The Elephant Whisperer: This book is incredible - for anyone born in Africa and raised to appreciate the wild, or for those wishing to appreciate it. For me, it was a wonderful journey through the nostalgia of my childhood and the elephants of Kariba. The writing was superb - excellently crafted: the narrator was truly easy to follow. I'll be honest, there were a few chapters where I sobbed my heart out, and others that ended with true cliff hangers, and I'm not one for animal books! Lawrence Anthony is an talented man with a wonderful appreciation of the wild. After reading this, I'd like to one day visit Thula Thula Nature Reserve.
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Again, a eye opening book. For someone who considers herself African, this book made me sit up a little straighter and realize just how much I bury my head in the sand. A heroic tale of a young rural boy who creates a windmill out of scrap to power his family's home and change their lifestyle. This is the essence of Africa and her people - people who rise up to make the most of their lives with what they have. The revelation for me was the famine in Malawi - how could I not have known? Not an easy read necessarily (I'll admit being bored every now and then), but still interesting and worth it.
The Count of Monte Cristo: Braveheart watched the movie a while ago, and urged me to re-watch it again, but I declined. He then encouraged me to read it, and I'm glad I did. Dumas' epic tale is cunningly crafted, and just plain genius. Although it is a classic, I would strongly encourage you to read it, highly recommended and well worth it (many late nights reading as much as I could!).
We have the Boy Who Harnessed the Wind...Russ has read it but not me.
ReplyDeleteI have never read the Count either, nor seen the movie.