Gods in Alabama by Joshilyn Jackson

The very gentle story of Lena Fleet, who has made a promise with God. That she will stop sleeping with every boy she meets, move and not return to her home town and she will not tell lies, all she asks from God is that her secret remains that way.....all was OK until she met the love of her life.....

The Rice Mother by Rani Manicka

The very gentle story of Lakshmi, who has an arranged marriage to Ayah a widower with two children. Lakshmi returns to Malaysia with her new husband and finds that financially things are not as they were promised and so follows a life of hardship, love, duty and family life. The book follows the family from their six children and various spouses, hardships and the Second World War when the Japanese invaded, and the shocking atrocities that occurred, and the diaries that one of Lakshmi's children leaves behind

Inkheart by Cornealia Funke

I found this a bit of a slog to get into, but once I had established exactly what the issues of Dustfinger, and Meg's missing mother were, I found that I enjoyed the book more; I guess I am an impatient reader! The book is about a story, set within a story, which has the potential to be complicated for a child, remembering that this is a children's book. There is a special relationship between Meg and her father Mo, with his secret friendship with Dustfinger, and their secret world. There is also the character of Aunt Elinor and her wonderful, wonderful library of books.

Blood Orange Brewing (Tea Shop Mysteries) by Laura Childs

Delaine Dish hosts a benefit candlelit evening at a house which is in the process of being donated to the Historical Society. A grisely discovery is made as soon as the recital breaks for refreshments - a member of the group has been murdered. Theodosia, owner of the Tea Shop, simply has to investigate......

One of the best of the Tea Shop Mysteries, with an ending that I didn't see coming.

Life Planner (Thought Catcher) by Jennifer Percival

From the back cover:

If you:

* Make plans only to find other things take over

* Juggle commitments such as work and relationships

* Wonder when you will have time for yourself

* Find life does not turn out the way you expect

this book will help you find creative solutions.

Life Planner helps you understand yourself and turn your goals into reality by exploring:

* Your life as it is now

* Where you want to be

* The skills you need to get there

Life Planner is a new type of self-help workbook which combines though-provoking text and exercises to help you achieve your goals.

What a fabulous book. I took opportunity to work through the various sections, which then gave rise to me analysing my work situation and reflecting on it and enabling me to develop further for the future.




The web site associated to the books is here

Plant ~ Brunnera macrophylla ~ 'Betty Bowring'

In June 2006 I wrote the following entry on my blog

"I am always interested as why some things are named after specific people, I clearly have an enquiring mind!, so this one was no exception, and as the surname of BOWRING appears in my family tree I simply "had" to record it.

Brunnera macrophylla 'Betty Bowring' is a superb white flowered brunnera. The white flowers emerge in early spring and grow taller as the leaves come up. Then the dark green heart shaped leaves form superb groundcover in summer. The height is about 18 inches.



But who was Betty Bowing & why?"

Today I received an email from the daughter of Betty Bowring, how wonderful is that? Here is what she said:

"This plant first appeared in my garden it seeded itself from the blue Brunnera - not sure of this name - and was given to my mum who passed it on as gardeners do and it went to someone who said it was a new one to them. It was taken to Covent Garden where it didn't have a name so it was traced back to my mum and it was decided to call it after her."

So, the Betty Bowring was actually named in the 20th Century and by a strange coincidence, there is a further, somewhat interesting link to the surname of IRONSIDE which also appears in my family history.

I never ceased to be astounded at the power of the internet - it is truly wonderful!