Book Review #797 - A Fortunate Life by A.B. Facey

This is the extraordinary life of an ordinary man. It is the story of Albert Facey, who lived with simple honesty, compassion and courage. A parentless boy who started work at eight on the rough West Australian frontier, he struggled as an itinerant rural worker, survived the gore of Gallipoli, the loss of his farm in the Depression, the death of his son in World War II and that of his beloved wife after sixty devoted years - yet he felt that his life was fortunate.

My Rating: 4.5/5

As a sandgroper (a Western Australian) this book has been on my radar for such a long time with my grandfather having read it and my father having tried to get me to watch the mini series for as long as I can remember.

Firstly, I loved the setting as it was set in places that I know so well yet were obviously not as I know them. I was also amazed at how much of my home state of WA he covered especially in the days of minimal transportation.

Facey has such an amazing writing style. It was like he was telling you the story himself rather than me reading it. 

I was also amazed at just about everywhere Facey went, it seemed to have some connection to my family. For example, Fremantle is where my great-grandfather was born, Geraldton is where my grandfather (and a lot of generations of his family) were born, Kalgoorlie is where my mum was born and I could keep going. 

If you are looking for a very inspiring, genuine Australian read this is the ideal book I would recommend.

February 2019 Wrap-Up

With the help of the Contemporary-a-thon, I managed to read a total of 15 books in February. They were:

1. Arkarnae by Lynette Noni - I re-read this book to continue on with this series because I went to her book signing at start of March

2. Lion by Saroo Brierley - This was my non-fiction read for the month

3. City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare - Read this as part of my goal to read all of Cassandra Clare's books in 2019

4. Raelia by Lynette Noni - Read this because of the Lynette Noni book signing I went to in March

5. You Know you Love Me by Cecily von Ziegesar - Read this for my 2019 goal of finishing the Gossip Girl book series

6. The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon - Read this for the Contemporary-a-thon challenge of reading a diverse book

7. In His Own Write & A Spaniard in the Works by John Lennon - Read this for the Contemporary-a-thon challenge of reading a book in a non-traditional format

8. You by Caroline Kepnes - Read this for the Contemporary-a-thon challenge of reading a dark/emotional/hard hitting book

9. My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick - Read this for the Contemporary-a-thon challenge of reading my most recently purchased contemporary

10. P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han - Read this for the Contemporary-a-thon challenge of reading a blurple book

11. A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman - Read this for the Contemporary-a-thon challenge of reading a book I meant to read in 2018

12. Draekora by Lynette Noni - Read this because of the Lynette Noni book signing I went to in March

13. Graevale by Lynette Noni - Read this because of the Lynette Noni book signing I went to in March

14. We Three Heroes by Lynette Noni - Read this because of the Lynette Noni book signing I went to in March

15. Vardaesia by Lynette Noni - Read this because of the Lynette Noni book signing I went to in March

-----MY READING STATS IN FEBRUARY-----

Books Read: 15

TBR: 13

Library: 0

Re-reads: 2

Pages Read: 5,487

Book Review #796 - Lady Jane Grey by Sue Reid

The tragic story of Lady Jane Grey who was Queen of England for nine days in July 1553. Jane grew up watching her cousins in training as heirs to the throne, little imagining that by a twist of fate she would one day be crowned. But this is Tudor England where nobody plays fair, and even a queen isn't safe from those who wish her harm.

My Rating: 2/5

This book starts off in 1547 when Jane was only a child. I felt like this was only done to establish her friendship with her cousin Edward (the future child king) which obviously plays a larger role later on.

Starting the story so early made the book drag on so much because her life was so ordinary and boring up until the last few years.

If you are not that familiar with history and the life and death of Lady Jane Grey, I would not recommend this book at all because it throws a lot of names and dates around with no real explanation at times.

Book Review #795 - Wonderful Tonight by Pattie Boyd

Boyd breaks a 40-year silence as she tells the story of how she found herself bound to two of the most addictive, promiscuous musical geniuses of the 20th century and became the most famous muse in the history of rock and roll.

My Rating: 2/5

I borrowed this book from my local library because searching through their catalogue it was the only 'Beatles' related book I had yet to read.

If you don't know who Pattie Boyd is, she was a model/actress but is more widely known for being the first wife of George Harrison whom she left for his best friend Eric Clapton.

I was only really interested in reading the Harrison chapters but decided to read the entire book as I am not the type of person who can read 2 chapters and say they have read the book.

For the most part, I found this book quite boring. It was mainly just her telling us all the famous people she used to hang out with. Had I grown up (or even been alive) during that era it may have interested me but I honestly had never heard of anyone mentioned other than the four Beatles.

Before reading this book I knew absolutely nothing about Eric Clapton and this book does not portray him well at all. It chronicles his massive drug addiction problems (so much that he took to wearing a spoon around on a necklace) and how he would have affairs in the house with Pattie knowingly in the house. The worst thing he did however was joyfully tell her his mistress was pregnant knowing that Pattie struggled with infertility and expect Pattie to be happy for him about it.

Overall, I feel like had I been older this book would have been a fun, nostalgic read but because I'm not I found it boring with so many references flying right over my head.

February 2019 Book Haul

The books I acquired in February are:

This first stack are books that I hope to get to in the next week or so or will be books you will likely see in my March TBR. 

 This next stack is the Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull. I am really hoping that I can get to this series in either March or April because I'm really trying to reduce the amount of complete series I have sitting on my TBR.

From this stack I am hoping to get to The Wicked King and The Single Ladies of Jacaranda Retirement Village in the next few months.

From this stack I have already read Liesl & Po (library), Eleanor and Park (upgrading from paperback) and Every Day (also upgrading from paperback). 

These are all books I am in rush to read at all. The Name of the Wind is an upgrade from my mass market paperback edition.

Some more series that I added this month. The bottom one has really good ratings on Goodreads I just have never heard it mentioned anywhere before. The It Girl series is a spin-off from the Gossip Girl series and I couldn't help myself when I saw the majority of the series at a book sale. And the Princess Diaries series is a series I have been thinking of getting for a while.

This is my classics haul for the month. Also includes a random non-fiction book because it was the only non-fiction book I hadn't shelved before I remembered I needed to take pictures of them.

If you would like to see what my whole non-fiction February haul looks like, I have a picture of it on my instagram @reading8daysaweek. 

That is all for my February book haul. If there are any books here you think I should read as soon as possible let me know!

Book Review #794 - Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

"My greatest thought in living is Heathcliff. If all else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be... Nelly, I amHeathcliff! He's always, always in my mind: not as a pleasure... but as my own being." Wuthering Heights is the only novel of Emily Bronte, who died a year after its publication, at the age of thirty. A brooding Yorkshire tale of a love that is stronger than death, it is also a fierce vision of metaphysical passion, in which heaven and hell, nature and society, are powerfully juxtaposed. Unique, mystical, with a timeless appeal, it has become a classic of English literature.

My Rating: 3/5

This is yet another book that I attempted to read before (in fact 3 or 4 times) and just was never able to get past the first chapter.

This book was massively atmospheric. Every time I picked it up it was like it instantly transported me to the Yorkshire Moors.

This was most definitely a character driven novel and a harrowing take of unrequited, forbidden love and the lifetime grief in the aftermath of it.

Heathcliff is a literary character I have heard so much about and so I never expected him to be so unlikable. He was most definitely a tortured man who in modern day could do with a lot of therapy but I really didn't like nor could see past the way he treated Hareton, Cathy and Linton.

I can definitely see how this book has remained a favourite classic some hundred or so years since its publication because the setting is amazing and there is always something happening or you feel something is about to happen all the time.

Book Review #793 - Boy:Tales of Childhood (Roald Dahl's Autobiography #1) by Roald Dahl

From the evocation of an enchanted boyhood spent in Wales and Norway to his unhappy experiences at an English public school, these sparkling memoirs are filled with wit, high spirits and more than a touch of the macabre.

My Rating: 5/5

Roald Dahl states that this book is not an autobiography instead it is a collection of tales from his childhood.

First of all as an amateur genealogist, I loved the inclusion og the postcards he wrote to his mother over the years and how awesome his mother was for keeping them. I wish something like that existed in my family.

All the tales were so well written and I loved that there were many occasions where you could see where the inspiration for some of the books he would later write came from. The most obvious of these being Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Matilda.

Book Review #792 - Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed

At twenty-two, Cheryl Strayed thought she had lost everything. In the wake of her mother’s death, her family scattered and her own marriage was soon destroyed. Four years later, with nothing more to lose, she made the most impulsive decision of her life. With no experience or training, driven only by blind will, she would hike more than a thousand miles of the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave Desert through California and Oregon to Washington State — and she would do it alone.

Told with suspense and style, sparkling with warmth and humor, Wild powerfully captures the terrors and pleasures of one young woman forging ahead against all odds on a journey that maddened, strengthened, and ultimately healed her.

My Rating: 3.5/5

I've had this book on my TBR since March 2017 but never had the urge to pick it up until I saw it heavily referenced in the Gilmore Girls revival. 

I never really expected this book about a woman's experiences on a walking trail (that I actually had no previous knowledge about) to be as interesting as it was nor how vividly she would be able to illustrate what each day was like for her doing it.

I think what makes this book so intriguing and popular to read is because Cheryl is so relatable. She is not some outdoor enthusiast who sees a walking trail as a common adventure to do but she is just an average woman who needed an escape following the death of her mother.

In the Gilmore Girls episode, people were divided into the book or movie camps. As I have not yet watched the movie I am firmly in the book's camp and considering how much I enjoyed the book I can't really see this changing.

Contemporary-a-thon TBR

One of my reading goals for 2019 was to participate in more read-a-thons and so I will be joining in on the Contemporary-a-thon which starts tomorrow.

My TBR for it is: 

The challenges each book completes is:

• Read most recently bought contemporary - My Life Next Door

• Read a blurple coloured book - P.S. I Still Love You

• Read a diverse contemporary - The Sun is Also a Star

• Read a dark/emotional/hard hitting/thriller book  - You by Caroline Kepnes

• Read a book you meant to read in 2018 - A Man Called Ove

• Read a book in a non-traditional format - In His Own Write and A Spaniard in the Works by John Lennon

• Read a book with a picture on the spine - You Know You Love Me

Book Review #791 - I, Me, Mine by George Harrison

Cherished by fans and collectors since its first publication in 1980, I, Me, Mine is now available in paperback. The closest we will come to George Harrison's autobiography, it features George in conversation with The Beatles' spokesperson Derek Taylor, discussing everything from early Beatlemania to his love of gardening. The lyrics to over 80 of his songs, many in his own hand, are accompanied by his uniquely intimate and humorous commentary. Fifty archival photographs of George with The Beatles and solo capture a journey of creative and spiritual transformation. Brimming with the wit, warmth, and grace that characterized his life, and with an introduction by his wife, Olivia, I, Me, Mine is a treasured portrait of George Harrison and his music.

My Rating: 4.5/5

This is the closest book out there to a Beatles autobiography and so on my quest to read as many books about my favourite band I had to read this one.

The reason I say this is the closest to an autobiography is because even though this book was written by George Harrison, the whole book is not autobiographical.

The book is split into three parts. The autobiography, although definitely my favourite part was by far the shortest section of the book which considering how much George hated talking about himself I guess we are lucky we even got a section at all. The writing style was straight to the point and very dead pan in humour.

The second section was photographs. This was equally as short as the autobiographical section but there were quite a lot of pictures I had not seen before especially from his childhood and early Beatles era.

I especially liked the photo of the chocolate box that inspired George to write Savoy Truffle as all the lyrics were right there on the box.

The third section was George's handwritten lyrics for all his songs along with narration of how he came to write the songs.

This was by far the most extensive part of the book and took up more than half the book on its own. 

I have read so many books breaking down Beatles lyrics but they mainly deal with the Lennon/McCartney songs so it was good to see George's songs given the proper attention and also to hear about their meanings straight from the source. 

February 2019 TBR

The books I am planning on reading in February are as follows:

Some books I am reading for specific 2019 goals/challenges which are:

My non-fiction book for the month is Lion by Saroo Brierley;

My 1001 Books List pick of the month is Frankenstein by Mary Shelley; 

City of Ashes and City of Glass are for my Cassandra Clare 2019 readathon;

I am reading the Lynette Noni books because I am going to her book signing in early March and want to be caught up on her series so I don't get spoiled.

Depending on how much I like this series I might exchange out the Cynthia Hand books to continue on with the series, so stay tuned into my instagram account @reading8daysaweek to see if this happens!

Book Review #790 - The Times One Hundred Greatest Cricketers

Compile a book claiming to contain "the greatest" of anything and you are bound to run into problems. Do it with cricket and you are asking for trouble--everyone will disagree with at least one of your entries and chide you for perceived omissions. But John Woodcock, Times writer and cricket correspondent for more than 50 years, is among the best qualified to undertake such a task. And an admirable job he made of it in The Times One Hundred Greatest Cricketers. Opening the innings with a name few would argue with--W G Grace--Woodcock goes through many other of the greatest names the sport has ever seen--Don Bradman, Garfield Sobers, Len Hutton, Shane Warne, Viv Richards, Ian Botham--and includes cricketing greats past and the present. In addition to a one-page potted history of the player's career, each entry has a black- and-white picture to accompany it. A statistical index (accurate until March/April 1998) completes the information, giving the kind of figures cricket fans love--batting averages, highest scores, number of wickets etc. An introduction explains the thinking behind the choices and a foreword by former England captain Mike Brearley is a perfect starting place. A great book for cricket fanatics, this will also appeal to the more casual fan. Accessible, well-written and interesting, it will certainly provoke debate, whether you agree with the entries or not. Synopsis Based on the author's personal selection of all-time great cricketers, serialized in "The Times Magazine", during the summer of 1997. This book includes an epilogue featuring expanded statistics about the 100 cricketers, split into domestic and international sections.

My Rating: 3/5

I used to be a big fan of cricket but recently have not watched it for some years. I still have two whole bookshelves full of cricket related books though with this one obviously being one of them.

This book was published in 1998 and so even the 'modern' players from this book were before my time but cricket is a game that is constantly throwing stats at you and so I found that I had actually heard of almost every player mentioned.

The only cricketers I found I had not heard of were the ones who mostly played county cricket as being Australian I had no way of hearing of them before.

I read this book more as a historical look at players of the past rather than an accurate list of the greatest cricket players ever (because that is subjective and everyone would have their own list) which is probably why I enjoyed it more than some other reviews I have read of this book.