Lottery by Patricia Wood

Neither a lofty degree of intelligence nor imagination nor both together go to the making of genius. Love, love, love, that is the soul of genius - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Perry's IQ is only 76, but he's not stupid. His grandmother taught him everything he needs to know to survive: She taught him to write things down so he won't forget them. She taught him to play the lottery every week. And, most important, she taught him whom to trust. When Gram dies, Perry is left orphaned and bereft at the age of thirty-one. Then his weekly Washington State Lottery ticket wins him 12 million dollars, and he finds he has more family than he knows what to do with. Peopled with characters both wicked and heroic who leap off the pages, Lottery is a deeply satisfying, gorgeously rendered novel about trust, loyalty, and what distinguishes us as capable.

I nearly didn't take this book home to read, because I thought it might make me too sad. I'm glad I decided that being too sad over someone being retarded ("I am NOT retarded") and ripped off by his family wasn't a good enough reason to not read it, because this story was really heartwarming.

It was one of those books that you think is going to follow a simple lighthearted path to the end, but it ends up having more to it than that. There was more to Perry than a slow mentality - he is kind and observant and funny and loving and there is a lot he could teach others instead of the other way around.

I started to get annoyed that part of the story where the family plots to steal his money was taking so long, but then I realised that wasn't the main point, it was giving us more insight in to who Perry was through his memories and musings. 

Although some of his real family are not very nice people at all, he shows that sometimes family are those that you choose as well as those that you are born with. There is also a very good reminder to not always judge a book by it's cover, so to speak. 

The Forgetting Time by Sharon Guskin

“He thought of Heraclitus: a man cannot step in the same river twice, for it is not the same river, and he is not the same man.” 

Noah is four and wants to go home. The only trouble is he's already there.

Janie's son is her world, and it breaks her heart that he has nightmares.
That he's terrified of water.
That he sometimes pushes her away and screams that he wants his real mother.
That it's getting worse and worse and no one seems to be able to help.

In desperation, she turns to someone who might have an answer - but it may not be one she's ready to hear.
It may also mean losing the one thing she loves more than anything.
Noah.

A novel that spans life, death and everything in between, The Forgetting Time tells an unforgettable story - about Noah, about love, and, above all, about the things we hold onto when we have nothing else.

I wasn't expecting to enjoy this book as much as I did. It had an interesting theme that I wasn't sure I would be able to believe, but it was written so well that I took to it immediately. It had a lot going on - mystery, love, complex relationships - and it didn't disappoint.  

I felt for Janie - what mother wouldn't move heaven and earth to help their child? Even if it sounded a little crazy to others.

Anderson's  pain and struggle made him more loveable and believable. 

Hearing about the families who lost their children/siblings, made me hug my son harder.

Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

“My heart started racing, not the bad kind of heart racing, like I'm going to die. But the good kind of heart racing, like, Hello, can I help you with something? If not, please step aside because I'm about to kick the shit out of life.” 

Bernadette Fox is notorious. To her Microsoft-guru husband, she's a fearlessly opinionated partner; to fellow private-school mothers in Seattle, she's a disgrace; to design mavens, she's a revolutionary architect, and to 15-year-old Bee, she is a best friend and, simply, Mom.

Then Bernadette disappears. It began when Bee aced her report card and claimed her promised reward: a family trip to Antarctica. But Bernadette's intensifying allergy to Seattle—and people in general—has made her so agoraphobic that a virtual assistant in India now runs her most basic errands. A trip to the end of the earth is problematic.

To find her mother, Bee compiles email messages, official documents, secret correspondence—creating a compulsively readable and touching novel about misplaced genius and a mother and daughter's role in an absurd world.

What a funny Mum Bernadette would have been. A little crazy at times, but there'd never be a dull moment. There really is a fine line between genius and madness.

There were a few sections where I skim read because it was dragged out a tad too long, but otherwise this book had some really funny parts - the landslide paragraphs actually made me laugh out aloud. 

It had been on my 'To Read' list for a while and I'm glad I finally got around to it. Easy enough to read that I could be absorbed in it, but interesting enough that I actually wanted to keep reading longer than I could at times.

Read my review on Goodreads

The Butterfly Garden by Dot Hutchison

“Some people stay broken. Some pick up the pieces and put them back together with all the sharp edges showing.”

Near an isolated mansion lies a beautiful garden.
In this garden grow luscious flowers, shady trees…and a collection of precious “butterflies”—young women who have been kidnapped and intricately tattooed to resemble their namesakes. Overseeing it all is the Gardener, a brutal, twisted man obsessed with capturing and preserving his lovely specimens.

When the garden is discovered, a survivor is brought in for questioning. FBI agents Victor Hanoverian and Brandon Eddison are tasked with piecing together one of the most stomach-churning cases of their careers. But the girl, known only as Maya, proves to be a puzzle herself.

As her story twists and turns, slowly shedding light on life in the Butterfly Garden, Maya reveals old grudges, new saviors, and horrific tales of a man who’d go to any length to hold beauty captive. But the more she shares, the more the agents have to wonder what she’s still hiding...

I am going to have a serious book-hangover from this one! I was hooked from the first couple of pages, and I devoured it in about 24 hours.

The writing was so detailed that I could easily  picture myself in The Garden surrounded by the other butterflies (NOOOO, thank you!) but the surprising thing was that I was more enthralled than disgusted by the disturbing topic, purely due to the way it was written.

All of the characters were spot on with the parts they played, and Inara was the best of all. Strong and fiesta but refreshingly intelligent in all ways. 

I want to go back and read it again.

Read my review on Goodreads

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.

Moral allegory and spiritual autobiography, The Little Prince is the most translated book in the French language. With a timeless charm it tells the story of a little boy who leaves the safety of his own tiny planet to travel the universe, learning the vagaries of adult behaviour through a series of extraordinary encounters. His personal odyssey culminates in a voyage to Earth and further adventures.

I feel like I would feel something different each time I read this. There are many different lessons and wisdoms to learn and what you focus on would depend on your mood or situation at that time.

I'm going to make sure my son has a copy of this book, to remind him to keep his childlike wonder as he grows up.

Sleeping Around: A Couch Surfing Tour Of The Globe by Brian Thacker

Everyone else on the table immediately began taking part in a rapid-fire conversation where the only words I could understand were 'si' and 'no'. 

'What are they talking about?' I asked Juan (who, other than Luis Alfredo, was the only one who spoke English). 'They are talking about what's happening on the TV show Lost'. 

Yes, it really is a small sad world sometimes.

What sort of person offers up their couch to a complete stranger from the other side of the world? And how can said stranger be sure that the owner of the couch is not a weirdo? This title sets out on a couch surfing tour of the globe to discover how and why kipping on someone's floor has become the hippest way to travel.

In an age of cheap airfares and porous boarders, where almost every corner of the globe, from Azerbaijan to Zambia, is open for tourism, going in to someone's home is probably the last authentic travelling experience. - Brian Thacker

I had this book on my kindle to read for a few years now. I was hesitating because I didn't want it to make me jealous about all the travelling I'm not doing at the moment. I finally opened it when I was in the mood for a book that would take me everywhere, and I'm glad I did because it was exactly what I was looking for.

Couch-surfing sounds like a fantastic way to see new places, and I'm sorry that I didn't know about the websites used in the book in my 20's so I could have had a go at it too! I feel like I wouldn't be a very good couch guest now because 1) I don't think I'd be able to drink enough anymore; 2) I'm not used to 'roughing' it anymore. I like my 5-star hotels (ok, 4 star is usually within my budget) and comfy king sized bed; and 3) although I haven't checked, I don't know if many of the hosts on there would like a whole family including an energetic toddler, coming to stay. 

Thacker's journey sounded fun and interesting, and the writing describing his travels was witty, just like yo'd expect from an Aussie. I googled most of the places visited, to see what he was describing, and I have now added Siquijor, Phillipines, to my wanderlust wish list!

One thing really stood out for me reading about his experience, how globalised the world is coming - it sounds like global brands have made it to even the far reaching places - the same TV shows, fast-food restaurants, and clothing brands pop up almost everywhere.

I enjoyed this book, almost enough to make me consider hosting travelling guests once my child is a bit older and less likely to disturb guests sleep (for those who aren't already out partying).

Read my review on Goodreads