Monday 14 April 2014

Banana bender

Queensland again. Waking to a mad riff of kookaburra cacophony and the rattle of palm leaves. Rain that pours like a waterfall across the world. Cyclone reports take over the news.

Deb and John have given me a luxury guest bedroom and freedom to sleep as much as I want (today that means dozing on and off for most of the day).  They say it takes two weeks after radiotherapy finishes before you start to see signs of improvement. It is a week today and already I am sleeping better at night.

I'm reading Barbara Kingslover's Flight Behaviour. As much as it is the story of Dellarobia, an Appalachian farmer's wife with two small children and a head full of hopes and dreams, it is the story of the Monarch butterfly, known locally as King Billies. I want to turn my whole garden over to swan plants next summer.

I also read Fiona Kidman's latest novel which tells the story of Jean Batten, who was the first woman to fly from England to New Zealand. Both author and subject have connection to Rotorua and Dame Fiona used the Rotorua
Library heritage collections while researching Jean's life. The book, The Infinite Air, is well worth reading.

And for something completely different, I also recommend a book by Jennifer Dubois , A Partial History of Lost Causes. There is a good review in the NY Times here. Oprah called it a brainy book, which kind off damns it, but it has a great story line as well as intelligence, so that's ok. Irina's father dies of Huntington's and gene testing confirms that she has the same fate. Aleksandr is a Russian chess champion who is campaigning for the presidential election against Putin. Their lives are linked by a letter written by Irina's father and Irina goes to St Petersburg and becomes involved in the campaign.

I am using my tablet and not having much success with getting images or links into this post. Sorry.

1 comment:

  1. Nothing like warm tropical air to mend the body and spirits. You will be seen lurking in cafes very soon. Thank you to Deb and John for looking after you! Happy Easter.

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