Good Deeds Challenge – Year 2 Week 15

Welcome to my second Year of Good Deeds, a challenge I set myself during April 2013. I decided to do at least one Good Deed a day for a whole year, now I an into my second year.

During my week I’ll also being updating you on My Kindness Challenge which I’m also doing. I read about a new challenge to make the world a better place to live in. “Speak Kind Words, Receive Kind Echoes” see the inspiration on  The Kindness blog . During my learning process I’m donating money to charity for my slip-ups to make me work harder to achieve results. I earn no money from any of my book reviews, so having little to spare should focus my mind.

This week I’ve been doing the following;

July 27th – This morning I woke to several new inspiring moments. A new blogger joined us and while visiting the blog I found an excellent post. Women who think too much, check out this post now http://womenwhothinktoomuch.wordpress.com/2014/06/01/the-magic-bank-account/. Imagine a magic bank account which gives you £or $ 86 400 everyday  (or any currency you choose), how will you spend yours? Each night the account is cleared, no savings, no rolling over or transferring to another account, and the bank can withdraw the offer at any time they like. Go check it out and be amazed.

Also heard today how my book review challenge has been uniting more readers with authors they previously didn’t know, Brilliant! Just off to the last league cricket match of the boy’s season. Picked up litter at the match and found some money in the grass.

July 28th – We had a bit of fun on the blog today, I asked the question what book have you read multiple times and why? I’m going to feature reader’s books over the next few days. I thought it was a good way to allow the blog readers a chance to have a bit of a say about books. Here is a link to the post http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-5zp

I have been helping out Diane with lots of info about using WordPress and it’s good points.

July 29th – What book have you read multiple times has proved extremely popular, I’ve been chatting to readers on Twitter about their favourite books as well as blog followers and I’m setting up a series of blogs featuring books that you’ve all been telling me about. These are bringing back memories for others too. Today Charles E Yallowitz told us about why he has read Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card multiple times.

July 30th – Picked up litter at the supermarket this morning. Have got myself a little bit too busy and yesterday I forgot to post a guest post for Madi Preda, posted it today instead followed by a big apology. Sue Vincent told us about the book she has read  Moon Magic by Dione Fortune multiple times today and I was featured over at Joanne Guidoccio’s blog in a Seconds Act feature where I talked about what I have been doing in the last two years since I began blogging. Titled “What makes me a better person” http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-5BH

July 31st – Posted two more book reviews on Goodreads and Amazon and drafted up posts for later in August. Had to quickly climb in to my suit of virtual armour to face the wrath of an unhappy author for my 3* book review which I sent him. Rather a large tantrum followed with him asking me not to post my review as I believe he was frightened it would affect his glowing 5* reviews. Thank goodness that having not heard from him for a day, I posted my reviews before his e-mail popped in to my in-box. I will not bow down to behaviour like that, I was asked to read and review his book and I followed through. The review will appear on my blog on August 12th. A big thank-you to Terry Tyler for her support today.

Authors of the Romancing September tour are sending in their replies and both Stephanie and I are drafting up their posts as they come in. Today’s book on the “What book have you read multiple times?” featured Uncle Wiggily Longears by Howard R Garis and there were some great discussions which led on from the post.

August 1st – Wow! August 1st already, just where is the year going? Today’s book on our “What book have you read multiple times?” feature is “The Little Prince” by Antoine de Saint Exupery. Another book that has brought back some memories for readers and lots of good comments.

August 2nd – The boys cricket season has come to the end and was celebrated with an awards morning. Cricket has been played on the club green for approximately 250 years and the club do a really good job of encouraging the youngsters who will be tomorrows adult players. The team managers give all their time freely from the start of indoor training in January to organising matches from April to July. A huge effort goes into collating teams, training boys and girls and preparing pitches, so we all joined in thanking everyone involved. There were reports from all the team managers telling us how the season had gone and there were two awards per team One for The Spirit of Cricket given to a player who promotes good attitude, supports the team and tries their best. The other is for the best all round player per team. I’m really proud that we are part of such of really good supportive club.

Sent off a book review for Beneath The Surface by Mike Martin, a gentle murder mystery set in Newfoundland. My review will appear on the blog later in August. Have been drafting up more book reviews from the book review team and for the Romancing September tour.

What book have you read multiple times? Features The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupery

A little while a go I asked the question; “What book have you read multiple times and why?”

Author Madi Preda chose The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupery

Here’s what Madi said.

When I was in my primary school I was fortunate enough to have a library there, with a great lady as a librarian and her daughter was my friend. At that time, in Communist Romania, it was hard to buy a good book by international authors and the librarian’s family had the opportunity to get a visa to going to France. It was something extraordinary at that time and they brought for their daughter two photocopied books. One of them was Sans Famille(Nobody’s Boy) by Hector Malot and the other one is the one I want to talk about. It was “The Little Prince” by Antoine de Saint Exupery.

    I borrowed both of them from my friend and I cried my eyes out following Remi on his journey to find his mother and The Little Prince fascinated my imagination as a child with its watercolour illustrations and the strangeness of the adult world.

Later on in my youth I  read it again and this time I was impressed by his love for the rose and his will to protect her from the cold wind. I appreciated the little prince for his worries about the rose who was left to fend for herself while he was travelling to other asteroids and The Planet Earth. I understood how special and unique his rose was just because he loved her and of course I was dreaming of finding a man like the little prince to love me just as much he loved his rose.

As the author said “One sees clearly with the heart. What is essential is invisible to the eye”

The time past and when I had to read stories to my kids I remembered The Little Prince. They enjoyed  the story as much as I did and as an adult then, I noticed the philosophy and poetic spirit of this book, looking at it as a book full of observations on the human nature, life and relationships.

After the changes in Romania in 1989 we saw the film directed and produced by Stanley Donen which was an absolute delight.

Finally, now living in Greece I find myself saying like the little prince: in the place where I was born …or in my country …things are so and so and that makes me think about Exupery’s view on expats lives.

That’s why I have read the book many times and have enjoyed finding different meanings to this exceptional book, and thank you Rosie for asking me to write this guest post.

“To Leon Werth

I ask children to forgive me for dedicating this book to a grown-up. I have a serious excuse: this grown-up is the best friend I have in the world. I have another excuse: this grown-up can understand everything, even books for children. I have a third excuse: he lives in France where he is hungry and cold. He needs to be comforted. If all these excuses are not enough then I want to dedicate this book to the child whom this grown-up once was. All grown-ups were children first. (But few of them remember it.) So I correct my dedication:

To Leon Werth, When he was a little boy”

~Antoine de Saint Exupery

Find a copy here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com