If there was ever a night I was looking forward to some quiet contemplative Me time, tonight is it. Having looked after Misses E and M, cousin baby J, cousin ME and E’s friend D for a large part of the day I am at the point where I need to just chill. Dinner is cooking, Waffles, Turkey Dinosaurs, cottage pie, mixed veg and yorkshire puddings – don’t ask, and the kids are in that noisy period before they crash.
I am longing for that crash.
I hereby decree that as of about 8.30pm tonight I will be switching off my pc, switching off my kids (if only) and intend to numb my brain with cheesy TV, maybe a bubble bath and possibly a glass of something red and alcoholic.
I don’t even have a book to read as I finished the amazing ‘Book Thief’ by Markus Zuzak last night, but ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’ by Khaled Hosseini is on stand by should the urge to do something a little more intellectual than veg out, take my fancy.
If you’ve not read ‘The Book Thief’ yet then I have to tell you that it is amazing. It is one of those books you close with satisfaction and a real sense of fulfillment, yet also with a little sadness as it is ending and you have so enjoyed the ride. The story, narrated by Death himself, is set in 1939 and tells the tale of Liesel Meminger, a young German girl who balances the many traumas she experiences and witnesses in a small town in Nazi Germany, with a love for, and escape into books.
Books are burned, a young jew is sheltered, a father is beaten and stories are stolen and shared and created, and it is words that Liesel comes to love and fear.
This is a truly wonderful book and would be a great way to introduce older children to the holocaust. Quirky and intelligent it is utterly readable, completely lovable and definitely unforgettable.
And it must be good if I’m sharing this with you at the end of a long day of noise, toys and madness.
I feel like this, and I’m sure I’ll look like that in a few hours but without the fur and the wet nose.
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October 8th, 2008 at 12:33 pm
After you read “A Thousand Splendid Suns” you’ll be raving as you have with that book. (Which I am so going to get!)
Here’s hoping you get some ME time tonight!!!
October 8th, 2008 at 12:38 pm
I saw it in Borders but avoided it as it looked upsetting. I’m not very good at upsetting books.
October 8th, 2008 at 12:55 pm
You deserve to chill, so do it. x
October 8th, 2008 at 2:49 pm
Very brave (or stupid
) to have so many small people at once! Oh God, and I think I’ve just agreed to a Hallow’een party!
October 8th, 2008 at 5:12 pm
I wish you a peace filled night of quiet and relaxation, followed by a deep, restful sleeeeeep………
October 8th, 2008 at 7:03 pm
Hope you had the peaceful night you were longing for (and deserve!). Perhaps you might have had a wet nose and fur if you had enough of the red alcoholic drink
October 9th, 2008 at 4:27 am
Sybil, it was more like 9.30 by the time I tidied up but I managed hot bath, red wine and started a
A Thousand Splendid Suns which I am really loving already. It seems I cannot got to sleep without reading.
Dan, I cried once for just a minute but it kind of forewarns you for the sad bits and in the end it’s kind of uplifting ma lot of the time. I am a complete wuss with these things but this book I would even let Miss E read maybe in a couple of years.
Akela thanks, I slept well until Miss M joined us at 6am. She’s doing that every day at the moment.
BerthdduSuit, and your calling me brave/stupid?? We did a Halloween Party last year. It wasn’t so bad, but I’m glad I’m not doing one this year. We’re looking into a few spooky events to take the kids too instead of one of us hosting at home. Should be fun…
Susan, I pretty much got that so thank you.
Maureen, my tongue is a bit furred this morning hee hee (No it’s not, I didn’t have too much. Hangovers and 3 year olds are not a good mix.)
October 9th, 2008 at 5:30 am
I hope you had as quiet an evening as you longed for!
October 9th, 2008 at 6:45 am
ooh I have plans to go to the bookstore today while the girls are at gymnastics…I know what I am going to buy now (which is a better plan than going in there not knowing….then I buy 3 or 4).
October 9th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
I started the Book Thief over the summer, and couldn’t get into it. The person who recommended it to me said “you have to persevere”, so I’m planning to give it another try.
October 12th, 2008 at 7:56 am
I too shy away from books about the Holocaust. As a Dutch woman, I feel that I have been inundated with those stories and stories about WWII. I don’t think I can take another book about it, because of the infinite sadness. My parents had their own stories about WWII and they were sad enough to listen to and it made me feel as though it had happened to me.It’s tough being a child of parents of an occupied country.
October 14th, 2008 at 7:02 pm
Will have to add it to my list. Sounds great. Thanks.