Musings of a South African Bookworm

sharing my love of books with a special focus on SA literature

Dec 13

451 Challenge

by musingsofasouthafricanbookworm

OK, so I don’t know about you but I love finding books to read.

451 Fridays

I especially love finding good books to read and what better place to look than at the 451 Challenge. This challenge consists of a master list of books which has been taken from all the participants of 451 Fridays, over at As usual, I need more bookshelves.

Between January 1, 2010 and November 30, 2010, participants are challenged to read books on the 451 master list. There will be several levels of participation:

Spark – read 1-2 books from the master list
Ember – read 3-4 books from the master list
Flame – read 5-6 books from the master list
Blaze – read 7 or more books from the master list

If you are interested, you can sign up on the dedicated blog for the challenge.

I’m going for Blaze which is 7 books or more and they are…drum roll please…

1)  Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance – Robert M Pirsig. (I have read half this book, but just have never finished the other half) Now is as good a time as any!

2)  Black Beauty – Anna Sewell

3)  Farenheit 451 – Ray Bradbury (I think its only fair that if I am partaking in a challenge based on his book, it is only fair that I read the book, though I am quite intruiged to read it)

4)  We need to talk about Kevin – Lionel Shriver

5)  A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens

6)  A Thousand Splendid Suns – Khaled Hosseini

7)  Silence – Shusako Endo

So, does anyone else fancy taking up the challenge? Let us know, and we can chat about what we are reading.

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Dec 11

Claim to fame, Iv been featured on 451 Fridays!

by musingsofasouthafricanbookworm

451 Fridays

Hi all, I know it’s been quiet on The Book Club Blog lately, I promise this will be rectified as soon as! I have a couple of things in the pipeline, just need to find the time to get them to fruition…

But until then, please visit As usual, I need more bookshelves where today, I have been featured on her 451 Fridays. Elizabeth invited me to join in, and bookaholic that I am, I couldn’t resist. She will explain more about the idea, and if any of you fancy joining in, all you need to do, is let her know. If you do join in,let us know too and we can blog about it.

Happy reading, and see you all soon.

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Dec 3

Im not a book nerd, after all!

by musingsofasouthafricanbookworm

GorgeousBloggerAward

OK, so I have been awarded a gorgeous blogger award, how fabulous is that?! And its because I am not a book nerd… I like that. So, what I have to do, is share 6 things about me that you don’t know and tag 6 other gorgeous bloggers. So, without further ado, I bring you: 6 things.

1)  I am afraid of bugs, moths, flying insects, mice and creepy crawlys. Everytime one is in our house that needs to be removed, I have a particular voice that I use, in order to get The Man to remove them. He is the official Bug Remover as he does it with the greatest of care.

2)  I find it quite difficult to open up to people and share. And since having a baby, my non baby friends have made a rather sad exit from my life and sometimes,I miss having a close girlfriend to talk to about arb things inside my head.(Thank goodness for sisters!)

3)  Reading is my most perfect form of escapism.

4) I dont watch the news as I find it too depressing and I can be quite ignorant on world matters as a result. (Luckily for me, The Man is not ignorant on world matters so I do find out about them).

5)  I am a huge believer in the type of energy you send out into the world and that like attracts like, that one is responsible for ones own happiness and if you wait for someone else to do it for you, it will never get done.

6)  I would love to be an artist with drawing and painting and know that if I actually just took the time to do it, I would do it well.

And that’s all folks! A little bit of inside info into the mind of “imsonotablogger‘.

As for the tagging, I’m afraid, I would have tagged Shayne, Clive and Lynette, so that leaves me with three bloggers to award and those go to.. da da da, da da da…

Dolce Belezza – as she was one of the first book blogs I discovered and really enjoy her take on books, reading and life.

Justin – I love this blog as it brings a smile to my face every time I read it and a sort of hop skip and jump to my insides.

amillionmilesfromnormal – this blog is not for the faint hearted! But the content is highly amusing and interesting. (And Paige raised at least 50 books for our book raiser. You gotta love her!)

And for now, the silence has been broken but it may still be a bit quiet until next week, as I am in study mode for an exam I will be writing next week. Once that is done with, life should return to a semblance of normality, and I will be back in the land of blog bringing you all sorts of Christmas Wish books… until then, take care you all!

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Nov 30

Christmas is coming

by musingsofasouthafricanbookworm

And what better time to read Christmas themed books?

christmas+mysteryThe Christmas Mystery by Jostein Gaarder -(of ‘Sophie’s World’ fame) is one of my favourite Christmas books.

Jostein Gaarder weaves a magical tale with his story of Joachim. Joachin buys a magic advent calender on November 30th and every day, a piece of paper falls out of the door of the calendar. Each page tells the story of Elisabet Hansen, who chases a toy lamb that has come to life from an Oslo department store. While chasing the lamb, she meets the angel Epiriel; the shepherds Joshua and Jacob; Caspar, the King of the Orient; and the cherub Impuriel.

This is a perfect book to read at the beginning of December as the lead up to Christmas is happening just as it is in the book. Jostein Gaarder has a delightful way with words and story telling and with some philosophical musings at the same time. it is a mystery about Christmas, and purely delicious.

(I have read all his books, enjoyed them all and will definitely be giving this book a reread this coming Christmas.)

Do you have any favourite Christmas books to share with us?

Reviews

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Nov 25

Twenties girl – Sophie Kinsella

by musingsofasouthafricanbookworm

twenties_girl_l

Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella has been on my ‘to be read’ list since I discovered that it had been released. Today, I found it in the library -shock horror, a new book in a the library, who would of thought! My eager hands pulled it off the shelf with such glee, it was like finding an unexpected gift in my hands and I went off to the counter to take it out. Returned home, made some lunch and settled down to start reading it.

And what a joy! This book is delightful, considering that I finished it in a day, I think that’s saying something. It is perfect holiday reading, light and quirky with a mystery thrown in for good measure. It is a ghost story but not a horror filled one.

The book is set in London and starts with Lara about to attend her Great Aunt Sadie’s funeral.  The funeral is family only as no one really kept in touch with Sadie and had lived in an Old Age Home after having a stroke. But this is where the fun begins, because Great Aunt Sadie comes back as a ghost of her 23 year old self, but only Lara can see her! And Sadie needs her help to find a very important necklace, once the necklace is found, only then can she pass on over the ‘the other side’.

And so follows a most delightful story, a mystery and a love story all rolled into one. Sophie Kinsella weaves her characters so that they are as large as life, with a twenties theme to boot. I found it immensely enjoyable and had me laughing out loud in some places. I have to admit to enjoying all her books to date, she has a fresh and unique way of writing, even if it is ‘chick lit’. This book is a great way to pass the time, if you need to, or to just wallow in some good old fashioned story telling, without too much thinking involved.

If you are a ‘chick lit’ or Sophie Kinsella fan, I would recommend her latest book.

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Nov 23

Almost at 100!

by musingsofasouthafricanbookworm

Firstly, apologies that this post is slightly delayed, but due to my dancing shoes, I was out at the Johnny Clegg concert last night and was too full of music to be writing posts when I arrived home!

But, here we are, full of the joys of Summer on this gorgeous day and ladies and gentlemen, I have some extremely good news.

Remember this post?

Our aim is to raise 100 books for Bambelela and so far, we have 69 books! How awesome is that?  So, we only need another 31 books in order to send it off to our growing bookworms.  So, for those of you, who would still like to participate and add a book to our collection, please do. If you would like to order from Kalahari, go to this post and take a pick, just let me know which ones you purchase so we dont get duplicates. Just leave a comment asking for delivery directions (you send them to me) and I will mail you back. I am aiming to send the 100 books by the 15 December at the latest so we have a little time to get those last 31 books in.

A huge thank you to everyone who has been involved in this Book Raiser, you are all stars and the fact that you are helping to grow a bookworm, makes my heart feel oh so glad:-)

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Nov 19

Holiday reading!

by musingsofasouthafricanbookworm

Hello hello!

So, I have been away for a week and what a wonderful week away it was!

I managed to get in some extra reading time which is almost unheard of when not on holiday and it was great. I read 2 full books and 2 half books (which I am in the process of finishing and the one should be finished by tonight at the latest).

The first one I read was ‘Her Fearful Symmetry‘ – by Audrey Niffeneger, which is the one which I will be completing tonight, and so far it is brilliant. I wont tell you all about it here, but will post a review at a slightly later date.

Second one was ‘More Ants’ – by Annica Foxcroft, who we were very privileged to get an interview with. If you haven’t yet read it, hop on over here to see it.

Third one was ‘Friends, lovers and other indiscretions‘ – by Fiona Neill, which I have to say is one of the most blah books I have read to date, I loved her first novel though, so plowed my way through this one to see if it might redeem itself. Alas, it was not to be.

Fourth one and still reading is ‘Inkdeath‘ – by Cornelia Funke and the third in her Inkheart trilogy. Fabulous fabulous book and am itching to get stuck back into it. ( I was up till 1am last night reading…)

Reviews will be put up of them all in due course and you can then decide for yourself which ones to read or which ones to discard.

I love how different books are. The stories they tell and the characters journeys, they can either pull you in, mesmerising you and taking you to imagined places or… not! Some books fall flat on their covers with no qualities that allow you to even enjoy them for themselves, but then, that is only one opinion (mine of course);-).

So, what I would like from you, oh fellow book lovers is a list of your favourite books to date. I would like to do a Top 20 for The Book Club Blog and would love to see what would be on your list of highly recommended books. Go on, don’t be shy! You can put as many or as few books as you’d like and I will then dedicate a post on your list of books. Christmas is coming and I don’t know about you, but I am always on the look out for books to give as gifts.

I’l start you off with three of my favourite books:

Jitterbug Perfume – Tom Robbins

Perfume – Patrick Suskind

Rasero – Francisco Reboledo

Ooh, cant wait to hear what is on your list!

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Nov 13

What are YOU reading?

by musingsofasouthafricanbookworm

OK, readers and blogger’s alike, we have one copy of Sarah Waters’s Little Stranger to give away.

All you need to do is comment to be entered into the draw. The closing date is 30 November 2009, so there is still time to get those comments in… and…

We are wondering what you are reading? What books are sitting on your nightstand, piled next to your bed, in your bookshelf, waiting to be devoured? Do tell us. What books did you take out at book club?What book/s did you purchase this month?

Come on, spill it, tell us what you are reading, we are waiting patiently..

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Nov 12

One page, two page, three page, book!

by musingsofasouthafricanbookworm

WHO ARE WE BOOKRAISING FOR?

16351_168763746668_688866668_3358121_1555162_n-300x225

BAMBELELA MINISTRY SCHOOL

…”They continued to pour in until 9 am. They had walked for miles to get here. It was cold and wet but they had braved the weather in their meager clothing and were coming, albeit a little nervously, in the hope of something better for their children. What a sight. About eighty thin, bedraggled children and mothers whose spirits should have been crushed by the circumstances, under which they lived, all joined together in our tiny half- finished church to sing and draw, listen to stories and play with puzzles. None of them had even held a crayon before let alone seen or held a book.” – Yvette Steytler

The Tristan Cullum Heart and Courage Foundation have also managed to raise some monies towards Bambelela, you can click on the link to see more about it.

Some of the books that we would like to purchase for the children of Bambelela –

9781843322245 97818433217989781843321804 9781843322924 9781843325802 9781843322252

These ones are available at Kalahari and range from R30 – R50. But, again, please do not hesitate to go through your own home for books which are no longer being read by your children. As long as they are in good readable condition, I’m sure the babies and children really wont mind where they have come from!

And another thank you to all of you who are being such super stars with The Book raiser, it looks like we may have 100 books yet!

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Nov 11

Book Blogger, holiday swop

by musingsofasouthafricanbookworm

While reading As usual, I need more bookshelves, I came across this brilliant idea!

bookbloggerholidayswap

The holiday swap is a way for book blogger’s to connect and celebrate the holiday spirit by sharing gifts. It’s done secret Santa style; all of the participants are randomly assigned a blogger to send a gift to, and these assignments are kept secret until the gift has been delivered. So no one knows who their gift is coming from!

You can sign up at the Book Blogger Holiday Swap website – why not join us? The Deadline is November 12, so hurry hurry!

If you fancy joining in, head on over to sign up! I have:-)

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