribed on their souls. Each always feeling a part of her is missing, despite the extreme different circumstances their lives will take. One will marry a British officer and lead a life of luxury, even though she is a black women, her status will be elevated for a lifetime. She will live out her life in a colonial castle. Her sister, captured and thrown into a holding cell in the same castle, will eventually make the horrific journey to the America’s and become a slave.

    Eight Generations

    Gyasi will develop the characters in this novel, following the two seperate but parrellel lives of the the descendants of these half sisters…one family in Ghana and not arriving in America until the 1970’s. The other family enduring slavery, civil war, and Harlem in the 1970’s. Gyasi looks deeply in this novel at the longlasting effects on a nation and a family that slavery and racism had…and still has…holding the memory of captivitiy in hearts forever.

    ****Four stars for Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi.

    Read last week’s Book Review Lady Tan’s Circle of Women by Lisa See

    My current read The Armor of Light by Ken Follett

    Thank you for reading my book review Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi.

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    Reading Wednesday

    Book Review Lady Tan’s Circle of Women by Lisa See

    November 22, 2023
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    This is the third book I have read by Lisa See. Her works always focus on Asian women and I find her research into real historical figures, and her ability to create a fictional story around them, brilliant. Two other books I recommend by Lisa See are The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane and The Island of Sea Women. Here is my book review Lady Tan’s Circle of Women by Lisa See.

    Period: Ming Dynasty

    Inspired by the true story of Tan Yunxian, See takes us to 15th century China. A time of concubines and foot binding where women were meant to be beautiful above all else. See brings to life in this fictional story Lady Tan, brilliant, beautiful and captivating. Tan’s destiny is mapped out for her during the period of the Ming Dynasty, but this young women will grow to be a force.

    Studying with her grandmother from a very young age, Lady Tan will become a brilliant doctor, and leave behind at her death meticulous notes about her care of primarily women throughout her life. Not only will she be a mother, wife and eventually the head of the wealthy family she married into, but she will be a healer, life saver, and a connector of women. Building throughout her life a strong bond with both those in her upper class life and the common people too.

    Lisa See, in this book like all the others, does extensive research and travels extensively to find her stories. This book re-imagines beautifully this remarkable women, her unconventional life, and the legacy she leaves behind.

    *****Five stars for Lady Tan’s Circle of Women by Lisa See.

    See last week’s book review The Editor by Steven Rowley. Thank you for reading my book review Lady Tan’s Circle of Women by Lisa See.

    My current read is All The Broken Places by John Boyne.

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    Reading Wednesday

    Book Review The Art Thief by Michael Finkel

    October 25, 2023
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    I learned about this book when my friend Wendy posted on social media that her friend Michael Finkel had a book on the New York Times best seller list. So I decided to check it out. What an amazing true-crime it was. I loved it and I think you will too. Here is my book review The Art Thief by Michael Finkel.

    Obsession

    This is the true story about Stephane Breitwieser, a young man in Europe who would become one of the most obsessed art thief’s in history. It boggles my mind how long he got away with it and how many relics and masterpieces he was able to just walk out of museums and cathedrals with. He stole more than three hundred objects over an 8-year period, with the help of us girlfriend who served as lookout and his mother who turned a blind eye.

    Possession

    Finkel brings us into Breitwieser’s bizarre world, helping the reader feel at once part of each heist yet also astonished and breathless at the sheer audacity of this criminal. Breitwiser was never in it for the money, he just had an insatiable need to possess rare works of art. He hid all his works in a secret hiding place for years.

    The Crash

    He is of course eventually caught (thus this book), after he makes one major mistake. Breitwieser, his mother and his girlfriend will all suffer from this years long and senseless crime spree. In the end, many priceless works will be lost, burned or never found.

    Thanks for reading my book review The Art Thief by Michael Finkel. A remarkable story of true crime and brilliantly written and engaging.

    *****Five Stars for The Art Thief by Michael Finkel

    See last week’s book review Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton.

    My current read The Crook Manifesto.

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    Reading Wednesday

    Book Review Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton

    October 18, 2023
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    Wow this book. I went into this without any knowledge of the plot or any previous reads of reviews. It is a mind-bender. My husband thought I would like it, and we both had enjoy The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton a couple months ago. So I started Birnam Wood and I was blown away. Here is my book review Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton.

    Like the Luminaries, Birnam Wood is set in New Zealand but this time in the modern times. Released in early 2023 Catton has developed a unique story for our time. We are introduced to Mira and the people behind the unregulated, philanthropic but sometimes criminal gardening collective that plants crops wherever no one will notice, in an effort to grow food for the world. When a giant landslide (not unheard of in New Zealand) cuts off the town of Thorndike, Mira and Birnam Wood decide to take over a farm and hope they can go unnoticed.

    But also taking advantage of the currently abandoned property is American billionaire Robert Lemoine who tells Mira he is building his bunker for the end of the world. Is that the truth? Far from it as Lemoine has no intention of the world coming to an end…rather he is money grabbing, untrustworthy and ruthless tech wizard and no one is safe around him.

    This is a psychological thriller with a horrific plot that gets worse as the story unfolds. How many will die for the sake of their beliefs or for the insatiable need for money and power? Thank you for reading my book review Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton.

    *****Five stars for Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton.

    Read last weeks book review Dare to Travel by Katherine Leamy

    My current read Chenneville by Paulette Jiles

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    Reading Wednesday

    Book Review Dare to Travel Solo by Katherine Leamy

    October 11, 2023
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    Over the years of my travel blogging life I have had the unique opportunity to get to know other travel bloggers, vloggers and authors. Katherine Leamy is one of those. Although we have never met (yet) we have a great deal in common. I was very excited to read her new book written to explain how she became “The 5 Kilo Traveler”. Here is my book review Dare to Travel Solo by Katherine Leamy.

    Just a Regular Mom

    Katherine is many things,but not always a solo traveler. She is a wife, a mom, a nurse, a friend. And yet something was nagging at her and she felt she needed to get out of the box and try something new and daring. No her marriage wasn’t falling apart, or her job driving her crazy. She just felt the need to embark on a solo adventure and see what she might find there.

    Croatia

    So, with the blessing of her family, she embarked on her first ever solo trip, with only a backpack, to Croatia. Dare to Travel Solo chronicles her day to day adventures, the people she met, the experiences she had, and how she conquered her fear. This trip set her on a course to be a solo traveler, and to encourage other travelers to travel light with a back pack only.

    A Following

    Along the way she discovered there are many people like her interested in making the leap to solo travel and lightweight travel. And so the book became a goal too – a guide to help others see their own possibilities. As I type this, I’m in the Philippines and my friend Kathrine is on her way to Japan to hike…carrying as little as possible for her next adventure.

    Like me, Katherine encourages others to find what works for them in travel, seize the moment without fear and get out there! Do it now, do it soon and don’t find yourself regretting never doing it.

    Dare to Travel Solo

    ****Four Stars for Dare to Travel Solo.

    Are you ready to travel solo? Thanks for reading my book review Dare to Travel Solo by Katherine Leamy. Have fun Katherine!! https://www.instagram.com/the5kilotraveller/

    Read last week’s book review Icy Sparks by Gwyn Hyman Rubio. We appreciate your comments and shares.

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    Reading Wednesday

    Book Review Icy Sparks by Gwyn Hyman Rubio

    October 4, 2023
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    I’m not sure how this book go on my to read list…because it is pretty old. Published in 2001 but I had never read it, or anything by this author. I am definitely glad I found it though. It was heartfelt and uplifting. Here is my book review Icy Sparks by Gwyn Hyman Rubio.

    Rural Kentucky

    It’s the 1950’s in rural Kentucky. A tight knit community but poor and misunderstood. We meet a little orphan girl named Icy. Icy lives with her grandparents – a loving and hard working couple whose only daughter was Icy’s mother.

    There Is Something Different

    But there is clearly something different about Icy. Not only does she feel shame about her being an orphan, but Icy suffers from an undiagnosed disorder that causes her to have “fits” – today we know this disorder as Tourette Syndrome.

    But for little Icy her childhood and teenage years are a life of humiliation because of her illness which causes her to jerk, croak, tick and yell. Misunderstood and shunned, laughed at and chastised, Icy retreats into her small farmhouse and never goes anywhere.

    Empathy

    This character Icy really pulled at my heart strings as she navigates life with confusion and sadness. Her only friends, an obese woman named Miss Emily and her grandparents, a grown-up Icy narrates the story of her childhood pain with humor. I felt so much empathy for this dear young girl.

    Eventually Icy will receive a diagnosis, an education and find her way to give back in a world where few have been kind to her, but she comes out shining on the other side. I enjoyed this sweet girl and this often laugh out loud story.

    Thanks for reading my book review Icy Sparks by Gwyn Hyman Miller

    ****Four stars for Icy Sparks by Gwyn Hyman Miller

    Read last week’s book review Skylight Confessions by Alice Hoffman.

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