My blog year in review: Part 2

Time to finish off what I started in Part 1 with the second part of the year from July to December 2011:


July


This was the month I spent an awful lot of time getting my benefits re-instated after they were incorrectly removed! I made good use of my MP Tim Farron to get a resolution - eventually... In contrast to this my children had some ideas for a future new husband for me. I also got a chance to showcase my grandparents in The Gallery.


This was the month of the first Cumbria Twitnic and I hope to repeat it again. There was a brief foray into a Saturday Recipe Swap and I ought to try that again. I also joined in the Love a Read Book Group a few times over the year. 

View from Loughrigg

#LoveABook Reading Group: grace williams says it loud

Cara choice for our reading group on Good Reads this month was grace williams says it loud by Emma Henderson. This book was a debut novel and has been shortlisted for the the Orange Prize. I hadn't realised before reading it that the book is based upon the life of her sister who was disabled and institutionalised.

The book is quite an eye opener as to how badly we treated children with disabilities even until the end of the 20th century. Sent to Briar Mental Institute in 1957 aged 11 when her parents can no longer cope and the doctors say that they can do nothing more society has given up on Grace. She was born with some sort of disability but a case of polio had left her with a range of problems. The story is told from her own words which she cannot speak out loud due to get disability.


The Briar is home to a whole range of children and adults who are shut away from society. Many of the medical and care staff show little feeling towards the people that are confined there. To get her through Grace has a best friend and later boyfriend Daniel who is an epileptic with no arms. Some of the staff do show kindnesses over the years but life at the Briar is no bed of roses. It is really is shocking about to read how people were treated by medical staff who thought that their patients had no emotions or could feel no pain.


I couldn't put this book down as I wanted to find out whether Grace and Daniel would ever escape from this awful place. There are bits of the book that make you want to cry, others make you laugh and others that will shock. I thoroughly recommend you borrow this from the library or buy a copy.

#LoveABook Reading Group: Water For Elephants.

The delightful Cara started a reading group on Good Reads and this was our first book. I was lucky and received a copy for free thanks to Appliances Online. I had heard about the film but hadn't seen the book so I was keen to get stuck in as soon as it arrived:

The story had me hooked really quickly with it's switching between the main character's present and past. It's a very dark story which the author says she based upon historical accounts of life in 1930s American circuses. As a young man Jacob is a very naive runaway escaping the tragic death of his parents when he accidentally jumps onto a circus train.

Luckily for him there are some caring people in the circus as its a dangerous place to work. Anyone not contributing to the circus profits runs the risk of being redlighted - thrown from the moving train in the middle of the night. At best many find themselves being excluded on pay day despite working for weeks or not being given a meal ticket. This really goes against modern sensibilities and its not for the squeamish.

The cast of characters drew me in. Jacob falls in love with the female equestrian star of the show Marlena, but she is married to August the animal trainer who is a Jekyll and Hyde character. The owner of the circus only cares about money which is why he acquires the elephant Rosie from a bankrupt circus. It is the interplay between these and the other circus workers that kept me so hooked that I read the book in 2 days. 

A lot of research went into the details of circus life behind the glitter and grease paint. Cruelty to both animals and people was just part of the normal routine. No wonder many of the crew were alcoholics.

I love the twist at the end and I'd love to know what happened after that.  I gave the book 5 stars on Good Reads as part of my 100 books challenge. For more reviews please go to the host of my reading group Cara and see her links.