The Magic Faraway Tree - Enid Blyton

“I always wanted to slide down Moon-Face’s slippery dip” was what a friend said to me one day. I didn’t know what to make of it. I had no idea what she was talking about and it sounded a bit sexy. Then the light bulb flicked on: The Magic Faraway Tree. And with that, I totally agreed. Seriously. Who wouldn’t?

It was a love affair that started many many moons ago. I was first introduced to Jo, Bessie and Fanny (heh) at a time when fairy tales were exciting, where you would dream of going up to Party Land with friends from the Faraway Tree, and it was definitely before some stupid prat from school asked if I knew what a fanny was. 

Oh. Those were the days. 

The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro

As a general rule and probably on principal, books that are read at school aren’t a hit with the kids (with the divine exception of To Kill a Mockingbird), so when I was handed the book list for ENG101 several years ago, I did not expect to like any of the foes that I was to be pitted against for a 12 full weeks. 

How wrong was I.

Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Remains of the Day did not only interest me enough to read the 250 or so pages several times, but also showed me that a novel about the staff of an english country manor could actually be interesting. I know. This might also be due to the fact that Ishiguro is a talented talented man, but that’s just my opinion.

Apologies

As the title suggests, I am apologising for something. It could be a fun game for you (and quite deflating for me) to guess exactly what I am apologising for as I am not too sure if I have readers enough to notice that I have not written in a while, but we’re not going to play this game today. The reason for my apology is that I currently have the black lung and the spare time that I have is spent in bed, sans book. While this means that I have not finished that excellent novel Catch-22, it does not mean that I have been prevented from plugging through a hearty chunk. I am, after all, super reader extrordinaire.

I must also note that Heller’s work is amazing. It is challenging and you have to build yourself up to the right mindset for reading this diving, swiping little bipolar-driven bomber, but it is totally worth it. I will write again soon gang. To the doona I go!