A quiet Anzac day…

I always think of the animals who served in the World Wars as well as the veterans.

I have jumped into a few books this week. I am slowly making my way through the Penguin black classic The Monk written by Matthew Gregory Lewis 1796, revised 1798. He was known as a Gothic writer and I am enjoying it much more than I thought I would. The location is Madrid.

The blurb…

“The Monk: A Romance is a Gothic novel by Matthew Gregory Lewis, published in 1796. A quickly written book from early in Lewis’s career (in one letter he claimed to have written it in ten weeks, but other correspondence suggests that he had at least started it, or something similar, a couple of years earlier^[1]), it was published before he turned twenty. It is a prime example of the type of Gothic that specialises in the aspect of horror. Its convoluted and scandalous plot has made it one of the most important Gothic novels of its time, often imitated and adapted for the stage and the screen.

Plot

The Monk has two main plotlines. The first concerns the corruption and downfall of the monk Ambrosio, and his interactions with the demon-in-disguise Matilda and the virtuous maiden Antonia. The subplot follows the romance of Raymond and the nun Agnes. The novel switches between the stories at moments of high suspense. At various points, the novel also includes several extended anecdotes of characters with Gothic backstories who tell their tales.”

It took me awhile to get the characters straight. Our book club will discuss it in May and it should be a lively discussion.

The Wikipedia information about the author is quite fascinating so the link, if interested is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Gregory_Lewis

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The other book I finished is a travel book called Solo by Jenny Tough. She is a runner and kept excellent notes about her running journey throughout the world on a personal challenge she set herself.

It was a crazy challenge and she finished it. I enjoyed her story very much.

The blurb…”Jenny Tough is an endurance athlete who’s best known for running and cycling in some of world’s most challenging events – achieving accolades that are an inspiration to outdoor adventurers everywhere. But SOLO tells the story of a much more personal project: Jenny’s quest to come to terms with feelings and emotions that were holding her back. Like runners at any level, she knew already that running made her feel better, and like so many of us, she knew that completing goals independently was empowering, too. So she set herself an audacious objective: to run – solo, unsupported, on her own – across mountain ranges on six continents, starting with one of the most remote locations on Earth in Kyrgystan. 

SOLO chronicles Jenny’s journey every step of the way across the Tien Shan (Asia), the High Atlas (Africa), the Bolivian Andes (South America), the Southern Alps (Oceania), the Canadian Rockies (North America) and the Transylvanian Alps (Europe), as she learns lessons in self-esteem, resilience, bravery and so much more. What Jenny’s story tells us most of all is that setting out to do things solo – whether the ambitious or the everyday – can be invigorating, encouraging and joyful. And her call to action to find strength, confidence and self-belief in everything we do will inspire and motivate.”

She is incredibly courageous, almost crazy in her pursuit of her goal. It was quite suspenseful at times so could keep a reader up at night.

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The other book I’m in the middle of is Calypso by David Sedaris. I think I will work my way through all of his books on audio. He narrates them and I laugh out loud at his stories. His observations of people and his thought processes at times make one shake their head if they can stop wondering how his mind works. He covers a lot of family memories and I feel like I know his sisters and his father as if they lived next door. Such light relief when the world gets you down.

Other bits of life….

My sister is back in California and I continue to care for the big garden projects we did while she was here. She has a mich greener thumb than I do and I learned quite a bit from her. I was very sad for a few days after she left.

Now cold weather is upon us as winter begins to slide into Tasmania, my thoughts have turned to baking and cooking a bit. Mr Penguin does most of the cooking around here but if I can do some earlier in the day before MS fatigue kicks in I am quite happy. My energy supplies quit around 4 or 5:00. I never mind cleaning up though. It is very satisfying to have a clean kitchen with everything in its place at night, ready for the next day.

I’m looking at ginger-molasses cookie recipes for the weekend. I also found an interesting gnocchi tray bake online I might try. Stay tuned. I’ll share it with you if it gets off the ground.

That is all I have this week. I hope other Australians had a special ANZAC day and the rest of you are well.