Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

A friend shared this diagram on facebook, as a commentary on our current political situation.  Having read Nineteen Eighty-Four, Brave New World and A Handmaid's Tale, I may have accidentally on purpose shown DD2 the Buy Now/1-Click Button on Amazon and whoops, it arrived in my Kindle...

The Blurb says:

The hauntingly prophetic classic novel set in a not-too-distant future where books are burned by a special task force of firemen. Guy Montag is a fireman. His job is to burn books, which are forbidden, being the source of all discord and unhappiness. Even so, Montag is unhappy; there is discord in his marriage. Are books hidden in his house? The Mechanical Hound of the Fire Department, armed with a lethal hypodermic, escorted by helicopters, is ready to track down those dissidents who defy society to preserve and read books. The classic novel of a post-literate future, 'Fahrenheit 451' stands alongside Orwell's '1984' and Huxley's 'Brave New World' as a prophetic account of Western civilization's enslavement by the media, drugs and conformity. Bradbury's powerful and poetic prose combines with uncanny insight into the potential of technology to create a novel which over fifty years from first publication, still has the power to dazzle and shock.

I did not know the story before I started reading the book, and as a book loving person, I hate the idea of burning books.  Even if you disagree with the book, they should be kept.  But it was timely as it reinforced that maybe Biblical Storytelling should make a comeback as a mainstream tool for Evangelism and sharing God's Word?

Though I don't think the book is suitable to young children, my DD2 was interested in what was happening, so every couple of chapters I would paraphrase the plot so she could understand.

One of the central things in the book is the idea that people don't need to think anymore, just have a TV the size of a wall (or instead of one) and have multiple screens competing for your attention all the time, and you will be 'happy'.  Books are not good for you because they encourage thinking, interpretation, and potentially bad conversations, whereas if you spend all your time only talking about superficial things like what happened in the latest reality TV series with your virtual 'family', then that is just fine.  The TV will tell you everything you ever need to know, and you should not question it, else you dare to feel bad emotions.

This is a must-read for anyone who is interested in the counter balance between a dystopian future and the reality we currently find ourselves.

Garden Girls Cozy Mysteries by Hope Callaghan

I read the first of these three books years ago (probably because it was free for Kindle) and had presumably put the box set on my wishlist because it was cheaper than buying books 2 and 3 separately.  When I chose this book to read on holiday, I only had the title to go by, and thought reading 3 books would take me some time, not realising that I had already read the first.

The blurb says:

BOOK 1: Who Murdered Mr. Malone? 

Nothing exciting ever happens in the small town of Belhaven. Nothing that is, until a body was found in the woods behind the local elementary school. 

With the entire town in an uproar, "Garden Girl" Gloria Rutherford makes it her personal mission to find the killer or killers and solve the mystery with some help from her friends. 

With a little amateur detective work, Gloria is able to uncover enough clues that point right to the murderer. She's about to discover, however, things aren't always as clear cut as they would appear. 


BOOK 2: Grandkids Gone Wild 

"Garden Girl" Gloria Rutherford, has her hands full. Her mischievous and energetic grandsons are coming for a weekend visit. To top things off, she discovers someone is living in her barn. But who and why? 

As this amateur sleuth investigates what's going on in her own backyard, another murder victim turns up in their sleepy little town. 

Hot on the trail of a murderer, trying her best to make sure her grandkids don't end up in the ER and facing a budding romance, Gloria and her small town of Belhaven are once again about to be turned upside down.


BOOK 3: Smoky Mountain Mystery 

Life is good for "Garden Girl" Gloria Rutherford. Spring has finally sprung, love is in the air, and no dead bodies have turned up in the small town of Belhaven...lately.

It seems as if it's almost too good to be true. Just as Gloria starts to get settled into her familiar routine, she receives a mysterious message from her older sister, Liz. 

Certain that her sister, the drama queen, is once again bent on turning Gloria's life upside down for no good reason, she almost chooses to ignore the dire message that she may be in danger. 

When a key to her sister's place shows up in her mailbox after Liz mysteriously vanishes, Gloria jumps in with both feet to track her down. 

Crisscrossing the country with one of the other Garden Girls in tow, the two amateur sleuths find themselves on an adventure of a lifetime. 

Gloria soon discovers her sister's mysterious disappearance is the least of her worries.

When books describe themselves as clean/cozy/sweet or other adjectives of that nature, it means that there is no swearing or sex or gore or anything else that may be considered 'adult'.  I like them because sometimes I want to read a thrilling mystery without having to delve into the dark/seedy side of murder (if that makes sense, lol).

The main character, Gloria, is a bit of a character - she is an older woman with a penchant for sticking her nose into other people's business, not offensively, but definitely likes to know what is going on in her small town.  As time goes on, she is on the other end of the gossip grapevine when she starts a romance with a local cop.  The stories are not too far-fetched (if you are happy with the idea of an amateur sleuth getting involved in this type of thing!), and thrilling enough to keep me interested.  I will be putting book 4 on my wishlist to read when I start buying books again!

Stories Aren't Just For Kids by Christine Dillon

I read this book over the summer, and really enjoyed it, even though I hadn't considered storytelling at all (would you have guessed I prefer reading books? lol).

The blurb says:

In a world increasingly anti-Christian, how can you communicate in a way that slides under listener's defences? How can you leave them hungry for more? 
Stories are God-designed way to impact hearts. 
But many Christians reject stories as just for kids. Christine Dillon has trained thousands of people in storytelling. 10 myths come up over and over again, and they block Christians from using this life-changing ministry tool. 
MYTH 1: Adults won’t listen to stories
MYTH 2: Stories are only for non-literate cultures 
MYTH 3: Men won’t listen to stories ...
MYTH 6: Storytelling won’t grow mature disciples
MYTH 8: Storytelling will lead to heresy ... 

Using stories from around the world Dillon tackles each myth and challenges you to master this tool. 

Christine Dillon is a Bible storyteller and trainer who works in Asia and Australia. Her book, Telling the Gospel Through Story: Evangelism that keeps hearers hungry for more (IVP, 2012) has inspired many to start telling the greatest story of them all.

Having read the book, I think storytelling is a pretty impressive tool to use, not least because it was how the Bible was passed from person to person in years gone by.  There is a website and a Facebook group for anyone wanting to find out more. 

I'm not in a place, right now, to be able to learn or make use of this book, but, I am very glad I have read it (and have made a note of it) so I can come back to it in the future.  I particularly liked Christine's idea of praying before every holiday/trip, in order to meet someone with whom to share your relationship with God; something I will try to do in future.  It was very inspirational.

Billy's Week

We have just returned from a glorious week at The Naturist Foundation in Orpington.  The weather was fantastic, if not a bit hot at times, so I was often found lounging, reading in the shade.  We've been going to Billy's Week for the past 4 years (though technically now Billy and Jayne's Week, as she now organises much of it), as it is a family week with tons to do: Kids Club every morning, Kids' Splash time in the heated pool every afternoon, not to mention archery, darts, petanque, miniten, badminton, table tennis, pool, swimming gala, quizzes, bingo, mens vs women trivial pursuit, disco and a hexathlon.  There's even a service on the Sunday morning, so I didn't miss going to church!

My mum, bless her, has started reading this blog and when I said we were going camping, she asked if it is a 'natural' holiday?  Yes mum, camping in the countryside is something we love and is very natural for us. 😜

One of the things I love most about camping, is that it resets my body clock - though I did stay up fairly late (especially when I only had a little bit left of a book I was reading), I wake up at dawn.  And even when I fall back to sleep, I will wake up earlier than I would do at home.  Given DD1 starts school next week, I need to get back in the habit of waking up early.  Having to wake up at 5am in order to cycle to the train station, catch a train and then a bus, to get to work for 8am seems like a lifetime ago now!

The holiday itself was really good.  We arrived on the Tuesday and set up our camp, before going down to the pavilion (where there's a cafe during the day, as well as a bar) to join in the quiz.  Given my husband and I were late, we sat separate rather than joining a team, and we still didn't come last, and actually came top of one of the rounds! 
On Wednesday we headed into London to see Joseph, as part of Kids Week.  We see a show in London every year; previous shows we've seen have included Billy Elliot, Wicked and Kinky Boots.  I've never actually seen Joseph before, but knew all the songs from singing them during music classes at school.  It was really good!  Jac Yarrow was great, and whilst I didn't rate Jason Donovan's voice, Sheridan Smith was absolutely fantastic as the narrator and made the show.  The girls loved it, and it was good to only have a short train journey back to the campsite.

Thursday was DD2's 9th birthday, and tbh, I'm not going to go through every day with exactly what we did when as I can't remember!  There was a Pool competition and I came 1st of the women (in the second time round).  The Hexathlon was on the Saturday, and my husband came 2nd out of the men, DD2 came 2nd out of the kids, and DD1 came 3rd out of the kids.  I don't have enough hand-eye coordination to join in, and missing out half the sports wouldn't be very good.  So I read my books and sunbathed instead - it's a hard life, lol!  I read over 8 books whilst away, so have plenty to write up in the next few days, and I still need to finish writing my comments about the Welsh HE Consultation, not to mention getting DD1 ready for school...

When the Body Says No by Gabor Maté

A friend recommended this book to me, whose subtitle is "The Cost of Hidden Stress".  The book is
about the link between body and mind, and the fact that our emotions can make us ill, especially if we do not resolve any hidden stress in our lives.

The synopsis says:

Can a person literally die of loneliness? Is there a connection between the ability to express emotions and Alzheimer’s disease? Is there such a thing as a ‘cancer personality’?

Drawing on deep scientific research and Dr Gabor Maté’s acclaimed clinical work, When the Body Says No provides the answers to critical questions about the mind-body link – and the role that stress and our emotional makeup play in an array of common diseases.

When the Body Says No:

- Explores the role of the mind-body link in conditions and diseases such as arthritis, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, irritable bowel syndrome and multiple sclerosis. 
- Shares dozens of enlightening case studies and stories, including those of people such as Lou Gehrig (ALS), Betty Ford (breast cancer), Ronald Reagan (Alzheimer’s), Gilda Radner (ovarian cancer) and Lance Armstrong (testicular cancer)
- Reveals ‘The Seven A’s of Healing’: principles in healing and the prevention of illness from hidden stress

Now, I have to say that when people give me 'cures' for cancer - whether it be green juice, blueberries, cutting out sugar, or whatever - I am usually rightly skeptical.  So when I started reading this book, I was a bit worried that it would be of the same ilk, but I was pleasantly surprised!

This book is based in science, but links psychology to medicine via what it calls the PNI system - Psychoneuroimmunoendocrinology system. 
It is widely known that hormones can affect your physiology and how well your immune system works.  Your hormones, in turn, are affected by your emotions and what you are feeling, so it is not a big leap to hypothesise that your emotions can have a direct link to your physiological well-being, specifically if your body is rife with stress hormones such as cortisol over sustained periods due to repressed emotions.

Dr Maté says this link can lead to many illnesses and diseases from arthritis,CFS, to cancer, MND and Alzheimer's.  As much of this repression is caused by how we were brought up as children, Dr Maté is quick to mitigate the assumption of blame apportioned at our parents, though does show that this cross-generational dance of repression can manifest itself such that some diseases appear like they are hereditary, without the genetic link.

For me, I found this a really interesting book, and it wasn't too difficult to read.  It makes sense from both a scientific and a common-sense understanding, and has encouraged me that going to speak to a therapist is the right thing for me.

Skip by Perrin Briar

I read this book in a day and I was a bit disappointed, as it has the potential to be a really good bit of Sci Fi/Fantasy.

Jera Wythnos is betrothed to a wealthy family, in order to protect her own family from ruin.  However, she discovers the brothers are not all they seem to be.  Unable to get out of the engagement she decides to run away in the middle of the night.
Meanwhile, Elian Stump walks into a clock shop, claiming to be looking for a job.  The old watchmaker turns him down, until a cuckoo makes an appearance and the watchmaker changes his mind.
Jera manages bribes Elian to allow her to hide in the shop, when those searching for her break in and damage the clock tower, causing Jera and Elian to Skip forward in time.

The blurb says:

A Mysterious Clock Controls Time. What Happens When It Breaks? The clock tower is the center of the town of Time. It counts down the hours, minutes and seconds of every passing day. But unbeknownst to the local inhabitants, it is at the center of a great deal more than that. It is the center of the universe and controls time itself. But it is old and beginning to break, sending the world’s inhabitants skipping forward and back through time. Seventeen-year-old Jera Wythnos, betrothed to marry a powerful lord, runs to escape her responsibilities and pursue her dream of traveling the world. Hot on her heels is her betrothed, moving heaven and earth to find her before the wedding day. Elian Stump is an outlaw on the run from a bungled heist, but he carries with him a dangerous secret that threatens to either free or ensnare the world. They confront sinister forces at every turn, hell bent on preventing them from achieving their goal, and taking control of the clock tower for themselves. The universe has chosen this unlikely pair to collect all three replacement clock pieces scattered across the world before the clock tower, and time, breaks for good. On their journey they make friends and enemies, encounter strange and wonderful mythical creatures, and face their own internal demons.

The book is very fast paced, and doesn't go into the depth of character that I would have liked.  Additionally, the first book just stops, presumably to encourage you to buy book 2, whereas I prefer books to be roughly self-contained (even if there are overarching stories throughout the series) or at least a lead-in to the following book.  Not having read the next one, for all I know this could have been one large book that has been split up in order to make the author more money.  Book 2 isn't available on Kindle, and I didn't enjoy the story enough to warrant putting a paperbook on my wishlist.

Weekly Update No33

This week has been an up and down week, but I have lost weight overall.I got down to my lowest weight for a few months (93.7kg) on two consecutive days, but am now back up to 94kg.

Tomorrow we are going camping for a week, and I don't know what my food intake is going to be.  I'll have to research healthy foods that will keep when we don't have a fridge and try to find ways of eating veggies most. (We do have an electric cool box, that acts a bit like a fridge, but doesn't keep everything as cool so food still spoils quicker.)