Not Buying It - Judith Levine

Subtitled - My year without shopping. What a brave project! I could relate to the writer's sentiments exactly but am in awe of her will power. I couldn't have lasted a week on the project. (How sad the realization that I'm so enslaved to my need for consumption.) Humorous and insightful, with interesting and scary facts about the effects of overconsumption on our planet, and written in a spirited style. It made me think twice and examine my spending habits more closely.

The Extra Large Medium - Helen Slavin

I really savoured the quirky, funny, sad, happy book. A love story, mystery and ghost story of sorts, in a very wry, quirky style. Scary (to a wannabe writer like me) how polished the writing is for a first book. No way to match up! Even though I managed to read it only sporadically in the last busy week, it was one of those special books which always felt like I hadn't left at all. 100% satisfying.

Extra Virgin - Annie Hawes

A great read. Witty, engrossing account of Annie & sister's unplanned purchase of a rundown farmhouse in Liguria on the Italian Riviera, and their (mis)adventures and interactions with the locals. Very funny, affectionately sly observations of human nature and the idiosyncrasies and highlights of Italian village life, olives and the love of good food. And interesting information about local olive farming and wine making and food. I just loved it!

The Mercy of Thin Air - Ronlyn Domingue

It's a stunningly accomplished first novel, so deft and evocative in its imagery, feelings and story. Narrated from Razi's point a view, a young, feisty, fearless and emancipated woman who lived and died in the 1920s at a tragically young age in the throes of an intensely tender love affair. She's stayed "between", a realm after life but before the beyond, and is now an observer in a young couple's relationship 70 years later; she relates to us what happened in her life when she lost her one true love at such a young age, and also slyly intervenes in Amy & Scot's relationship to prevent a tragic end to their relationship. This was one book I didn't speed read as usual, but went a bit more slowly to savour its many subtle nuances and turns of phrase.

Our Lady of The Forest - David Guterson

About a modern day Marian sighting and how it affects a logging town which has lost its main source of income now that logging has stopped, and the town's various characters. Gritty in style with long involved dialogues and descriptions, but overall quite interesting. Meant to read this a couple of years ago, but just got around to it.

Night Watch - Sarah Waters

As a fan of Sarah Waters, I found this one harder to get into. Maybe being forced by circumstances to read in very small bites over a couple of weeks made it seem choppy. The war backdrop was very detailed and encompassing, but I couldn't get into the story.