Postmen, Private Dicks and Little Soldiers.

Plenty of reading has been done this week as C is on nights and this always gives me loads of time with my books without being frowned on. Plus the weather has been fine so the opportunity to sit out at lunchtimes and read has also been there.

BOOK CHALLENGE 26/1000 (32)
The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M Cain was ticked off in one evening. It is only just over a hundred pages so this was an easy one to get through. Simple but engrossing. I still don't know what a postman has got to do with it, though! I might have to Google it. I was surprised by how raunchy this book was considering how old it is.

BOOK CHALLENGE 27/1000 (33)
The next title I chose was not so easy to get through. The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler is a Philip Marlowe, Private Dick classic. The story was good but most of the plotline was a little predictable. Maybe because so many books and films since have copied the format. A good read but a bit to drawn out for my liking. I must admit I don't like the Marlowe character at all. He is a dick in more ways than one!

BOOK CHALLENGE 28/1000 (34)
Okay, I've changed my mind, And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie is officially my favourite Christie novel. This book I could not put down. I started it when I got in from work and did not go to bed until I had finished it. I can't remember the last time I did that. I still have one more Christie novel to read but I know the last one is a Miss Marple and she's not one of my favourite characters.

So far many of the books I have been reading on this challenge have been made into films. It hasn't mattered whether I have seen the film or TV adaptation because, as we all know, the book is generally better anyway. With the Agatha Christie books in particular I have been fortunate to have not remembered the films anyway. I am not sure I would have enjoyed the books as much if the Whodunit element had been spoilt.

No Fly Zone

The world has been in turmoil due to the Icelandic Volcano eruption. Hundreds of thousands of people stranded, trying desperately to get home. Everyone seems to know someone who has been affected. Either they were abroad and can't get home or they had flights booked and couldn't get away.

Living and working near Heathrow we are actually enjoying the No-Fly zone. The air is cleaner, the traffic is lighter and the area is quieter. With the nicer weather we've had the last few days we've all been a little spoilt.

At work today we watched out the window as test flights flew overhead. The planes were too high up to hear but their white trails defaced the otherwise picture-perfect sky. I suppose it's only a matter of time before everything gets back to normal. Soon our windows will be rattling, our washing will come in off the line dirtier than when it went out and we'll be sitting with the tv remote glued to our hand as we constantly adjust the volume in sync with the flight schedule.

The last few days have been like stepping back in time. I know the airlines are suffering but I can't say I'll be happy when the skies are filled with planes again.

The Crime Spree Continues

Despite everything else that's going on at the moment, I am still finding time to read.

BOOK CHALLENGE 23/1000 (29)

The library provided number 23, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie. My favourite Christie novel so far. Although some of her books might seem a bit dated to some people, I enjoy them. They are easy to read and follow. The characters are interesting and you are always kept guessing right up the end. SPOILER ALERT The butler still didn't do it!

BOOK CHALLENGE 24/1000 (30)
A little break away from Christie for a while but still in the Crime genre, The Talented Mr Ripley by Patricia Highsmith became book 24. I know I have seen the film adaptation but it was a long time ago and I couldn't remember much detail. I did feel that the Ripley character is more creepy in the book, though.


BOOK CHALLENGE 25/1000 (31)
Of all the books I have read so far, The Tin Roof Blowdown by James Lee Burke is the one I have enjoyed the most. It is set during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and describes in detail the hardship the people of New Orleans had to endure. James Lee Burke interweaves his story with real events perfectly. I will definitely be seeking out more of this author's work.

According to the calendar, we are in week 15 of 2010. Ideally I should be on book thirty but I am running a little behind. I am not too worried though. Hopefully we will have a good summer and I will be able to catch up while catching a few rays. If I clear a hundred books from the list this year I'll be more than satisfied.

Get On With It

Isn't it funny how whenever life knocks us down, we just get up, brush ourselves off and carry on. The alternative, of course, is to curl up in a ball and die.

Life is a little like a patchwork quilt, lots of different colours and textures all sewn together to make the whole. There may be shades of corduroy and polyester you don't particularly like but you need them to join together the silks and satins. Have I lost you all in my analogy, yet?

What I'm trying to say is that we are a resilient bunch. We happily slip from the banal to the sublime without batting an eyelid. My week has seen me mourning at a funeral one day, then cheering at a concert the next. My life is a series of lows and highs pretty much like everyone elses. Naturally, I would like to have a few more highs in my life (of the drug-free variety, of course) but I am sure good things don't come to those who wait, they come to those who go out and grab them.

For far too long I have been a waiter, content to sit back and take whatever life throws at me, dealing with each new trial as and when it happens. I haven't been living my life, I've been surviving it, tolerating it - wasting it.

I saw hitting forty as my youth coming to an end. I thought that my chance to do stuff was over. I thought, that's it. It's too late to change direction. I've made my bed.

The truth is I'm only half way through my working life. I've still got plenty of years ahead of me. There is nothing stopping me. Time has not run out. My life is far from over.

Now I just need to decide what I want to do!

Robsessed

At the age of forty it's hard to think back to what I was like at nine (nearly ten!). There are photos, of course, which show what I looked like but there's nothing from that time to remind me what I dreamt about. The reason I'm thinking about this now is because of a recent conversation with my nine (soon to be ten) year old step daughter.

She has a major crush on Robert Pattinson. I blame myself, if I hadn't twisted her arm to watch Twilight she would have still been playing with Barbie dolls. It's all my fault. I ruined her. Our sweet little innocent girl is growing up too fast. She actually sighed when he walked on screen in New Moon. I can't even say it's a "Edward" thing. She had the same reaction when we went to see Remember Me, last Friday. Oh, and the look she gave me when I said he looks like he needs a good scrub!

Being just nine (practically ten) she doesn't quite understand how big the world is or how many people there are in it. She thinks that if we drive around Barnes for a while we're bound to bump into him visiting his parents or if we go to a few open mic nights, he's bound to walk in with his guitar. She has no concept of distance, time or money. If she had her way I would be chauffeuring her all over the country in search of him.

I would do anything within my power and pocket for my stepkids but I am not going to stalk some poor lad just to make her happy!

I don't remember being fascinated with anyone when I was her age. Maybe I was just a late starter. My obsessions came much later and now when I look back at the heartthrobs I drooled over, I wonder what the hell was I thinking. I wonder if she'll think the same in a few years time.

The Butler Did It

BOOK CHALLENGE 21/1000 (27)

Actually so far the butler hasn't done it! I'm still on my crime spree (reading wise). The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie is now ticked off the list. I didn't know this was Christie's first published novel whilst I was reading it. I have tried not to look up anything on the novels until after I have read them just in case it puts me off. I haven't checked the blurb on the back covers either. Agatha Christie was always a favourite of my Mum's. Although I don't specifically remember her reading the books, she was always keen to watch the tv series and specials. I always used to think that Agatha Christie was for women and Arthur Conan Doyle was for men. Having read both authors recently, I still believe this to be true.

BOOK CHALLENGE 22/1000 (28)

Five novels by this author made it onto the list which shows how loved and respected she is. The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie seemed very familiar as I was reading it. At first I thought maybe I had read this before or seen a TV adaptation. It took me a while to realise that I was seeing similarities to The 39 Steps by John Buchan. I think it was the whole innocent people caught up in a conspiracy thing. Other than that there is no comparison. The Secret Adversary, in my opinion, is much better. I forgot that not all her books involved either Poirot or Miss Marple. I loved the Tuppence and Tommy characters.

The local library has proved a better source of supplies than I initially thought. First impressions were that there was a lot of floor space and not a lot of shelf space! I.e. Not of lot of books in a place that has Library on the door. However, although they don't have a huge range, they do have a lot of the books I need. Those they don't have can be reserved from other libraries in the borough and I have now learnt that if my borough doesn't have a book I want, they can often borrow it from another area! I am impressed. The last time I had a library card, if they didn't have it on the shelf you couldn't have it.

Remember Me

My nearly ten year old stepdaughter is a big fan of Robert Pattinson and Twilight (Okay I corrupted her!) Being the excellent Stepmum I am, I took her to see Remember Me today. In all honesty I didn't know very much about the film. I'd seen the advert a couple of times but that was it.

SPOILER ALERT

In spite of all the hype around Rob Pattinson and everything he's associated with, I hadn't heard anything about the end of the film. I was expecting a love story and a happy ever after ending. I did not know about the tie in with 9/11.

E was only one when 9/11 happened, she'd never even heard of the Twin Towers. The film ending confused her and I had to explain what happened in New York back in 2001. Nine years. It doesn't seem like that long ago. As I started to describe what had happened that day and my experience of watching all the events on the news I got really upset. I don't think E could really understand why I was crying over something that happened half way round the world to people I'd never met. To be honest I don't quite understand it myself. Just talking to her about it brought back all the feelings I felt at the time.

I actually visited New York a couple of years after. Anyone who has ever been there will know how noisy it is. It is a vibrant city with lots of traffic. Drivers honk their horns for no reason at all times of night and day. Around Ground Zero it was eerily quiet though. Even though there was nothing much to see except foundations and the fence, there was still an aura of sadness and deep respect.

I guess 9/11 was one of those historic moments where everyone will remember where they were and what they were doing at the time they heard the news. Remember Me was such an apt title for the film for many reasons.