Lucy’s Blog

I have unpacked my books and its been lovely to rediscover some of the series that I had put away. Ive just done a big binge reading the Myrren’s Gift series & not being ready to leave Fiona I sat down last week and started rereading the Trinity series. Ok so the books haven’t lasted long, but I have been having fun with the pace and style. I enjoy the way Fiona brings her sub plots together, and the way characters pop back up later on with more depth. Perhaps it is the forbidden love / powerful magic / unknown powers themes I am drawn to, but I have had a couple of late nights and though bleary eyed in the mornings enjoyed being lost in the worlds that have been created. Who needs reality when there are palaces and inn’s, pirates and herbwomen, dark enemies and gods all playing in my imagination. I am still waiting for the final paperback of her Percheron series. As far as I am concerned - this author has got better and better. Thumbs up from me.

Ok, so its now less than a week before we “move” and most of my life is in cardboard boxes. Its been interesting to see the progress and work out which things we can do without and what gets packed last.

So far I have kept my Anne Mcaffrey books till last, with my set of Sharon Lee and Steve Miller series. I packed all of Sharon Shinn’s last week (hard to do) I guess that it is easy to tell my comfort authors. If you count cook books they have also stayed out. I managed to pack half, but there is still a box or so that will be coming with us to my mums. The other set of books that has survived are my bibles/worship resources/prayer/inspiration books. Funny sort of mix eh! My three passions according to the “packed last” law appear to be reading science fiction/fantasy, cooking and God.

For Rachael the complete set of Daisy Meadows fairy books have been moved to her room at my mums. This is a sure sign she is settling in there. I was pleased to see the “Dealing with Dragons” Patricia C Wrede (also wrote episodes Star Wars) boxed set there also, so perhaps there is some hope that she will move on to less commercialised fantasy books. I took her to Dymocks today for a special “Fairy” promotion (buy 3 for the price of two). There was also a special offer limited edition teaser book that they got free for going today, balloon etc. Talk about brand loyalty - its there. At least she is reading and already hooked on books as a reward.

Better get back to the packing of boxes… Moving day is next Friday 28 September, settlement day 4 October. Still no idea when the shed will be finished, but we will be happy in the interim at mums. She has shelves of SF books - thinking of rewards…

Book
My father in law was reading this book and loaned it to me after I started reading it at his house on Thursday. Its a short but powerful narrative and I would now like to see the documentary (apprarently it won a New York Film Festival Gold Medal).

It is the story about the search for Warri and Yatungka, two of the last traditional Mandildjara tribe living in the western Gibson Desert region in Australia. It follows Dr Peasley’s journey with Mudjon (an old friend of Warri) and support people to see if they could find this couple, who had pursued a nomadic traditional existance in time of drought in the late 1970s. It was a fascinating read, thought provoking for me as it gave good insights into the sacred relationship between the Aborigional people and the land.

Sunday Reflection
I was struck too, that reading this story at this time of year was significant. There is something special about the sense of country and identity that we do not understand. One of my friends is researching in this area noting in the sense of dislocation and what it means to live away from your land and culture. This can be seen not only in Australia, but in many other places in the world currently and through history. I see also the link with the Old Testament and the significance of land and identity.

Today I was the communion steward responsible for a prayer of thanksgiving. After reading this book, thinking of pilgrimage this prayer came to mind.
It was interesting that I had not consulted about the theme for the worship but the link was so strong it could have all been planned that way. Being Palm Sunday Jeanette had also prepared her sermon on the theme of Parade and Pilgrimage, talking about the discipline of being in community. The MP3 will be up on the Canberra Baptist Website soon. Here is the prayer.

On Track (Bruce Prewer - Jesus our Future, Prayers for the Twenty first Century)
Lord of pilgrims,
when the track that looked promising
peters out and my energy is gone,
when all I can do is take shelter
from the chill wind,
then I find you waiting
with bread and wine
and a hand on my shoulder
which turns me
in a new direction
where I never expected
to travel.

Then as I set out,
surprised at the renovation
within my being,
delighted with the eagerness
which now spurs
my mind and my feet,
I discover fresh tracks,
new vistas to inspire me,
new valleys and streams,
new melodies on my tounge
and new hopes that pray
themselves into action.

Thanks, Lord of pilgrims, for your renewing Spirit. (the final words are mine) For this time to reflect on all you have done. For Lent which takes us back to basics. For this communion meal where we gather in one body to give thanks. Amen

My cousin Row was telling me about how she was going through a phase of reading Kate Forsyth. I was at Ron’s Second hand book shop at Hawker and for $8 a book decided to try the first couple of her Witches of Eileanan Series. Glad I did. I needed a new author and a bit of a change. This one has a mix of outlawed witches and magic, dragons and some fairy stuff, with a hero or two thrown into the mix. Good strong female leads, with the interesting mirror twin thing thrown into the mix. Kate is Australian which surprised me as the setting for the books has Scottish sounding witches. Enjoyable escape.

Paperback pickup from the pile I borrowed from our friend Don.
This was a fantasy adventure novel published in 1988. The main character dies and is thrown back in time to 1963. He replays his life and then dies at exactly the same moment. Sort of like the movie Groundhog Day, but he has a while lifetime to redo. It was interesting seeing how each time the character tries different tactics and lives - wealth (via gambling/investment on known outcomes), escapism into extreme lifestyles, changing politics, family relationships, and seeking other people who have the same thing happening to them. He finds another replayer (female) who is trying to reach people in a spiritual way and a “true love” story gets thrown into the mix - the clever part being that they both die within hours of each other and then have to refind each other in their next replayed life. I liked the book as it explored a lot of different ways of dealing with life, what may happen if you are given a second or third chance, having lifetimes to learn and grow (each time was remembered). Thought provoking.

Ummm. Worst Christmas read. Very quick because it was fairly light.

The main reason I asked for this book was that it was written up as one that dealt with grief with wisdom and compassion - a book about our times. I had hoped for more than I got. Yes there were times the characters were interesting and a little dark but I was left with questions, all left unanswered and really annoyed about the stupid Epilogue at the end. Not written in one of my usual genres. Thumbs down on this one. Not for me.

This was my best Christmas read - and gobbled up in two days. Thanks Mum.

This novel is set in sixteenth century Renaissance Italy. It is written from the point of view of the Dwarf, companion and pimp to Fiametta Bianchini a courtesan. Well researched, good story and interesting twist at the end. I loved the book, it was real, dealt with a variety of “sins” without becoming too over the top. The characters were great and I found the history I had studied in my Theology degree coming into play (the fall and sack of Rome changes to Catholicism) and also an understanding of church as a social institution. From the feminist point of view, it was really interesting watching the way sexual power and politics were represented. Very clever, interesting.

Will have to read more from this author.

This book is at the end of a big binge of comfort reading. I like the way this book intersects with a short story about Runners (foot messangers) which I think is in the Legends Anthology. It also provides a good ending to what role the Dragons play once thread is removed from Pern.

In September 06 I decided to re-read the whole of Anne’s dragon books, so I did starting with Dragonflight, Dragonquest, Dragonsong, Dragonsinger:Harper of Pern, The White Dragon, Dragondrums, Dragonsdawn, The Renegades of Pern, All the Weyres of Pern, The Chronicles of Pern:First Fall, The Dolphins of Pern, Red Star Rising:The Second Chronicles of Pern, The Masterharper of Pern and the Skies of Pern. I even read two of the Todd McCaffrey new books but cant for the life of me remember their titles (DragonsBlood?).

I have to say that I still love the Harper stories best. There is not a harper character you can really dislike - even Petiron has his positives (Menolly’s teacher revealed in a later book). No matter how many times I read Masterharper of Pern I can still get emotional about the death of Robinton’s true love Kasia. I also love the way all of the other characters are filled out and brought to life.

The return to the fantasy world of Pern is something I need to do every couple of years. My cousin Row and I both share this understanding. We know the world and the characters - even the flaws of drinking too much vintage wine skins - Benden of course.

This was a pretty good holiday read, nothing quite as powerful as “The Power of One” but still there is the same sense of justice gained. Have not read this style for a while which was a good change from the usual. I do admit that some of the narrative side tracks got boring for me, but I enjoyed most it, yep I skimmed some of the pages till it got back to the main story.

The stories of the times about South Africa, Rhodesia, Kenya and racism between blacks, coloureds and whites was very true to stories provided from my family when they came to Australia to get away from all that. Liked the legal wind up at the end and the final two characters.

Borrowed from Grandpa Eric, via Mum.