Welcome Natasha!

February 20, 2013 Philippa General Blogger, Natasha

Hi Readers!

I am incredibly excited to announce that I have convinced my fellow mummy bookworm Natasha to co-author this blog! I first met Natasha at our local mothers group and we are also in the same book club along with Angelya from The Oaken Bookcase. Natasha is helping to broaden the scope of this blog a little bit and will be focusing on her reading passions – reviewing adult popular fiction and literature.

I asked her to write an introduction post (something I know everyone hates doing haha) and I’ve included this here:

Budapest 029

I am originally from South Africa and moved to Australia about 10 years ago. I have had an array jobs ranging from social housing and finance to freelance travel writing. I am however, undertaking my most challenging role yet: being a stay-at-home mum!

Reading has always played a significant part in my life. In fact, I buy books the way some women buy shoes. I admit I have a problem! My mother is an English teacher so we always had books in our house. As a child I devoured titles like The Famous Five by Enid Blyton and anything by Roald Dahl.

After high school, I went to Rhodes University where I majored in English Literature and Journalism. I continued with my Honours degree in Journalism, but my heart always belonged to English Lit. My absolute favourite book was Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie, and I have loved him ever since (although nothing quite lived up to the Booker of all Bookers).

The move over to Australia brought with it many challenges. Being a stranger in a new country can be very lonely, and a good book is a great companion. I was never alone when I could call on Bridget Jones or Mr. Darcy any time I liked.

After a few years in Australia, we decided to move again. This time to the UK. I fell in love with London and all it’s history. We lived there for almost three years and I adored exploring the world of Shakespeare, Dickens and Austen.

We moved back to Australia nearly five years ago to settle down and start a family (couldn’t very well have a baby in our tiny loft apartment in Wimbledon!) I have a gorgeous baby boy now and can’t wait to start reading Harry Potter together. His favourite book at the moment is Where is the green sheep? I’ve probably read it a couple of hundred times.

It is difficult to say what genres I most enjoy reading. I read everything from award-winning literature to popular fiction. While plot is important, I love to read a beautifully written story. So for me how a story is told trumps what is told. I also enjoy discussing novels and hearing what others think of them. So when Philippa offered me the opportunity to review some books I felt I had hit the jackpot.

I hope you enjoy my thoughts, and please, feel free to share yours. Happy reading!

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