A couple of good books

Now I've started blogging I'm not going to be able to stop.

So anyway, I've read a couple of good books in the last week. The first is 'Married to a Bedouin' by Marguerite van Geldermalsen. It's an intriguing story of a 22 year old NZ tourist who fell for a Bedouin souvenir seller in Petra in 1978. She married him and spent 26 years living with him and their 3 children, initially in a cave at Petra and later in a purpose-built settlement amongst the Bedouin community, only leaving after his death. It's a fascinating account of the lives the Bedouin led, a far cry from her life here in Nelson, but one she embraced with practicality and good humour. It's well-written and easy to read, too, with photographs.

I've also just finished 'The wonder spot' by Melissa Bank. A bit wistful yet optimistic, this is a real girly book. There's not really a 'story' as such, more snippets of the heroine's life. You pop in and out of her life, like you are catching up with an old friend. It sounds odd, but the characters came alive for me, and I couldn't put it down.