free books, yo

I got an exciting email tonight.

I've been selected as a giver for World Book Night 2013.

So I will have in my possession 30 copies of "Girl With A Pearl Earring" to distribute, free of charge. How awesome is that? Verily, it is mighty awesome indeed.

World Book Night giving is important to me, and I'll tell you why.

My grandfather died about a year and a half ago. He was very sick, and I stayed up all night with him, and all of the following day until he finally passed, holding his hand. The nurses were very kind, and let me use a vacant room to sleep in, but I very much wanted to be with him when he passed over, particularly as I knew he was afraid of dying.

He was drifting in and out of consciousness, and at time he was also experiencing a different reality to me. I think partly because of the morphine, and partly because he was straddling the parallel worlds of life and death for quite some time.

There was a small 'library' (book shelf) at the nursing home, which was largely filled with trashy romances and detective novels. One title stood out to me, though - "One Day".

Inside the jacket, there was a "World Book Night" label. This was an event I'd heard about before, and was excited by, so I decided to take the book to my grandfather's room and read it. I read almost the whole book that night and morning, and it is one of the most beautiful books I have ever read - and believe me, I've read a LOT of books. And this one will always be precious to me, because I spent the last few hours of my grandfather's long and dignified life holding his hand, and being comforted by the lives of two flawed, wonderful, complex characters in paper and print.

So this year, I'm going to distribute thirty copies of Girl With A Pearl Earring, in memory of my grandfather, in nursing homes, hospitals, clinics and waiting rooms. Because the right book at the right moment can make all the difference in the world.

gee thanks, kid

Today, Bee and I have been knitting together - she's been winding the yarn around the needle, while I take care of the fiddlier bits. I had forgotten until she suggested it, that I'd done the same when I was her age, with my lovely Nana/Bee's Greatnana, who we don't get to visit as often as I wish we could.

"Are you the nicest Mummy ever? Even nicer than Greatnana?"

 
- "I don't know. What do you think?"
 
"I think Greatnana is, definitely. You are nice, but she is the nicest ever. Let's phone her and tell her that, Mummy."

Since we're nearly in the month or lurrrve, we did a quick valentinesy craft today - just a little sewing card made from a cardboard box, which Bee decided to hang in the window when she'd finished. 

We've also been playing a lot of Reading Eggs and Star Fall (which is free and quite fun, but confusing for English children as all the phonics sounds are American!) to supplement Bee's reading practice. And look who I remembered today...

 

I loved that guy.

As for *my* reading - I'm revisiting Wuthering Heights, to see whether I still love it as much now I'm no longer a dramatic teenager. And I came across this wonderful quote:

"He was, and is yet, most likely, the wearisomest, self-righteous pharisee that ever ransacked a Bible to rake the promises to himself and fling the curses in his neighbour."

Isn't that wonderful?

And look what arrived today: our first fruit and veg delivery! And oh, doesn't it all look scrumptious?! And we're FINALLY almost well again, so I reckon this is just what we need.

So now Bee's in bed, I'm going to have a cup of tea, and get to work ripping all the CDs my bestest has leant me...here are about a quarter of them. Yeah, that's gonna take me a while.