WWWednesday 2 May 2018

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?

So here goes….

Currently reading: The Whale Caller by Zakes Mda

This is a book I picked up on my holiday late last year in South Africa when I asked a bookshop owner for recommendations of South African authors. This one appealed (shall I be corny and say it ‘called’ to me?) because it’s set in a coastal town called Hermanus that I had visited on my first holiday in South Africa in 2003. It’s famous as the place where migrating whales come closest to the shore. Except that they didn’t when we were there….. Maybe we should have gone in search of the whale caller who is the main character in this book since he has developed a special rapport with one whale. It’s a strange book – I’m not sure yet whether I like it or not….

Recently Finished: Irish Migrants in Modern Wales by Paul O’Leary

This is a departure from my usual reading matter. I’ve been reading it for background to my current passion for discovering the roots of my Irish great great grandparents. I know they were living in County Limerick but how they got from there to the iron manufacturing town of Rhymney in Wales is a mystery. I’ve been trying to get some insights via this book.  It’s many years since I last read an academic book on history so it was slow going at times.