This won’t be long as there is much to do this week. We leave on a two week driving holiday of the south island of New Zealand before too long. First time out of the country for me since 2019. Looking forward to it.
I will definitely be focusing on photography while there and hopefully will have a photo or two to share when I return.
So what else has been going on? I am about to begin the book The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka. Our book group will be discussing this in April. It won the 2022 Booker Prize. It looks interesting but might be quite the complex read.
The Amazon blurb reads as:
An epic, searing satire by Sri Lanka’s coolest author.
“Colombo, 1990. Maali Almeida, war photographer, gambler and closet queen, has woken up dead in what seems like a celestial visa office. His dismembered body is sinking in the serene Beira lake and he has no idea who killed him. At a time where scores are settled by death squads, suicide bombers and hired goons, the list of suspects is depressingly long, as the ghouls and ghosts with grudges who cluster round can attest. But even in the afterlife, time is running out for Maali. He has seven moons to try and contact the man and woman he loves most and lead them to a hidden cache of photos that will rock Sri Lanka.
Ten years after his prizewinning novel Chinaman established him as one of Sri Lanka’s foremost authors, Shehan Karunatilaka is back with a mordantly funny, searing satire. The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida is a state-of-the-nation epic that proves yet again that the best fiction offers the ultimate truth.”
I am also listening to something much lighter in David Sedaris’s latest, Happy Go Lucky. The Times says this about it:
“Could there be a more delightful American import than the memoirist David Sedaris? Not since the peanut butter and jelly sandwich have we inherited something so sweet and comforting yet so wickedly naughty.”
I went south of Hobart yesterday to a grotty old beach to metal detect. I didn’t find anything much, mostly trash, but had a good couple of hours listening to this book on the drive there and back. I was laughing out loud in the car.
The only other bookish news I have is I got into Fuller’s monthly poetry class. They will meet towards the end of the month for 2 hours. I am not familiar with the facilitators of the group but know the group was very popular last year. I was on a waiting list all year last year but managed to get squeezed in this year. I don’t know a lot about poetry other than what I learned in school last century😃. It will all be new for the most part so I’ll let you know how it goes. I don’t know if the shared reading of a book is happening this year. The facilitator just had a baby and is a bit busy.
That catches you up a bit so I will leave you with a couple of photos, one of the tourist trade here and one of our beaches.
What did you read/do this weekend?
A Penguin's Journey- Books, Travel, Photography 
What a wonderful trip you have ahead of you. Enjoy.
It is really sad to see these sights. Unfortunately. it happens too often.
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Thank you. We are looking forward to it. I find visitors to Tasmania are often quite fun to watch.
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So sad these tourists seem to be missing the beauty of the place!
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I know, just remarkable. I saw the same thing riding a ferry through Sydney Harbour. As we went close by the opera house several tourists were on their phone. I don’t understand it.
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I went down to Cottesloe to Sculptures by the Sea, to do stuff on my phone (also to read a book on the train)
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Oh, have a wonderful trip, and well done on getting into the poetry classes. As for those tourists – dreadful….
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You just have to laugh at the tourists. Pathetic really. Thank you for the well wishes. ❤️🎶
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That sounds so interesting. We also have a sculpture trail on in the south of the state but unable to get to it this year. I love being on trains. I’m waiting for the government here to build a high speed train across Bass strait but sadly the idea has not caught on🤠🛫🛫🛫
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I am SO jealous. New Zealand is a dream destination for me (as well as some other parts of Australia I didn’t get to see when I finally got there)!
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You will just have to come back! Thank you for visiting my site. 🌻
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What the others have said about the tourist photo – will captured. Isn’t like strange.
Anyhow, have a great trip – and I do look forward to hearing about the poetry class.
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The tourist photo is just sad really. Too much time wasted looking at phones. I’ll post up about the poetry club so stay tuned.
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Have a great time on the South Island! I’m exploring the North Island myself right now and head south in a week as part of a two month stay in New Zealand. It has been fantastic so far!
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I hope you have an enjoyable trip also. Cheers
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I’m dying to put my hands on the book. Couldn’t find a single copy here in SL. Enjoy!
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Send me your mailing address and I can send you this copy in April, after Easter if you still have not followed it yet. My email is: Psbparks at ymail dot com.
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That’s very kind of you. I will try to find a copy and if not will let you know for sure. Thanks! Let me know how you like it
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You be sure to let me know. All the best.
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Oh wow…those tourists…the world we live in today.
Glad you had a good day with your metal detecter and Sedaris!
Enjoy your driving holiday!
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I think you would enjoy David Sedaris’s latest book. It really is very funny especially when talks about feeding the ants to his partner and talks to a salesmen about what they might enjoy. His long term partner just thinks he is crazy. We need humour more often in our lives. All the best. 🤠🌻🐧
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Love the photo of the tourists!
But it’s so sad, really…
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