Regent & Gabriele Down Under: So you say it's your birthday

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

So you say it's your birthday

So today, January 6th is my good friend Sharon's birthday!

Sharon and I met at work when Regent and I first moved to T.O. Sharon and I car pooled to work together for 8 years! ...we keep joking that this feat should be recorded in the book of World Records as we have never heard of anyone carpooling for this long! It was great and saw us through those long commutes...I am always thankful that we were able to do that.

When Sharon and I met 12 years ago, she was just a baby who had just started dating her husband; I was younger than I am today (enough said about that!). Today, she is a married woman with two beautiful girls of her own (and a very handsome, successful husband as an added bonus!). So, this virtual bouquet of Frangipani is for you Sharon and I hope you will have a very happy day and all that your heart desires in 2010!

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Gabriele's Aussie reading list

A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg. A foody memoir! Loved this book written by the author of the Blog Orangette. All cookbooks should contain this format...namely every recipe should have a story. A must read for slow food (as opposed to fast food) lovers!
Forbidden Love by Norma Khouri. A harrowing "true story" of love and revenge in Jordan. I found this book at the "previously enjoyed" bookstore which is a lucky thing as it has been removed from bookshelves in many countries as there has been some argument as to the "truth" of the story. Because of this book, which was written secretly in an internet cafe, the author was forced to emigrate to Athens and now lives in Australia.
The Gleemaiden by Sylvian Hamilton. By the author of the Bone Pedlar. The first paragraph of the book starts with : "Countess Judith kept her husband's head in a box. At night it perched on her pillow by her side, at meals it sat on the board by her plate, and her household feared it almost as much as they feared her. In life, Lord Joceran had escaped his wife as often and for as long as he could. After he died (in battle) she had her will of him." Need I say more?!!!
Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks. A story set in the year of the plague 1666 in England. Based on historical fact, but it is a novel. Fabulous!
Blood against the Snows by Jonathan Gregson. The tragic story of Nepal's Royal Dynasty in June 2001. A family curse that came true. An historical account.
The Great Life Diet by Danny Waxman. A practical guide to Health, Happiness and Personal Fulfillment. It promises a revolutionary approach to diet and lifestyle that will strengthen my physical, mental and spiritual well-being. It promises a lot for a little 152 page book (the last 28 pages are recipes!). We will see!
Holy Cow! An Indian Adventure by Sarah MacDonald. An entertaining romp through India; A unique insight into the transcendental charms of India. An Australian goes to India for her Fiance and falls in love with India...This lady is very funny! My travel book.
People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks. This novel crosses continents and centuries to bring stories of hope amidst darkness, compassion amidst cruelty, all bound together by the discoveries made by a young Australian woman restoring an ancient Hebrew book.
Scheherazade by Anthony O'Neill. A 600 page epic first Novel. Twenty years on and the Queen of the Arabian Nights must speak again. The kidnapping of Scheherazade 20 years after saving her life from her spouse the King Shahriyar through the telling of her stories of the thousand and one Arabian Nights.So of course now her husband the King is fat and old and not such a fabulous warrior anymore and she is beautiful, loved by all and famous throughout the world (the world of AD 806) for her storytelling talents. You go Girl!
A House in Fez by Suzanna Clarke. Building a life in the Ancient Heart of Morocco. An Australian couple purchase a Riad in Fez with the aim of restoring it to its original splendor. I have learned that this type of project would take a whole lot of deidcation and money! I dont think we are there yet!
The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway. Moving, sad, a look at a way of life being destroyed by forces out of the inhabitants control and how people continue to cope and go on with life. When a bond kills twenty two people waiting in line to buy bread, a Cellist decides to play Albinoni's adagio at 4 p.m. in the crater created by the bomb for 22 days in honor of the people that died there. The siege of Sarajevo stretched from 5th April 1992 to 29 February 1996.
The legend of Colton H. Bryant by Alexandra Fuller. I read her previous book Don't Let's go to the Dogs Tonight and really enjoyed it although it was difficult reading. This is her second novel and is about a great American Hero, about working on oil rigs in Wyoming where the author now lives. Only at the end of the book do you find out it's a true story, have a box of tissues ready when you near the end of the book! I cried for the last few chapters! I love this author, her descriptions are so perfect. At the end of the book there is a picture of Colton H. Bryant and he looked exactly as I had imagined him!
Schapelle by Tony Wilson. Schapelle Corby, former beauty therapy student from Queensland was imprisonned for 20 years in Indonesia for drugs found in her baggage in Denpasar Airport in 2004. The Pot was found in her unlocked Boogie Board Carrier when she arrived from Brisbane. Her current release date could be as far as 2024. An important lesson learned from this book is if you are going to travel to a country where you are guilty until you can prove yourself innocent, you had better lock all of your luggage! And do not count on your government to save you!
Bone House by Betsy Tobin. British writer; first novel. A crime mystery story set in the year 1603. Very good.
The Long Table, My Love Affair with Food by Mary Moody. As I told the bookseller, this is my Aussie souvenir that I will return to Canada with instead of a Boomerang! Mary has been a journalist since she was 18 in the 70's. In her late twenties she moved to a farm and raised her four children while starting a career as a gardening writer on an Aussie Television series called Gardening Australia. In 2000, she ran away to France and wrote 3 autobiographies about her experiences. She spent 6 months (which she qualifies as delightful) being totally irresponsible and discovering the joys of French rural life. Her book is full of great home cooking recipes from Australia and rural France. I feel a sisterhood with Mary.
Such a Long Journey by Rohinton Mistry. I have read this Canadian author's latter works, namely a Fine Balance and a Family Affair which I enjoyed immensily. I found this, his first novel in a previously enjoyed bookshop in Broadbeach. Set in Bombay and telling the story of the life of an ordinary man Gustad Noble and his family.
The Angel Inside by Chris Widener. This book uses Michelangelo's secrets for following your passion and finding work you love or loving the work you have! Again this drives in the notion that a life well lived is one lived with passion.
The Gabriel Method by Jon Gabriel. On the Aussie best seller list this guy is a local hero. The revolutionary DIET-FREE way to lose weight...interesting concept!
Romancing the Ordinary, a Year of Simple Splendor by Sarah Ban Breathnach. One page a day, this is an old favorite for me!
The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger WOW, her first novel! This book was recommended by Noreen my brother's spouse and I am so glad I picked it up before leaving Canada. Books are outrageously expensive here and rarely on sale!!! This is a great read. Read it before going to see the movie!
The Flying Troutmans by Canadian Author Miriam Toews as recommended by Heather S., Stephan's Love partner - Very different from anything I have ever read, very today, lots of irony and kind of dark humor, funny in a dysfunctional way. I'm loving it! A darkly humorous romp as the Ottawa Citizen has said!

Regent & Gabriele Down Under

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

So you say it's your birthday

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Gabriele's Aussie reading list

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