Monday, August 15, 2005

Algarve Shorts by Ellie Bowdery

I met Ellie almost one year ago...We met over the Internet on a discussion forum at www.carvoeiro.com. I noticed that she was living in Lincolnshire in the UK but was quite passionate about the Algarve. That prompted me to drop her a line!

Well, I don't know much about loving the Algarve but I'm totally besotted by Lincolnshire's countryside so I decided to drop Ellie a line and ask if she'd like to swap places with me!

From that we began to exchange e-mails regularly until we had the chance to meet in person at the beautiful village of Carvoeiro.

I was nervous to meet Ellie (as you do when you meet someone new) but I was looking forward to it! Nowadays my best friends seem to be people over 40's or their abouts so I wasn't worried about the "age gap" ...Nothing agaisnt my own generation of course, but inevitably those who have lived longer have more stories to tell. And I love listening and learning!

Ellie told me about her life in this country. What went well and not so well. I listened with great interest and was very happy to hear that Ellie's memories were being compiled into a book!

One year on and that book is out! Of course you will think I'm biased when recommending this book and I cannot possibly blame anyone for thinking that. After all Ellie is a dear friend...I would recommend her book regardless...But the fact is that this book is unputdownable!

I confess (with great embarrassement) that I fall asleep while reading most books, even if they are good books. Then there are small exceptions that keep me awake. "Algarve Shorts" by Ellie Bowdery is one of those exceptions!

Ellie's memories are full of life, the action maintains a good pace throughout and keeps you hooked to the events. Inevitably you will be turning page after page until you reach the end.

More than just a book "Algarve Shorts" is a journey! Packed with humour, some sadness and mysterious events this book is going to be the new sensation in the Algarve.