The Sahara, coal mines and a to be read pile

Some book reviews and a bit of spring colour.

There is a word for the smell of old books; bibliosmia describes that special scent that is given off by books as they age and the pages decay. I understand the magic of holding a real book in your hand and feeling the pages but I also love my Kindle. I know that some people have strong feelings about electronic books but I love the advantages of them. I was able to carry War and peace around with me easily for the length of time it took to read it and I can read books in poor light by altering the size of the writing. To me these are real positives. This is not actually meant to be an advert for Kindles but it is relevant as a couple of the books I have been reading recently were electronic versions. 

Kindle flatlay

So, on to some reviews.

Trekker girl Morocco bound: Life after blood clots or how I learned to live and love life as a thrombosis survivor by Dawne Archer

Trekking across the Sahara is a massive challenge and this is a memoir of a challenging trip including the hurdles that were overcome to even get as far as the airport. The sharing of lived experience and the awareness that this raises for Thrombosis UK is commendable. The trip sounds like an amazing experience and is recounted with lovely details. Thrombosis UK are indeed a very good charity. Patient facing support groups are a vital resource in condition management and supporting people to live their lives beyond diagnosis. Dawne shows a dogged determination to live life fully and certainly demonstrates tenacity in overcoming the challenges she faces.

At the coalface: The memoir of a pit nurse by Joan Hart

Nursing is such a broad profession that there are a huge number of specialisms. This book tells the stories of a nurse who carved out a role supporting miners in the pits, improving their health and demonstrating compassion and bravery throughout the book. In a time before occupational health nurses there was scepticism of the need for this role. There is no longer any deep mining in the UK and the immediate threat to life and limb is no longer there. For those who have retired however, the long term affects particularly on lungs, hearts and teeth remain and are faced daily by miners and their families.

Five days at Memorial: Life and death in a storm ravaged hospital by Sheri Fink

Full disclosure, this review is a recycled one from my old blog but feels relevant after the storms and rain of the last week. This book is difficult to read because of its subject matter. The author has pieced together the lives of all those trapped in a hospital in New Orleans after hurricane Katrina and the challenges they met both before and after the storm. It is a well written book and an important record. An account of hideous circumstances, it's hard to picture the horror these people endured.

Spring colour on Dartmoor, Devon

I've got some interesting books on my to be read pile at the moment that I'm looking forward to including Untypical: How the world isn't built for untypical people and what we should all do about it by Pete Wharmby. That leads me nicely to a lovely quote I found the other day - Think not of the books you've bought as a 'to be read' pile. Instead, think of your bookcase as a wine cellar. You collect books to be read at the right time, the right place and in the right mood.' Luc Van Dunkersgoed.

~ Thanks for reading ~