Aussie Author Quote Edition:

I haven’t read Stormdancer yet so I am not sure of the context, so the fact that I used an image of people kissing as the background maybe a lil bit off, BUT when I read this quote I thought in a romantic context “Yep, been there and done that!”

This is true, but It doesn’t always feel that way.

Yes, yes you do! Run with me people.

Well yes, as long as you haven’t read the synopsis or any reviews :-P.

This next one is a snippet from The First Third by Will Kostakis. Now i’m not sure how it will translate if your never read the book but I loved this bit. So imagine for me a 17 year old Australian born grandson with his Greek born grandmother >>

“Sti zoei mas, ehome tria… komatia.” Greek for, “In our lives, we have three… pieces.” She must have been in an imparting-wisdom kind of mood. It was obviously important, because she switched to English, not trusting my Greek.

“In first part,” She said, “your family embarrass you. Then-pff-they die.” I couldn’t tell whether she was trying to teach me something or make me feel bad for laughing at her.

She focused hard, like she was having difficulty summoning the correct phrasing. “In number two, you feel agape, you find love, you make baby, you want to have family like before.” I thought of Papou. I thought of Mum.

Yiayia snatched up a polka-dotted piece of fabric and slowly started to stretch it. The elasticity disappointed her. She dropped it back into the heap and rested her hand on the edge of the bin. “Then, one day, you old. You try to give, and your family,” Yiayia shrugged, “they embarrassed. And then-pff-you die.” 

It was the circle of Greek life. “You see, one day,” she added.

Life is made up of three parts: in the first third, you’re embarrassed by your family; in the second, you make a family of your own; and in the end, you just embarrass the family you’ve made. 

It’s funny because it true and it’s heartbreaking because it is true. I’m in my second third now! I’ve always been blessed with a big, loving and yes sometimes embarrassing family. The older I get the more I long for how connected my family was when I was younger. All my cousins and myself included are off making our own families now. I hope I can give my boys the connections I had and the love I felt in my first third.

Until next time, enjoy your shelves (and your families).