Story

As part of Moniack’s Fundraising initiative for 2012, I am keen to launch a project to raise money for our writing centre contributing towards the much needed extension. More space will mean more ideas, which is close to our heart. Challenge: 50 Books, 100 Miles.   I have 50 books during January and run 100 miles!!     Each book will be reviewed on our site and photos uploaded from the start of February.   BOOKS READ!   1. Mitch Albom ‘Have a little Faith’ 2. Milan Kundera ‘Identity’ 3. Molly Hopkins ‘It happened in Paris’ 4. George Orwell ‘Down and Out in Paris and London’ 5. Vladimir Nabokov ‘The Enchanter’ 6. Madeline Wickham ‘A Desirable Residence’ 7. James Jauncey ‘The Witness’ 8. Madeline Wickham ‘The Tennis Party’ 9. Jackie Kay ‘Wish I was Here’ 10. Susanna Johnston ‘5 Rehearsals’ 11. Richard Bach ‘Jonathon Livingston Seagull’ 12. Melvyn Bragg ‘Outside the City Wall’ 13. Esther Freud ‘Hideous Kinky’ 14. Kirsty Gunn ‘The Boy and the Sea’ 15. Graham Greene ‘The End of the Affair’ 16. Robert Louis Stevenson ‘Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes’ 17. Naomi Suenaga ‘The Hundred-Yen singer 18. Nevil Shute ‘A Town like Alice’ 19. Luke Sutherland ‘Venus as a Boy 20. Kevin Macneil ‘The Stornoway Way’ 21. Isla Dewa ‘Women Talking Dirty’ 22. Anne Enright ‘What are you like?’ 23. Kamila Shamise ‘Salt and Saffron’ 24. Nicole Krauss ‘Man Walks into a Room’ 25. Rachel Connor ‘Sisterwives’ 26. Brian McCabe ‘In a Dark Room with a Stranger’ 27. Antoine De Saint- Exupery ‘The Little Prince’ 28. Peter Urpeth ‘Far Inland’ 29. Alan Bissett ‘Pack Men’ 30. Anne Holt ‘1222’ 31. David J. Simmons ‘The Credit Draper’ 32. Michele Gorman 'Single in the City' 33: James Marshall 'Walkabout' 34: Anne Schulman 'Pipe Dreams' 35:Zoe Fairbairns 'Here Today' 36: Graham Greene 'Travels with my Aunt' 37: Vladimir Nabokov 'Mary' 38: John O'Hara 'Butterfield 8' 39: E.M.Forster 'Passage to India' 40: Ellie Wiesel 'Night' 41: Marina Lewycka 'Two Caravans' 42: Alice Munro 'Too much Happiness' 43: Dave Eggars 'How we are Hungry' 44: Alan Warner 'The Sopranos' 45: Albert Camus 'The Happy Death' 46: David Benedictus 'Local Hero' 47: Trisha Ashley 'Wedding Tiers' 48: Kenzaburo Oe 'The Changeling' 49: S.S. Koteliansky (chosen by) 'Russian Short Stories' 50: J.R.Moehringer 'The Tender Bar' This campaign is all about challenging expectations, kick starting endurance training (there is no such thing as bad weather, only soft people.)     Also to highlight the importance of reading physical books in a time when the closure of independent book stores, libraries and the existence of online and electrical reading material is putting pressure on our age old and much loved tradition of holding a book and reading in a comfy chair.      Any donations you can make would be fantastic to support the beginning of this journey.   Thank you to those who have already donated!   There will be a communal 2 mile run in 2012, celebrating at Moniack afterwards. When the building work for our hobbit house eco structure commences, we will invite you for a cauldron full of mulled wine, (home made of course).     It is these thoughts that spur me on to lacing those running shoes, covering the miles and enjoying all of those wonderful words.!   All the Best, Samantha Tucker, Moniack Mhor Centre Assistant, Samantha.tucker@arvonfoundation.org     **Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity. So please dig deep and donate now.