"On top of everything" by Sarah-Kate Lynch

Okay, so not EVERY ticket I have to the Auckland Writers Readers Festival is for random authors who's titles I've never read. Sarah-Kate Lynch is on the bill with Nicky Pellegrino. They're going to be speaking about "Love, Food, Wine and Travel".

Ms Lynch is one of my favourite authors. I love the stories and characters that she breathes life into. I also like the fact that food that plays an important role in all her books. Her latest title "On top of everything" is about a woman coping with the horrible things that are happening in her life. It's also about tea, truffles and the importance of shared food experiences. Her previous books have covered cheese, champagne, bread, pasta and love, always love.

Ms Pellegrino is a new author to me. I read her book "The Gypsy Tearoom" a couple of weeks ago. I think I'll be waiting for her latest "The Italian wedding" for a while as there are a bunch of reserves on it. Bookman Beattie enjoyed it which is a good sign. He says "I enjoyed The Italian Wedding very much although have to say that even though it is just a four pages short of 300 pages in length, about the average size novel, I wished it had been longer." High praise indeed.

"The household guide to dying" by Debra Adelaide

"The household guide to dying : a novel" by Debra Adelaide.

Debra Adelaide is another one of the authors appearing at the Auckland Writers and Readers Festival that I have a ticket for but haven't read. Apparently she has written several books although "The household guide to dying" is the only title of hers that Rodney Libraries holds. If the others are anything like this I will be seeking them out (maybe taking advantage of the reciprocal lending arrangement Rodney has with North Shore and Waitakere Libraries...)

The book is written by Delia. She is a mum, a wife, the author of several 'how-to' books celebrating the 'household arts'... and she is dying. The story charts her coming to terms with her past and planning the future for her children. She writes lists planning her daughters' far-off weddings. She writes her column. She plans a raid on the neighbours garden. She encourages her husband to think about a new partner after she is dead. (That doesn't go so well.)

A wonderful story about a difficult topic. Warm, funny, ultimately uplifting.

Quantum theory cannot hurt you...

...but it sure can make your head spin.

"Quantum theory cannot hurt you: a guide to the universe" by Marcus Chown

Chown is one of the authors appearing at the Auckland Writers and Readers Festival. (I figured that since I'd bought a ticket to see him I should read something he'd written.) The book is about modern physics, specifically quantum theory and Einstein's general theory of relativity.

I like popular science books. Although this one alleges it can be "read in a morning" I must confess that I had to keep putting it down to mull over the ideas within it. Unlike most of the books that I have to put down though, this one kept me coming back.

The book is written in a relaxed style that takes you step by step through complex theories of how the universe works. It's divided into the "Small things" (quantum) and the "Big things" (everything else). The first half of the book concentrates on the peculiar properties of atoms and the world we can't see. The second half uses that information to explain why stars and galaxies are the way they are. (Well, it explains the current working theories anyway...)

This is one of the few science books I've read where I actually feel as if I have a good grasp of the contents after I'd finished reading it. Recommended.

Auckland Writers and Readers Festival

2009 is the tenth anniversary year of the Auckland Writers & Readers Festival! Created in 1999 by a committed group of writers and book lovers eager for an Auckland festival of ideas celebrating books and reading, this year the Festival is on from 13 -17 May 2009 at the Aotea Centre.

Our library cousins from Christchurch City Libraries always come up and write a comprehensive report on the event so there's no need to miss out if you can't make it into the city. Here's their report from last year.

This year there are a number of free events along with ticketed events.

One of the free events is "Can you hear me Whangaparaoa?" Friday 15 May 1.30pm Lower NZI Room – Aotea Centre.
"Janet Frame and Charles Brasch in their own words. The Janet Frame Literary Trust presents the première of a tribute session in honour of Charles Brasch's 100th anniversary in 2009. This performance consists entirely of original passages written by Janet Frame and Charles Brasch, sourced mostly from their unpublished letters.
The readings portray the relationship between Frame and Brasch, and range from their early correspondence concerning Frame's submissions to Landfall in the 1940s, to Frame's reminiscences about Brasch after his death in 1973. "Can you hear me, Whangaparaoa?" is the first line of a poem Brasch dedicated to Frame on his deathbed. The readings were selected by Frame executors Pamela Gordon and Denis Harold with the cooperation of Brasch executor Alan Roddick."

We've all heard of Janet Frame (and her house on the Whangaparaoa Peninsula) but Charles Brasch was a mystery to me until I looked him up. Here's a description from a past exhibition at the University of Otago. "Charles Brasch (1909-1973), literary editor, poet and patron. Born in Dunedin, and educated at Waitaki Boys' High School and St John's College, Oxford. He lived abroad for many years working as a teacher in England, as an archaeologist in Egypt, and as a civil servant in wartime London. He returned to New Zealand and founded Landfall in 1947."
Next I checked the library catalogue and found a couple of titles that look interesting. I'll let you know what they're like.