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RuthsArc

~ Looking forward, looking back & enjoying now.

RuthsArc

Tag Archives: books

New things in 2017

04 Thursday Jan 2018

Posted by RuthsArc in 52 challenge, all about me

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

books, me

Several of last year’s challenges involved new things. Things that intrigued, sustained, entertained, informed, delighted and stretched me……

…attending a baby shower, comfortable driving an electric car, going to a house auction, using Uber, sitting exams for the first time in a decade, identifying flowers and trees, attending Fire Warden training, seeing Elton John in concert, seeing “Kinky Boots” theatre show, new foods, new recipes, trying different artisan breads, making iced teas, new restaurants, going to comedy shows, visiting museum exhibitions, learning about Tasmanian bush fires, completing a Cert IV Accounting course, learning new technology, going to the movies, becoming a NanR.

“Never stop learning because life never stops teaching.”

I’ve read books that were gifts on special occasions, or passed on by other avid readers. Books that I have searched out, some that were recommended, others that just grabbed my attention in a charity shop.

I’ve read literature and memoires, play and poetry, travel journals and kids books. Some stories have stayed with me, others I enjoyed in that instant, but couldn’t recall the names of characters now, a few weeks or months on. I have escaped into other people’s lives, in different decades, centuries, both historical and fiction.

Here are some of my favourites of the past year.

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Ticks for another 5 challenges.
✔4 – Times 3 – Try to do something new each month, something out of my comfort zone.
✔5 – Learn to identify five different types of gum trees by their bark, leaves and size.
✔8 – Introduce eight new things into our diet, not all alcohol based!
✔11 – Read eleven books this year, paper books, interesting, thought provoking books.
✔16 – Go to sixteen events, art exhibitions, festivals, movies or shows.

And I ticked off a couple of bucket list items too
✔Go to a rooftop cinema
✔Skinny dip in the ocean

Weekly Photo Challenge – Peek

03 Friday Nov 2017

Posted by RuthsArc in weekly photo challenge

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

books, family

A peek over his shoulder as our 12 week old grandson enjoys his first book.IMG_7218 (1)

Peek

Weekly Photo Challenge – Solitude

05 Sunday Feb 2017

Posted by RuthsArc in weekly photo challenge

≈ 11 Comments

Tags

books, photos

What does solitude mean to you?

Getting lost in a good book?img_6432

Solitude in nature? This stranger was not actually alone, she was having a face to face conversation with someone on her phone.img_6396

Fishing – A solitary past time?img_6410

Solitude

Muggles and magic with HP.

14 Sunday Sep 2014

Posted by RuthsArc in remembering / musing

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

books, family, me

We grew up with Harry Potter. S~E was the same age as Harry and his friends, so each new book, each new school year was eagerly awaited. We all read the books, with later editions my Aussie Mate and I sharing one book on day shift / night shift with two books marks in place.

We travelled numerous car journeys with Stephen Fry telling the stories from the audio books. Aussie Mate uploaded a book to an early ipod and couldn’t understand why the story made no sense whilst he was decorating, until he realised the ipod was on shuffle, so chapters were being played in random order.

As a family, we saw each of the movies on big screen at the cinema, with the video / DVD being a regular Christmas present and family treat.

When the final book was published in July 2007, C~M and I queued up in town for the midnight release. There was a big crowd, a wonderful atmosphere, many dressed up in costume, shop staff wandering along the queue with free sweets and cups of water. The police presence was lively, full of banter with the crowd, the kids, the parents. We bought two copies of the book so we could both start reading it at once.

I’m not ready to part with HP yet, so all those books, cd’s and dvd’s are still on our shelves. Thank you J.K. Rowling for sharing such wonderful characters, adventures and for taking us muggles to that amazing magical world….of howlers….the night bus…quiddich…spells and potions…house elves……………..

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Old School, books or kindle?

13 Saturday Sep 2014

Posted by RuthsArc in making changes, remembering / musing

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Tags

books, family, me

We’ve always had books in the house, always belonged to the local library. I’m old school and I don’t agree with writing in books, even notes in margins or highlights in text books, but I digress.

As our girls grew up, activities obviously changed from reading to them, to reading with them, listening to them read to me (with the dreaded weekly spelling lists) and finally reading the same books they read as teenagers, to keep aware of influences in their lives and to discuss stories, characters, plots with them.

As a family we all enjoyed some wonderful children’s authors from A. A. Milne, Dr Seuss, Jacqueline Wilson, Michael Murpurgo, Anne Fine, to name just a few. And of course, J K Rowling, but in this household Harry Potter deserves his own blog post. Watch this space.

So now, as our girls have moved out and we pack up this house, I have looked over our various bookshelves and wondered what to do with their content, how best to share the books with a new audience.

I was so pleased when our local secondary school (that both S~E and C~M attended) accepted a selection of books for the school library. I had sent an email asking if they would be interested and attached a photo of the books in question (smart thinking on my part, I thought, rather than listing titles and authors.)

So some of our books are off now to a new home, for a younger generation of kids to experience and enjoy. In this age of internet and ebooks I am delighted to be able to “pay it forward” and to encourage a love of physical books in others.

Whilst on the subject of ebooks and ereaders, I held out for a long while before getting a kindle, but I admit I wouldn’t be without one now. It is ideal for commuting, travelling, reading on the beach, reading in bed, so light and easy to use. I do however, still appreciate the tactile aspect of holding a real book, of turning paper pages. Some special books that I have purchased on kindle, I have bought again in physical form, to keep, share, read again and to enjoy just walking past them and noticing them on a bookshelf.

An unexpected bonus of using a kindle, has been the wide variety of authors I have read, just because their books have been in the best seller list, or have been free, or less than £1. Many such books have been good escapism but instantly forgettable, but there have been some real gems too, which have led me on to others titles but the same author.

So, in our house, we have a mix of old school, actual books, new technology with ebooks and we appreciate them all.

Happy reading x

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