tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30367319732007036892024-03-05T22:15:18.520+10:00Little Black MarksFormerly Kylie's Reads, Little Black Marks centres around the books that I read and recommend.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03023415087460105672noreply@blogger.comBlogger811125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3036731973200703689.post-56182812737469802482016-01-23T18:34:00.001+10:002016-01-23T18:35:59.269+10:00Book Review: The Little Red Chairs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25064563-the-little-red-chairs">From Goodreads</a>: </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><i>The much-anticipated new novel from the literary world's master of storytelling, Edna O'Brien.</i></span><br />
<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">A woman discovers that the foreigner she thinks will redeem her life is a notorious war criminal.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Vlad, a stranger from Eastern Europe masquerading as a healer, settles in a small Irish village where the locals fall under his spell. One woman, Fidelma McBride, becomes so enamored that she begs him for a child. All that world is shattered when Vlad is arrested, and his identity as a war criminal is revealed.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Fidelma, disgraced, flees to England and seeks work among the other migrants displaced by wars and persecution. But it is not until she confronts him-her nemesis-at the tribunal in The Hague, that her physical and emotional journey reaches its breathtaking climax.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">The Little Red Chairs</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"> is a book about love, and the endless search for it. It is also a book about mankind's fascination with evil, and how long, how crooked, is the road towards Home.</span></i><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><b>Thoughts: </b>This is our next book group read and I'm really glad because I seriously don't know what to think! I'm hoping a bit of discussion with the other members will help me clarify my thoughts about this book.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Usually when I'm unsure about a book I will read a few reviews and find one which makes sense to me. With this book I agree with those who thought it was brilliant and with those who thought it was rubbish! The story is engaging, but I found it hard to get a grasp on any of the characters. They all seemed to be secondary in the way they weren't fully formed and not "there" enough. No one's motives seemed to be clear for anything. I don't understand why Fidelma was so disgraced. I didn't get the feeling that Vlad was so ingrained in the community that his arrest was so startling. Worthy of some gossip, yes, but not the seismic shift that was suggested.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">The plot also jumps around a lot. It's almost like O'Brien started on a thread of a story, but when it ended up not going the way she wanted, she just abandoned it, moving onto another idea.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">But on some level I did enjoy it. I found myself wanting to pick it straight back up after I put it down. I wanted to know what happened when they got to The Hague, I wanted a resolution.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">For now I've given it three stars, total fence sitting. Maybe I'll be clearer about how I feel after our book club meeting! </span></span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03023415087460105672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3036731973200703689.post-81741411487386555862016-01-17T18:44:00.000+10:002016-01-17T18:44:13.374+10:00Book Review: The Mysterious Howling<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6609748-the-mysterious-howling">From Goodreads</a>:<i> </i></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;"><i>Found running wild in the forest of Ashton Place, the Incorrigibles are no ordinary children: Alexander, age ten or thereabouts, keeps his siblings in line with gentle nips; Cassiopeia, perhaps four or five, has a bark that is (usually) worse than her bite; and Beowulf, age somewhere-in-the-middle, is alarmingly adept at chasing squirrels.</i></span><br />
<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;">Luckily, Miss Penelope Lumley is no ordinary governess. Only fifteen years old and a recent graduate of the Swanburne Academy for Poor Bright Females, Penelope embraces the challenge of her new position. Though she is eager to instruct the children in Latin verbs and the proper use of globes, first she must help them overcome their canine tendencies.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;">But mysteries abound at Ashton Place: Who are these three wild creatures, and how did they come to live in the vast forests of the estate? Why does Old Timothy, the coachman, lurk around every corner? Will Penelope be able to teach the Incorrigibles table manners and socially useful phrases in time for Lady Constance's holiday ball? And what on earth is a schottische?</span></i><div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><b style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;">Thoughts: </b><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><span style="line-height: 21px;">One of the things I love about working in a library is coming across children who love reading. They remind me of myself at their age and my daughter now. One young lady came in to the library last week looking for the most recent book in a series called </span></span><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/47269-the-incorrigible-children-of-ashton-place" style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;">The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place.</a><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><span style="line-height: 21px;"> It immediately piqued my interest for my daughter and because I am such a good mum, I had to read it first to make sure it was appropriate. What I found reminded me of<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/42069-a-series-of-unfortunate-events"> A Series of Unfortunate Events</a>, but slightly less absurd. Don't get me wrong, I love the absurdity of ASOUE, but Incorrigible Children is just slightly more reserved. Once again it's a children's book that doesn't condescend to it's audience. Wood uses unfamiliar words and expects the reader to either know or work out what it means. She presents most adults in a not too nice light, with those who are half way decent often the servants and misfits. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 21px;">Incorrigibles is a book that insists on it's reader being intelligent. It insists on a reader that is entertained by more than a lot of the pulp fiction available to children today. Wood assumes children are not stupid and are interested in good story lines with unique characters. So much of what I see aimed at children today insults their intelligence and while I do believe any reading is good reading it is nice to know that once they have finished with the mass produced pulp, there are people like Maryrose Wood who are still writing quality children's fiction.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03023415087460105672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3036731973200703689.post-29964383381804049342016-01-17T16:19:00.000+10:002016-01-17T16:19:25.956+10:00Book Review: Coraline<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20764916-coraline">From Goodreads</a>: </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;"><i>There is something strange about Coraline's new home. It's not the mist, or the cat that always seems to be watching her, nor the signs of danger that Miss Spink and Miss Forcible, her new neighbours, read in the tea leaves. It's the other house - the one behind the old door in the drawing room. Another mother and father with black-button eyes and papery skin are waiting for Coraline to join them there. And they want her to stay with them. For ever. She knows that if she ventures through that door, she may never come back.</i></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;"><b>Thoughts: </b>Yet another stellar author! I love having authors I can count on to give me a good read. This is Gaiman at his creepiest best. While theoretically written for children, Coraline would be more than capable of inducing nightmares in some children. If your kids like creepy stories and aren't given to wild imaginations that run away in the dark - go for it. To tell the truth I would most probably be ok with both my 10 and 13 year old reading this.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;">Coraline enters another world through what should be a false door - all it opens onto is a brick wall. But some how, on this day, it opens onto another world, one that has been carefully crafted by the Coraline's "other mother." This creature has recreated Coraline's world, but why? And why buttons for eyes? When Coraline refuses to stay, the other mother steals Coraline's real parents and she must enter the strange world again to save them.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;">What I really love about Coraline? She saves herself. She is scared, she is uncertain, but she is brave. She is a girl capable of being her own hero.</span><br />
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<em>“Because,' she said, 'when you're scared but you still do it anyway, that's brave.”</em></blockquote>
And I don't think we have enough brave girls in literature. I also love that the evil doer in the book is female. It is the other mother that controls the other world and all that is in it. Strong female characters in kids books - love it!<br />
Gaiman's stories are simple but not condescending. The children in them are intelligent and resourceful. They are able to see through the smoke screen that so many adults seem to put up. In short, Gaiman believes in his child characters and infuses them with a confidence all kids should have. Once again Gaiman is a winner in my book.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03023415087460105672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3036731973200703689.post-16302611042085900002016-01-17T14:04:00.000+10:002016-01-17T14:14:37.465+10:00Book Review: The Beast's Garden<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1D8tT_SKvOO61t4kPR_FcZfGAVGUt57Mc0J_lJMl8QHOYcdHclR4J1o9PcGSCuEejlD2z4ZggmlmabCZ1GvkEhpbQHLYjrG9oUoHpb9KWw4kTAcfBDFemBv5XCbR8miZ40AUAC50wbW0/s1600/beasts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1D8tT_SKvOO61t4kPR_FcZfGAVGUt57Mc0J_lJMl8QHOYcdHclR4J1o9PcGSCuEejlD2z4ZggmlmabCZ1GvkEhpbQHLYjrG9oUoHpb9KWw4kTAcfBDFemBv5XCbR8miZ40AUAC50wbW0/s400/beasts.jpg" width="260" /></a></div>
<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23702432-the-beast-s-garden">From Goodreads</a>: </b><strong style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;"><i>A retelling of The Beauty and The Beast set in Nazi Germany</i></strong><br />
<i><span id="freeText1736088681874829697" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;">The Grimm Brothers published a beautiful version of the Beauty & the Beast tale called ‘The Singing, Springing Lark' in 1819. It combines the well-known story of a daughter who marries a beast in order to save her father with another key fairy tale motif, the search for the lost bridegroom. In ‘The Singing, Springing Lark,' the daughter grows to love her beast but unwittingly betrays him and he is turned into a dove. She follows the trail of blood and white feathers he leaves behind him for seven years, and, when she loses the trail, seeks help from the sun, the moon, and the four winds. Eventually she battles an evil enchantress and saves her husband, breaking the enchantment and turning him back into a man.<br />Kate Forsyth retells this German fairy tale as an historical novel set in Germany during the Nazi regime. A young woman marries a Nazi officer in order to save her father, but hates and fears her new husband. Gradually she comes to realise that he is a good man at heart, and part of an underground resistance movement in Berlin called the Red Orchestra. However, her realisation comes too late. She has unwittingly betrayed him, and must find some way to rescue him and smuggle him out of the country before he is killed.<br />The Red Orchestra was a real-life organisation in Berlin, made up of artists, writers, diplomats and journalists, who passed on intelligence to the American embassy, distributed leaflets encouraging opposition to Hitler, and helped people in danger from the Nazis to escape the country. They were betrayed in 1942, and many of their number were executed.<br />The Beast's Garden is a compelling and beautiful love story, filled with drama and intrigue and heartbreak, taking place between 1938 and 1943, in Berlin, Germany.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;"> </span></i><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;"><b>Thoughts: </b>Kate Forsyth is definitely becoming one of my favourite authors. I suspect that much like Tim Winton she will not write anywhere near quick enough to sate my appetite, but obviously good books take time to write! In August I was lucky enough the meet Kate Forsyth when she visited the library I work at. Not only was she incredibly interesting to listen to, she was lovely, spending significant time talking to adults and children alike and signing books. She signed my copy of The Beast's Garden which is now so precious to me it will not be lent to anyone!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><span style="line-height: 21px;">While this book is being publicised as a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, it is actually based on a variation known as The Singing Springing Lark. Regardless, it is a beautifully written with meticulous research into both the fairytale world and the real world. Forsyth weaves her characters into the real life horror of Berlin during World War II. Her characters interact with those who, in real life, actively opposed Hitler and his regime - putting themselves in great danger in an attempt to let Berliners and the international community know what was happening. Ava's involvement with this group while married to a man who is part of the Abwehr - the arm of the Nazi party responsible for providing spies - gives the reader access to the going ons of both the party and the resistance. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><span style="line-height: 21px;">Just like the fairytale, the beast turns out to not be so beastly and it's at that point of the story that Ava and Leo's love story truly begins to blossom.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><span style="line-height: 21px;">Forsyth's writing brings to the fore the fear and tension of the time. In a place where one misstep easily lead to death, I found myself on tenterhooks for the characters constantly. In an area of fiction that has been mined for stories since the reality of Nazi Germany became clear, Forsyth manages to come at it with something new and original. I have read reviews where people have an issue with portraying Nazi officers as something other than evil, but the reality is there were Nazi officers who actively worked against Hitler and his regime - who did not believe the party line and risked their lives to save lives and bring about Hilter's downfall. Aren't those tales just as important to tell?</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><span style="line-height: 21px;">I loved The Beast's Garden. It is beautifully written, engrossing and enchanting. </span></span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03023415087460105672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3036731973200703689.post-27329765824500887532016-01-17T12:16:00.001+10:002016-01-17T12:16:48.698+10:00Book Review: Fates & Furies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-ihOksO7bDeo6h-Ql7b2NTro9fttmW54voEjDOCksD0Afw-ZpM9g7bHpmaPnOTKEXF0jDrTiDqVFUs_MbEyi-44MKJKetnHLL0H6k6OR5-pYzVDAIJb_Mgz9J4An6MAoXlokr9UiR2wU/s1600/fates.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-ihOksO7bDeo6h-Ql7b2NTro9fttmW54voEjDOCksD0Afw-ZpM9g7bHpmaPnOTKEXF0jDrTiDqVFUs_MbEyi-44MKJKetnHLL0H6k6OR5-pYzVDAIJb_Mgz9J4An6MAoXlokr9UiR2wU/s400/fates.jpg" width="265" /></a></div>
<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24612118-fates-and-furies">From Goodreads</a>:<i> </i></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;"><i>Every story has two sides. Every relationship has two perspectives. And sometimes, it turns out, the key to a great marriage is not its truths but its secrets. At the core of this rich, expansive, layered novel, Lauren Groff presents the story of one such marriage over the course of twenty-four years.</i></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;"><i>At age twenty-two, Lotto and Mathilde are tall, glamorous, madly in love, and destined for greatness. A decade later, their marriage is still the envy of their friends, but with an electric thrill we understand that things are even more complicated and remarkable than they have seemed.</i></span><div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;"><b>Thoughts: </b>This was our first book group read for the year and it was an excellent one! If you belong to a book group I highly recommend this as a book. It provided the best discussion I think we have ever had.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;">I have seen a few reviews that have compared it to<a href="http://kyliesreads.blogspot.com.au/2014/06/book-review-gone-girl.html"> Gone Girl</a> and I can see where the comparison comes from, but it is similar in only the most basic sense. Like Gone Girl, Fates and Furies is told in two parts, from two points of view with the second challenging some of the assumptions you had made in the first part. Unlike Gone Girl which is plot driven, this is very much driven by it's characters and their reactions to the environment. They make things happen, things don't just happen to them.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;">And the characters are amazing. They are flawed and fragile. They are unpredictable and challenging. They are likeable and detestable. They are human. Groff's characters stare you in the eye and dismiss you easily, truly not caring what you think. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;">Particularly in the second half of the book, the plot twists and turns in ways you never imagined. Suddenly the actions of some become clear and, as in Gone Girl, what you thought you knew turns out to be a beautifully crafted facade.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; line-height: 21px;">At it's heart, Fates and Furies is a love story. A story of an imperfect marriage, of doing what must be done, of giving your life to another. It's gritty and real, not a fairytale romance at all. But in the end it shows how love makes us do things we never thought were possible.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03023415087460105672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3036731973200703689.post-28221308278251694922016-01-11T08:27:00.000+10:002016-01-11T08:27:46.984+10:00Book Review: Atticus Claw Breaks the Law<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15824393-atticus-claw-breaks-the-law">From Goodreads</a>: </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><i>Meet Atticus Grammatticus Cattypus Claw, the world's greatest cat burglar. He's a tabby who spells trouble. And he's been hired by the fiendish Jimmy Magpie to steal all the jewels in Littleton-on-Sea.</i></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><i>Atticus needs a temporary home - preferably one with lots of sardines provided. But when he adopts Inspector Cheddar and his family, Atticus starts to wonder, is a life of crime really for him?</i></span><div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><b>Thoughts: </b>One of the aspects of my job that I love is running kids literary events. Once a month we run a kids book club, aimed at primary aged children in an attempt to engage with and widen their reading experiences. In January my colleague and I ran the book club based on the Atticus Claw series. I hadn't read any, so thought I should have a go at least one!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Atticus is a pretty cool cat. He goes from a life of crime and loneliness to being a crime fighter with a family. The villains, in the form of some dastardly magpies are brilliant. I love the fact Gray has created a world where it is perfectly acceptable to arrest animals for crimes. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">There is a lot of pulp out for kids at the moment. Mass produced mega series (think Rainbow Fairies or Zac Powers) which do have their place. I do truly believe that any reading is good reading for kids, but it is really nice to come across something that I think will have mass appeal to kids and is well written. I'm not sure I'll read any more of Attius Grammatticus Cattypus Claw's adventures - I'm not really a cat person - but they have definitely been added to my list of suggestions for when library patrons ask what's a good thing for my child to read! </span></span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03023415087460105672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3036731973200703689.post-66113152434062426552016-01-05T16:22:00.001+10:002016-01-05T21:29:43.126+10:00December in review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">So we have reached the end of the year. 2015 was one of many ups and downs - a few more downs. Can't say I am sorry to see the end of it. I did fall short of my target 100 reads, but I will talk more about that in my end of year round up. In the meantime, lets look at December.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><b>Kindle</b> - 0 <b>Library</b> -0<br /><b>Book</b> - 3 <b>Own</b> - 4<br /><b>Audio - </b>1 <b>Borrowed (non library)</b> - 0<br /><b>Fiction</b><b> <span style="font-weight: normal;">- 2</span></b> <br /><b>Non-fiction</b><b> <span style="font-weight: normal;">- 2</span></b><br /><b>Female Autho</b><b>r</b> - 3 <b>New to Me Authors</b> - 2<br /><b>Male Autho</b><b>r</b> - 4 <br /><b>Australian Author</b> - 4</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I feel like I read more in December. Maybe I'm missing something between Bitter Greens and Island Home, but for the life of me I can't remember what it is - if it even exists! It was obviously a big month for Australian authors and a nice even split between memoir and fiction. The only one not in the running for best book of the month is <a href="http://kyliesreads.blogspot.com.au/2016/01/book-review-relativity.html">Relativity</a>. Very strange month indeed!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://kyliesreads.blogspot.com.au/2015/10/book-review-questionable-deeds.html">Questionable Deeds</a> was our book club read - but I had read that earlier in the year. It provoked some interesting discussion, if not a little reserved as at least a few of us are personal friends with the author.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">So there you have it, 2015 finally finished. I've already finished 1 (almost 2) book(s) this year, but don't want to review them until I do a final 2015 review. I'm currently on my son's computer as mine is out of commission for the moment. Hopefully the component needed to see it back in action will be here this week! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I hope you all had a fabulous Christmas and your new year is off to a good start. Here's hoping 2016 is a good one for us all!</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03023415087460105672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3036731973200703689.post-79052194569945754612016-01-04T18:28:00.002+10:002016-01-05T15:53:55.217+10:00Book Review: Reckoning<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja8AydXazLB0yckvXlQek_mAFYfpy8jtqRGYIvy0TQYwkub9rpCwRITjxaqtErE3LTAqxP4pcCFmkbsstznVARfOvYQMa04CZmfwVpF0boYvHGluE32Zt8gEp9WNEHyCHLVVxllwNVpUg/s400/magda.jpg" width="261" /></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25875588-reckoning">From Goodreads</a>: </b><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px;">Heartbreaking, joyous, traumatic, intimate and revelatory, Reckoning is the book where Magda Szubanski, one of Australia’s most beloved performers, tells her story.</span></i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px;">In this extraordinary memoir, Magda describes her journey of self-discovery from a suburban childhood, haunted by the demons of her father’s espionage activities in wartime Poland and by her secret awareness of her sexuality, to the complex dramas of adulthood and her need to find out the truth about herself and her family. With courage and compassion she addresses her own frailties and fears, and asks the big questions about life, about the shadows we inherit and the gifts we pass on.</span></i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px;">Honest, poignant, utterly captivating, Reckoning announces the arrival of a fearless writer and natural storyteller. It will touch the lives of its readers.</span></i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 21px;"><b>Thoughts: </b>Once again a Richard Fidler Conversation sparked my interest. I mean apart from the fact it's Magda Szubanski, one of Australia's funniest people, it's first line is this:</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-size: small;">If you had met my father you would never, not for an instant, have thought
he was an assassin. </span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Seriously!! Is that not the best first line you have ever read!! Thankfully I have excellent friends who totally get me and my reading style so one of them bought it for me for Christmas - thanks Jodie! Nailed it!!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This is not your typical celebrity memoir. Szubanski takes you into her childhood, viewed from the eyes of a new immigrant to country. She explores complex and life changing feelings, events, experiences and thoughts, relating them back to her growth as a person, a comedian, an immigrant, a daughter. She is brutally honest about her struggle to accept her sexuality and her fear of it's affect on her relationships not only with her family but the public.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">You cannot read this book and not admire Magda Szubanski. I don't think it would be easy for those who are valued for being funny to write so seriously. It wouldn't be easy to expose so much of yourself. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Reckoning was definitely an excellent way to end the year.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Reckoning gets 4 stars.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; line-height: 18.2px;">* Did not like it</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; line-height: 18.2px;">** It was OK</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; line-height: 18.2px;">*** Liked it</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; line-height: 18.2px;">**** Really liked it</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; line-height: 18.2px;">***** It was amazing</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03023415087460105672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3036731973200703689.post-25262862443487516932016-01-04T17:58:00.001+10:002016-01-04T17:58:38.669+10:00Book Review: Island Home<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1g5ThPF86sMtp49fzKigtCSmmvm2tr8erPKFbqYV6O2pXl48LPbIED2uOosQ3nDRAjdOOnvfa-T0b1B8vPKH8Ym8J1C1lr31X3d7JWBfJr8Fia98xtzZrhUUmPMTta8xB1j21P4w_lEY/s1600/island.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1g5ThPF86sMtp49fzKigtCSmmvm2tr8erPKFbqYV6O2pXl48LPbIED2uOosQ3nDRAjdOOnvfa-T0b1B8vPKH8Ym8J1C1lr31X3d7JWBfJr8Fia98xtzZrhUUmPMTta8xB1j21P4w_lEY/s400/island.jpg" width="275" /></a></div>
<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25995434-island-home">From Goodreads</a>: </b><em style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">'I grew up on the world’s largest island.'</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"> </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">This apparently simple fact is the starting point for Tim Winton’s beautiful, evocative and sometimes provocative memoir of how Australia's unique landscape has shaped him and his writing. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Wise, rhapsodic, exalted – </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Island Home</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"> is not just a brilliant, moving insight into the life and art of one of our finest writers, but a compelling investigation into the way our country shapes us.</span><div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><b>Thoughts:</b> Winton. Seriously, you can't go wrong with the man. His ability to place you smack bang in the middle of Australia and view it through his eyes is second to none. Everything from the cover to the explorations of place will make you long for this place we are lucky enough to go home. His description of what it feels like to be an Aussie overseas may be one of the big reasons I am not so eager to travel overseas. The love he has for the country only fuels my desire to see more of it - especially Western Australia and it's beautiful coastline. As one other review I read of Island Home said, all of Winton's books are about place, but this is about The Place.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Without beating the reader over the head, Winton gently reminds us how ancient this land is and how it captures people's hearts. He acknowledges the love non indigenous Australian's feel for their home, but points out we lack the ancient connection our indigenous population feel and revere. We have much to learn from the aboriginal culture and if we would only open ourselves up to it, they would be happy to teach us and maybe we could heal some of the hurt caused by our ancestors. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Australia is big enough for all of us and I only hope that we all find the love and joy in this land that Tim Winton wants us to.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Island Home gets 5 stars</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">* Did not like it</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">** It was OK</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">*** Liked it</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">**** Really liked it</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">***** It was amazing</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03023415087460105672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3036731973200703689.post-7261264068855489722016-01-04T17:24:00.002+10:002016-01-04T17:43:05.402+10:00Book Review - Relativity<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHzZ3ZSZmOeIhroMMhrliZyAu32ackGhfgpwJCenml7cCrhOXn9EPT0zXoWyVDhDEwImQl6eKucg44fyxsyyS8sNRF2vQd34b_WguX8JYeTPPj_-dQhWAEqrJ_C2zy0LV9eyw14D2PpFk/s1600/relativity.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHzZ3ZSZmOeIhroMMhrliZyAu32ackGhfgpwJCenml7cCrhOXn9EPT0zXoWyVDhDEwImQl6eKucg44fyxsyyS8sNRF2vQd34b_WguX8JYeTPPj_-dQhWAEqrJ_C2zy0LV9eyw14D2PpFk/s400/relativity.jpg" width="261" /></a></div>
<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25305284-relativity">From Goodreads</a>:<i> </i></b><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Ethan is a bright young boy obsessed with physics and astronomy who lives with his mother, Claire. Claire has been a wonderful parent to Ethan, but he's becoming increasingly curious about his father's absence in his life, wanting to fill in the gaps.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"> </span></i><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><i>Claire's life is centred on Ethan; she is fiercely protective of her talented, vulnerable son, and of her own feelings. When Ethan falls ill, tied to a tragic event from when he was a baby, Claire's tightly held world is split open. </i></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><i>On the other side of the country, Mark is trying to forget about the events that tore his family apart. Then a sudden and unexpected call home forces him to confront his past, and the hole in his life that was once filled with his wife Claire and his son Ethan.</i></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><i>When Ethan secretly intercepts a letter from Mark to Claire, he unleashes long-suppressed forces that – like gravity – pull the three together again, testing the limits of love and forgiveness.</i></span><br />
<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Heart-wrenching, absorbing and magical, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Relativity</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"> is an irresistible novel about science, love, unbreakable bonds and irreversible acts.</span></i><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><b>Thoughts: </b>Antonia Hayes did not give a lot of interviews about this book. Understandable when you realise how closely she cuts to the bone with the premise of the book. One interview she did give was on Richard Fidler's Conversations. (seriously, I should track how many books I get from that show!) It was interesting and heart-wrenching enough for me to add to my list. In the end, I listened to it as a audio, read by the author herself.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">I quite enjoyed the book, although I found Claire to be fairly annoying. However, there was one moment in the book where it completely lost me and it took a lot to get me back. During a meeting at school with Claire, Ethan, staff at the school, the parents of one of Ethan's friends and Ethan's friend, the mother of the friend reveals some very private and privileged information. The principal and other staff that were present just let it happen. There was time and space for them to intervene and they didn't. I do not know of, nor can imagine such a situation ever occurring. Schools are big on privacy and protecting children. There is no way what was revealed would be allowed. It was necessary for Ethan to find out the information disclosed, but it was done in such a clunky, plot device way it completely jarred me out of the story. For quite awhile I was so angry about the whole thing I struggled to slip back into the story. However, in the end I managed to move past it and follow the story to the end.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">The book is one of those that presents several questions to the reader. How would you react in Claire's position? What would you tell your child about what happened and the effect it has had? What are the dangers of hiding such information from a child - especially when they form answers for themselves that may be very far of the mark. And at what point do you start to believe your own lies in order to cover the pain?</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Part of me wants to give Relativity 4 stars, but the reality is the school scene plus a few other little niggling issues means it will stay at a 3.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 13.8px; line-height: 19.32px;">Relativity gets 3 stars</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">* Did not like it<br />** It was OK<br />*** Liked it<br />**** Really liked it<br />***** It was amazing</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03023415087460105672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3036731973200703689.post-80864480126174023922015-12-10T07:18:00.001+10:002015-12-10T07:18:34.282+10:00Book Review: Bitter Greens<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcdDWyV6SAId61NLjrZbpw8qPNnjSbZhPrl42X4LEe8ptjQgk-yESarnPduja8WuCw7OTP8rMHywu1QUikPHKqUmpEhUtLbigZqZb-YjfFV9Vu0DXVvan7dDMHkPapxnHU7WWYJzQgZ0A/s1600/bitter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcdDWyV6SAId61NLjrZbpw8qPNnjSbZhPrl42X4LEe8ptjQgk-yESarnPduja8WuCw7OTP8rMHywu1QUikPHKqUmpEhUtLbigZqZb-YjfFV9Vu0DXVvan7dDMHkPapxnHU7WWYJzQgZ0A/s400/bitter.jpg" width="255" /></a></div>
<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17618419-bitter-greens">From Goodreads</a>: </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.8px; line-height: 19.32px;"><i>An utterly captivating reinvention of the Rapunzel fairytale weaved together with the scandalous life of one of the tale's first tellers, Charlotte-Rose de la Force.</i></span><br />
<i><span id="freeText15952584965162942753" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.8px; line-height: 19.32px;">Charlotte-Rose de la Force has been banished from the court of Versailles by the Sun King, Louis XIV, after a series of scandalous love affairs. She is comforted by an old nun, Sœur Seraphina, who tells her the tale of a young girl who, a hundred years earlier, is sold by her parents for a handful of bitter greens...<br />Selena is the famous red-haired muse of the artist Tiziano, first painted by him in 1512 and still inspiring him at the time of his death, sixty-four years later. Called La Strega Bella, Selena is at the centre of Renaissance life in Venice, a world of beauty and danger, seduction and betrayal, love and superstition, retaining her youth and beauty by the blood of young red-haired girls.<br />After Margherita's father steals a handful of parsley, wintercress and rapunzel from the walled garden of the courtesan Selena Leonelli, he is threatened with having both hands cut off unless he and his wife give away their little red-haired girl. And so, when she turns seven, Margherita is locked away in a tower, her hair woven together with the locks of all the girls before her, growing to womanhood under the shadow of La Strega Bella, and dreaming of being rescued...<br />Three women, three lives, three stories, braided together to create a compelling story of desire, obsession, black magic and the redemptive power of love.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.8px; line-height: 19.32px;"> </span></i><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.8px; line-height: 19.32px;"><b>Thoughts: </b>Kate Forsyth has become one of those authors I immediately recommend to people who ask me for something new. Her writing is fluid, magical, provoking strong images and emotions. Her female characters are flawed but strong and compelling. And when the blurb tells you it's "three stories, braided together" it speaks true - the stories are interwoven, each strand clear and engrossing but so precisely interlocked with the others the change over is seamless. The women have lives that are complicated and intriguing. They are living in a time when their sex can be such a disadvantage, yet all of the rise against this and carve out a life of their own - not perfect, but theirs. Still their paths cross and their stories overlap and parallel. It's a bit like seeing an intriguing pattern come to life with words instead of lines.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.8px; line-height: 19.32px;">Add to this Forsyth's incredible detail of King Louis XIV Versailles court, her attention to detail in her research shining through and you have a book well worth exploring. Much like the court itself, Forsyth's descriptions are rich, but there is an undertow of seediness as well. You can see the tightrope the court walks on to maintain the favour of the king, knowing full well how devastating the drop will be if you fall. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.8px; line-height: 19.32px;">Bitter Greens is a book to immerse yourself in. It is a book that will make you fall in love with fairytales all over again.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.8px; line-height: 19.32px;">Bitter Greens gets 5 stars</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">* Did not like it<br />** It was OK<br />*** Liked it<br />**** Really liked it<br />***** It was amazing</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03023415087460105672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3036731973200703689.post-28298245130648847722015-12-08T15:43:00.001+10:002015-12-08T15:43:32.096+10:00November in Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh74QBsEe9E5LHY2y5tUyS13UlXSjupRQAoqPcIZ9Ba7K3KnRUt66116Z2x9Lc1poiPKKNzaj6U6Bb__xgivZCD1kp5Diuh6QObPkkhW6kmUbbJ5hzU3dmlxc4qjjcdPLVeVcXpd8isybk/s1600/November.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="101" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh74QBsEe9E5LHY2y5tUyS13UlXSjupRQAoqPcIZ9Ba7K3KnRUt66116Z2x9Lc1poiPKKNzaj6U6Bb__xgivZCD1kp5Diuh6QObPkkhW6kmUbbJ5hzU3dmlxc4qjjcdPLVeVcXpd8isybk/s400/November.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">So are you ready for Christmas? I'm not, nowhere near it! I'll just stick my fingers in my ears and sing la la la for a little while longer!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">8 reads this month. Not bad, but I am unlikely to hit my target of 100 by the end of year. Such is life, no biggie really.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Stats first.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><b>Kindle</b> - 1 <b>Library</b> - 6<br /><b>Book</b> - 4 <b>Own</b> - 2<br /><b>Audio - </b>3 <b>Borrowed (non library)</b> - 0<br /><b>Fiction</b><b> <span style="font-weight: normal;">- 6</span></b> <br /><b>Non-fiction</b><b> <span style="font-weight: normal;">- 2</span></b><br /><b>Female Autho</b><b>r</b> - 6 <b>New to Me Authors</b> - 4<br /><b>Male Autho</b><b>r</b> - 3<br /><b>Australian Author</b> - 6</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Big month for audio - 3. Only one that I was really impressed by though was <a href="http://kyliesreads.blogspot.com.au/2015/11/book-review-still-alice.html">Still Alice</a>. <a href="http://kyliesreads.blogspot.com.au/2015/11/book-review-heart-goes-last.html">The Heart Goes Last </a>and <a href="http://kyliesreads.blogspot.com.au/2015/11/book-review-serial-killers-club.html">The Serial Killers Club</a> fell short of the mark. I was bitterly disappointed with The Heart Goes Last as I quite like Margaret Atwood but this one just didn't do it for me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://kyliesreads.blogspot.com.au/2015/11/book-review-jungle-dark.html">The Jungle Dark</a> was a very personal read for me and has definitely left it's mark, but the pick of the month is by far and away Geraldine Brooks' <a href="http://kyliesreads.blogspot.com.au/2015/11/book-review-secret-chord.html">The Secret Chord</a>. Brooks is an author who just gets better and better. The Secret Chord has reminded me I've yet to read Caleb's Crossing so expect to see that soon.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Looking Forward</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Nothing new borrowed or bought this month, although I have made a list of books I hope to get through over the Christmas break. I made it a few weeks ago and have already made a start, but this is what is still on it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25995434-island-home">Island Home - Tim Winton </a>(we all know I adore Tim Winton!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25064563-the-little-red-chairs">The Little Red Chairs - Edna O'Brien</a></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23702432-the-beast-s-garden">The Beast's Garden - Kate Forsyth</a></div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9684523-caleb-s-crossing">Caleb's Crossing - Geraldine Brooks</a></div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25942760-not-just-black-and-white">Not Just Black and White - Lesley & Tammy Williams</a></div>
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This list only includes those books I actually have in my possession. My actual TBR list is way longer!!</div>
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So how was your November? What are your plans for holiday reading?</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03023415087460105672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3036731973200703689.post-50806588618684225302015-12-08T07:20:00.002+10:002015-12-08T07:20:48.596+10:00Book Review: Cracking the Code<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPw2F0aEX5l5OSysuKIyrIOGko3q1Z4IIvfuKnJOB-1EaYK2bd1Jcc6Ix_75rZbe_t8DLfXw0KxRX45oH1YIk-gGQ9udlAyMVTuq94vihWcRKixyISWBShB1-si-9eivMsa6fIMEkUs28/s1600/cracking.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPw2F0aEX5l5OSysuKIyrIOGko3q1Z4IIvfuKnJOB-1EaYK2bd1Jcc6Ix_75rZbe_t8DLfXw0KxRX45oH1YIk-gGQ9udlAyMVTuq94vihWcRKixyISWBShB1-si-9eivMsa6fIMEkUs28/s320/cracking.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25421771-cracking-the-code">From Goodreads</a>: </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8px; line-height: 19.32px;"><i>This story of a father's search to find a diagnosis, and ultimately a cure, for his son's mystery disease is an inspiration that has set the world of genetic medicine and research abuzz with the possibilities for the future.</i></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8px; line-height: 19.32px;"><b>Thoughts: </b>Yet another book I was drawn to through <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/local/sites/conversations/">Richard Fidler's Conversation Hour</a>. Stephen and Sally Damiani's world was turned upside down when their first born child, Massimo was diagnosed with Leukodystrophy. The problem with Leukodystrophy is it has many variations - lots of them unidentified. Massimo had one of these forms. So the Damiani's set to work. Sally became responsible for managing Massimo's day to day care - therapies, medications, appointments - and Stephen became responsible for find a cure. OK, that may be a little dramatic, but he immersed himself in research to determine exactly what variation of the disease Massimo had and therefore develop effective therapies and treatments.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8px; line-height: 19.32px;">This book is a great example of what can happen when you are not constrained by the conventions of a job or industry. When you are not part of the machine, you do not see the reasons something can't be done. You see the reasons why it should and set about working out how. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.8px; line-height: 19.32px;">The Damiani's were lucky in several ways. Whether you believe it to be fate, divination intervention or just plain coincidence, they met several people on their journey who were not only able, but willing to help them in their quest. From being able to ask questions, to mapping Massimo's genome, to finding someone who understood how to read that genome, the Dimaini's ended up with an army of people on their side.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.8px; line-height: 19.32px;">Cracking the Code is a fairly easy read. It's not bogged down in scientific jargon and at the heart of it is a pretty cute kid. Every parent will feel for Stephen and Sally. As a parent I was in awe of their determination and drive, but wonder is it any less than I would have done for my kids. I see a lot of my husband in Stephen - if there is a problem you work out how to fix it. While it's not discussed in the book (and nether should it have been), the Damiani's obviously had access to some financial support or fund as much of what they did was not cheap and not publicly funded. They also had the education level and intelligence to fully understand what needed to be done and to further educate themselves. I'm assuming not everyone is able to teach themselves genomics in the way Stephen did! This is the type of thing that makes you wonder if certain things happen to certain people for a reason. Yes, I know it's horrible to do this to your child - says the universe - but I know you have the resources, knowledge and drive to help him and through that so many other children. And the Damiani's and their team have. They identified Massimo's variation. They have developed treatments that help. They have a little boy they expected to be dead by 2 going to school. They have saved other parents the anguish of not knowing exactly what is wrong with their child. They have proven the importance of genomics in diagnosing rare illness. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8px; line-height: 19.32px;">Cracking the Code is at it's very heart a feel good story. The triumph of hard work and determination and love. The Damiani's and Massimo have a long way to go, but their journey so far is well worth reading about.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8px; line-height: 19.32px;">Cracking the Code gets 3 stars</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> * Did not like it<br />** It was OK<br />*** Liked it<br />**** Really liked it</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">***** It was amazing</span></div>
<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8px; line-height: 19.32px;"><br /></span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03023415087460105672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3036731973200703689.post-39683247643285711672015-11-26T07:08:00.002+10:002015-11-26T07:08:46.463+10:00Book Review: Still Alice<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB_x1Mn7TxkBlGxtjUizeSDRf2sCGmNfBjzwtYWSYKTkkGvA4uHE6NyPZIfHNgmQRTCis34aKadzqVUSmBzyboDJdM2fYk8_Jp-bE78ZcoASy_wZXVtbdHGuNCDLXff3m3vP7Ogd5K-Jw/s1600/alice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB_x1Mn7TxkBlGxtjUizeSDRf2sCGmNfBjzwtYWSYKTkkGvA4uHE6NyPZIfHNgmQRTCis34aKadzqVUSmBzyboDJdM2fYk8_Jp-bE78ZcoASy_wZXVtbdHGuNCDLXff3m3vP7Ogd5K-Jw/s1600/alice.jpg" /></a></div>
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2153405.Still_Alice">From Goodreads</a>: </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8px; line-height: 19.32px;"><i>Alice Howland is proud of the life she worked so hard to build. At fifty years old, she’s a cognitive psychology professor at Harvard and a world-renowned expert in linguistics with a successful husband and three grown children. When she becomes increasingly disoriented and forgetful, a tragic diagnosis changes her life--and her relationship with her family and the world--forever.</i></span><br />
<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8px; line-height: 19.32px;">At once beautiful and terrifying, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8px; line-height: 19.32px;">Still Alice</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8px; line-height: 19.32px;"> is a moving and vivid depiction of life with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease that is as compelling as </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8px; line-height: 19.32px;">A Beautiful Mind</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8px; line-height: 19.32px;"> and as unforgettable as Judith Guest's </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8px; line-height: 19.32px;">Ordinary People</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8px; line-height: 19.32px;">.</span></i><div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8px; line-height: 19.32px;"><b>Thoughts: </b>I can be quite a morbid person. I will run the most horrific scenarios through my head wondering how I would cope. Loss of my husband, loss of one of my kids, going blind, cancer diagnosis. Alzheimer's is one of those most terrifying scenarios. How on earth do you cope with losing yourself, losing everything you believe makes you you, everything you have created, worked for, slipping away from you.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8px; line-height: 19.32px;">As a neuroscientist Lisa Genova knows her stuff. This makes this even more scary as you know what she is describing is in fact very, very real. As she says at the end, this book does not describe everyone's journey with Alzhiemer's, but it does depict one possible path.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 13.8px; line-height: 19.32px;">As with her book </span><a href="http://kyliesreads.blogspot.com.au/2015/08/book-review-inside-obriens.html" style="font-size: 13.8px; line-height: 19.32px;">Inside the O'Briens</a><span style="font-size: 13.8px; line-height: 19.32px;">, Genova takes you through her characters realisation there is something wrong, diagnosis, treatment, prognosis and deterioration. She explores the affect on spouses and children, especially given the hereditary nature of the disease. I was concerned momentarily about it become another O'Briens when the subject of testing for Alice's children came up and whether or not they should be tested. However, unlike the O'Briens where it became a significant sub plot, it was very quickly and easily dealt with.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 13.8px; line-height: 19.32px;">I have no experience with Alzheimer's. It is not something that has appeared in my family tree and for that I am grateful. I do not know how I would react as a spouse of someone with Alzhiemer's, but I will admit some of John's (Alice's husband) reactions annoyed me. They had such limited time left and all he seemed to want to do was ignore it. Having said that, the book is told from Alice's perspective the only insight you get into John is through her.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 13.8px; line-height: 19.32px;">I listened to this as an audio book, read by the author. It flowed easily and I think would be a fairly easy read, even if it is emotionally charged. There were times when tears welled, but they never spilled. Again, like the O'Briens, Genova finished the book before the ultimate demise - a good thing. As the reader you know where the story will end and it's almost like watching a family go through this, then withdrawing at the appropriate moment to allow them their privacy.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 13.8px; line-height: 19.32px;">Genova has two other books I haven't read - <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8492768-left-neglected">Left Neglected</a> and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13547381-love-anthony">Love Anthony</a>. Both sound interesting and I will have a look at them. Love Anthony in particular interests me as it seems to move away from the neurological disorders field. As I said, I feel one of Genova's strengths is her professional knowledge about the conditions she writes about. I hope it's a skill she can carry across to other areas.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8px; line-height: 19.32px;">Still Alice gets 4 stars</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> * Did not like it<br />** It was OK<br />*** Liked it<br />**** Really liked it</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">***** It was amazing</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03023415087460105672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3036731973200703689.post-73502868693404467702015-11-25T17:50:00.002+10:002015-11-25T17:50:44.757+10:00Book Review: The Secret Chord<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBj9cEYVtFKH6x7cs8BAHW57EFgghTX1sgR9w8GRwxe_JMqgYGYoKj4mEfwC6bINFgoQRJXCVkm6hMwn1VOBZaxoJt6VpiMyTizDEpmsadaegbHOm8VvRn9PHtgBhg3nEqAwjPkljM0bU/s1600/chord.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBj9cEYVtFKH6x7cs8BAHW57EFgghTX1sgR9w8GRwxe_JMqgYGYoKj4mEfwC6bINFgoQRJXCVkm6hMwn1VOBZaxoJt6VpiMyTizDEpmsadaegbHOm8VvRn9PHtgBhg3nEqAwjPkljM0bU/s320/chord.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24611425-the-secret-chord">From Goodreads</a>:</b><i><span id="freeText17422208956798838409">A rich and utterly absorbing novel about the life of King David, from the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of <em>People of the Book </em>and<em> March.</em><br />With more than two million copies of her novels sold, <em>New York Times</em> bestselling author Geraldine Brooks has achieved both popular and critical acclaim. Now<em>, </em>Brooks
takes on one of literature’s richest and most enigmatic figures: a man
who shimmers between history and legend. Peeling away the myth to bring
David to life in Second Iron Age Israel, Brooks traces the arc of his
journey from obscurity to fame, from shepherd to soldier, from hero to
traitor, from beloved king to murderous despot and into his remorseful
and diminished dotage.<br /><em>The Secret Chord</em> provides new
context for some of the best-known episodes of David’s life while also
focusing on others, even more remarkable and emotionally intense, that
have been neglected. We see David through the eyes of those who love
him or fear him—from the prophet Natan, voice of his conscience, to his
wives Mikhal, Avigail, and Batsheva, and finally to Solomon, the
late-born son who redeems his Lear-like old age. Brooks has an uncanny
ability to hear and transform characters from history, and this
beautifully written, unvarnished saga of faith, desire, family,
ambition, betrayal, and power will enthrall her many fans.</span></i><br />
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<span id="freeText17422208956798838409"><b>Thoughts: </b>Some books you can just immerse yourself in. Float along on a river of rich language, lavish descriptions and an enthralling story. The Secret Chord is such a book. If we continue the river analogy, it starts off a slow steady place, almost ebbing in parts before the flow picks up and you find yourself bouncing over rapids and the occasional waterfall </span><i><span id="freeText17422208956798838409">.</span></i><br />
<span id="freeText17422208956798838409">Told from the point of view of Natan, King David's prophet, The Secret Chord leads us into David's inner world. His early years before meeting Natan are covered as his mother, brother and first wife tell Natan of their lives with David and how he became the man he was. </span><br />
<span id="freeText17422208956798838409">Brook's portrayal of David show a flawed man who truly believed he was anointed by God to be king. His was a brutal reign at times, but his destiny to unite the tribes of Israel and bring peace is something he had complete faith in. The constant of Natan gives the reader a voice to hold onto and believe. Natan has no vested interest in lying so you believe what he says implicitly and value his point of view. Poor Natan had no choice over his destiny either, but he followed it with humility and bravery.</span><br />
<span id="freeText17422208956798838409">Not having a great knowledge of biblical stories, I was not bothered by Brook's use of traditional Hebrew names. For some reviewers this deviation from the names they have grown up with was a struggle. At times the book is graphic in it's descriptions of battle and rape, but they were pretty brutal times. </span><br />
<span id="freeText17422208956798838409">If you are a Geraldine Brooks fan, I'</span><span id="freeText17422208956798838409">d highly recommend this to you. It will definitely be up there as one of my best reads of 2015.</span><br />
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<span id="freeText17422208956798838409">The Secret Chord gets 5 stars</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">* Did not like it<br />** It was OK<br />*** Liked it<br />**** Really liked it</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">***** It was amazing</span></div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03023415087460105672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3036731973200703689.post-43598471291572860342015-11-24T13:10:00.000+10:002015-11-24T13:10:21.556+10:00Book Review: The Serial Killers Club<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtsZSy6XYR-uL-t_AYDaDFa2nKNlHDHRRGQH5608RU47Bc0VKhAos32nPKl77_5l6LbprCKMywc7BSae05LJ_GH8n-E1TqgHkqduG3ymwzCTBe6pRMCjhdoAOHknc9hONlMcBvLmT-n9k/s1600/serial.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtsZSy6XYR-uL-t_AYDaDFa2nKNlHDHRRGQH5608RU47Bc0VKhAos32nPKl77_5l6LbprCKMywc7BSae05LJ_GH8n-E1TqgHkqduG3ymwzCTBe6pRMCjhdoAOHknc9hONlMcBvLmT-n9k/s320/serial.jpg" width="198" /></a></div>
<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/421360.The_Serial_Killers_Club">From Goodreads</a>: </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><i>When our hero finds himself in the path of a serial killer, he somehow manages to defend himself, and give the blood-thirsty madman a taste of his own medicine. But when he goes through the dead man's wallet, he finds a mysterious personal ad inviting him to join a party hosted by Errol Flynn. What begins with passing curiosity soon becomes uncontrollable obsession, as our hero becomes acquainted with 18 killers. Their game: to share the thrill of the hunt and to make sure no two members choose the same two victims. To protect their identities, they have all chosen names of old Hollywood stars, and before long, our hero becomes Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. But he has no intention of following the rules. With a government special agent on his trail who will soon become his partner in crim, "Dougie" plans to knock off the killers one by one, from Carole Lombard to Chuck Norris, to Laurence Olivier and Cher. But what happens when the "stars" notice their numbers dropping?</i></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><b style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Thoughts: </b><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">At the library where I work, our customers can use an app called Overdrive to download ebooks and audio books. Occasionally I have to help someone access the items they want so I figured I better work out how to use it myself! So I downloaded a couple of talking books - this being one of them. It sounded good, sounded light and funny. It even had promise to start with, but by the end I just wanted it to be over! I think part of the problem is Dougie is just an incredibly stupid man. Painfully stupid. He is completely oblivious to anything going on around him that doesn't pertain to him. Every slight by a person, every comment made is reaction to him and if it's negative, he will spin it around to some explanation that strokes his belief in himself as this perfect human specimen. Of course what this means is he is extremely easy to manipulate and completely clueless to it. While it had comic value to start with, by the end it just became plain annoying and repetitive. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">It most probably didn't help that I wasn't enthralled by the narrator either. His voice lacked expression and possibly made a dull book even duller. If you were going to give this one a go, I'd suggest reading it, not listening. It is this that convinces me to give it 2 stars instead of 1.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">The Serial Killers Club gets 2 stars</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">* Did not like it<br />** It was OK<br />*** Liked it<br />**** Really liked it</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">***** It was amazing</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03023415087460105672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3036731973200703689.post-69715915473865547822015-11-22T06:28:00.001+10:002015-11-22T06:28:57.464+10:00Book Review: The Jungle Dark<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb_Onyf2ZCOR_Z9bY4mHNQvsssz5cEujPJsimtXe1yaX44pYMeXjoHLCQmmiCuMk3K5tKu3OagZ8gjMVnqpcZSwFH1S0CI2PW5cEE_S5EQC1EqjFlg66UwzTlWJ6cBF_TL3D2LBIYiqWE/s1600/jungle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb_Onyf2ZCOR_Z9bY4mHNQvsssz5cEujPJsimtXe1yaX44pYMeXjoHLCQmmiCuMk3K5tKu3OagZ8gjMVnqpcZSwFH1S0CI2PW5cEE_S5EQC1EqjFlg66UwzTlWJ6cBF_TL3D2LBIYiqWE/s320/jungle.jpg" width="218" /></a></div>
<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25181447-the-jungle-dark">From Goodreads</a>:<i> </i></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.4;"><i>On 21 July 1969, 3 Platoon, A Company, 6 Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment forced their way through the damp Vietnamese jungle on a patrol as part of Operation Mundingburra. With the insects biting and the humidity sapping their strength, the platoon established a safe harbour and listened as the news came across the radio: Neil Armstrong had become the first man on the moon. Moments later, their skipper, Platoon Commander Lieutenant Peter Hines, stepped on a mine and exploded in a maelstrom of dirt, smoke and blood.</i></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.4;"><i>Memories of that fateful day stayed with the members of 3 Platoon for more than a decade before singer-songwriter John Schumann transformed the story into a ballad that would capture the spirit of a generation and become the anthem for the veterans of the Vietnam war.</i></span><br />
<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.4;">This is the true story of Frank 'Frankie' Hunt and the other soldiers of 3 Platoon who were the inspiration for Redgum's 1983 hit song</span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.4;"> I Was Only Nineteen</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.4;">. Using first-hand accounts,</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.4;"> </span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.4;"><strong>The Jungle Dark</strong></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.4;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.4;">is both a fascinating Australian yarn and enthralling military history. Vividly told, informative and poignant,</span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.4;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.4;">it also</span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.4;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.4;">traverses the deep unhealed wounds left in the minds and hearts of Vietnam soldiers long after they had left the battlefield.</span></i><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.6px;"><b>Thoughts: </b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #000033; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px; line-height: 17.3333px;">Then someone yelled out "Contact"', and the bloke behind me swore.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #000033; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px; line-height: 17.3333px;"> </span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #000033; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px; line-height: 17.3333px;"></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #000033; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px; line-height: 17.3333px;"><span style="font-size: 13.3333px; line-height: 17.3333px;">We hooked in there for hours, then a God almighty roar;</span><span style="font-size: 13.3333px; line-height: 17.3333px;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.3333px; line-height: 17.3333px;">Frankie kicked a mine the day that mankind kicked the moon: -</span><span style="font-size: 13.3333px; line-height: 17.3333px;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.3333px; line-height: 17.3333px;">God help me, he was going home in June.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.3333px; line-height: 17.3333px;">Sometimes a book comes to you out of the blue and insists on being read. The Jungle Dark happened to come through the return chutes at work when I was in check in. For some reason, I flipped it over to read the back and the words </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #181818; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.6px;"><b style="font-style: italic;">Platoon Commander Lieutenant Peter Hines </b>jumped out at me. I'd grown up hearing about Peter Hines because apparently I looked a bit like him - he was my mum's cousin. I'd been told he was the person in the song I Was Only 19, but I kind of assumed mum meant it was something that happened to Peter on that day, not that he was the actually "Frankie". Turns out he was.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #181818; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.6px;">Steve Strevens recount of 3 Platoon is heart wrenching in so many ways. It focuses on Frank Hunt and the impact Vietnam had on him, not only during the conflict but afterwards. The other members of 3 Platoon also have their story told, including Peter. These are men we should be proud of. These are men who handled themselves with dignity, loyalty and courage in the most god awful circumstances. These are men whose suffering did not end when they left the battlefield and came home.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.6px;">Strevens treats the whole situation with remarkable sensitivity. He outlines the declining support for the war among the general populace, but does not lay blame. He places you in the middle of the fear and uncertainty of the jungle dark. The importance of being able to rely on your mates, the focus on not letting them down, working as a team, becoming family. They became important because they understood, they knew what you had been through and the trauma you continued to suffer. He deals with the reality of these men's lives after Vietnam and the effect it has on their lives to this very day.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.6px;">I truly believe Australia's attitude towards our service men and women serving overseas was changed by our acknowledgement of how badly many of the Vietnam vets had been treated at the very late welcome home parade in 1987. The parade and the memorial was the country's way of saying while we don't necessarily agree with you being in a foreign war zone, we respect the job you did and the sacrifices you made. I think it has gone a long way towards people being able to separate their disagreement about our service personnel being in countries like Afghanistan and Iraq from the men and women who serve there. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.6px;">For me The Jungle Dark has an obvious personal connection, a link to my personal history. The moment I finished I got on line and bought a copy for myself, my mum and my sister. It's also a interesting, moving read. If you want an insight into Vietnam this is well worth reading.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.6px;">The Jungle Dark gets 4 stars</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">* Did not like it<br />** It was OK<br />*** Liked it<br />**** Really liked it</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">***** It was amazing</span></div>
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</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03023415087460105672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3036731973200703689.post-31842551533799218812015-11-11T07:10:00.003+10:002015-11-11T07:10:50.501+10:00Book Review: The Puzzle Ring<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkDF3bUhnTBb7l8I8bKzdgQws53iruuMQznqfP-c1MKxkWrmomQrKEIsZdhi7gp6yXOMM0LWr-w87xmZEhufRkNNblSq4SSQSnb0_zqHvyOMNs-lRzaXFjfRsvsJNCVGk7XVJ_F10-yVQ/s1600/puzzle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkDF3bUhnTBb7l8I8bKzdgQws53iruuMQznqfP-c1MKxkWrmomQrKEIsZdhi7gp6yXOMM0LWr-w87xmZEhufRkNNblSq4SSQSnb0_zqHvyOMNs-lRzaXFjfRsvsJNCVGk7XVJ_F10-yVQ/s320/puzzle.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6889348-the-puzzle-ring">From Goodreads</a>: </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><i>Hannah Rose was not quite 13 years old when she discovered her family was cursed. . . .</i></span><br />
<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">The arrival of a mysterious letter changes Hannah’s life forever. One day she is an ordinary teenage girl. The next day she discovers she is heir to a castle in the Scottish highlands—a castle that was cursed more than four hundred and forty years ago.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">The curse has haunted her family for generations, culminating in the disappearance of Hannah’s father the day after she was born. A prophecy tells of a Red Rose who will save a Black Rose, solve the puzzle ring, and break the curse. Red-haired Hannah is determined to be the one.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Yet, to break the curse, she must go back in time to the last tumultuous days of Mary, Queen of Scots . . . a time when witches were burnt and queens were betrayed and the dark forces of wild magic still stalked the land. . . .</span></i><div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><b style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Thoughts: </b><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">My love affair with Kate Forsyth began with </span></span><a href="http://kyliesreads.blogspot.com.au/2013/07/book-review-wild-girl.html" style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">The Wild Girl</a><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">. It is still the first book I mention when people ask for a suggestion. I am slightly embarrassed to admit I did not realise she was such a prolific children's writer. I am not surprised that the beautifully crafted writing I discovered in The Wild Girl is also present in The Puzzle Ring.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">The Puzzle Ring is the type of book I would have devoured as a child. It is magical and mysterious, with real danger and evil for our characters to face and defeat. Forsyth takes one child's ordinary life and weaves in faeries, magic and time travel in such a way any young child reading it would instantly believe this could happen to them. I loved the how Hannah and her friends went back in time and were shown the reality of living during the days of Mary, Queen of Scots. It was cold and dirty and the food was not particularly nice. If you travelled you did so on foot and slept rough. You needed to keep your wits about you at all times, especially if you could be accused of being a witch!</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">If you have a child with a love of Narnia or Spiderwick get them onto Kate Forsyth, I don't think they will be disappointed.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">The Puzzle Ring gets 4 stars.</span></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"></span><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">* Did not like it<br />** It was OK<br />*** Liked it<br />**** Really liked it</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">***** It was amazing</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03023415087460105672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3036731973200703689.post-88555564471089983792015-11-06T07:14:00.001+10:002015-11-06T07:14:27.551+10:00Book Review: The Heart Goes Last<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWGYi3VNr0O2YhnxXXTyQ_YA7ilroZzZli_nG7hw53TB6NUf4UZ1xJ3dp5nlPD7ZszKbQ1YXif2FBnYdVjXhzJB1KMF_XoVsu6dmCRNHDLSL2aCih841T_03vs0ULxMjtaNfFky8rHh8A/s1600/heart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWGYi3VNr0O2YhnxXXTyQ_YA7ilroZzZli_nG7hw53TB6NUf4UZ1xJ3dp5nlPD7ZszKbQ1YXif2FBnYdVjXhzJB1KMF_XoVsu6dmCRNHDLSL2aCih841T_03vs0ULxMjtaNfFky8rHh8A/s320/heart.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24388326-the-heart-goes-last?ac=1">From Goodreads</a>: </b><span id="freeText8095042951919665169" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><i>Living in their car, surviving on tips, Charmaine and Stan are in a desperate state. So, when they see an advertisement for Consilience, a ‘social experiment’ offering stable jobs and a home of their own, they sign up immediately. All they have to do in return for suburban paradise is give up their freedom every second month – swapping their home for a prison cell. At first, all is well. But then, unknown to each other, Stan and Charmaine develop passionate obsessions with their ‘Alternates,’ the couple that occupy their house when they are in prison. Soon the pressures of conformity, mistrust, guilt and sexual desire begin to take over.</i></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><b>Thoughts: </b>This should have been good, it should have been brilliant, especially in the hands of Margaret Atwood. The idea was solid, a world in economic ruin and people desperate enough to do whatever they needed to feel safe and secure. But it wasn't good, it fell short, very short. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">I loved <a href="http://kyliesreads.blogspot.com.au/2010/07/handmaids-tale.html">The Handmaid's Tale</a> and <a href="http://kyliesreads.blogspot.com.au/2011/11/year-of-flood.html">The Year of the Flood</a> and Atwood has long been on my list of authors to read everything of so I am really disappointed in this.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Charmaine and Stan annoyed the hell out of me. They were both so stupid! There were situations, especially with Charmaine where her inability to see where certain events were leading was astounding. Her tendency to take everything literally and in isolation without taking in what was happening around her made her character hard to believe. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">The story was originally written as a serial story, chapters released bit by bit for readers to pick up on. I didn't read it in that form and maybe it worked better as a serial, but as a whole novel it's flawed.</span><br />
<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">The problem is you're not sure if this is meant to be a black comedy or a serious commentary of the direction of our society and where we are heading. It's almost like it's trying to be both and falling seriously short. There are parts that are farcical (possibilibots and an over abundance of Elvis and Marilyn impersonators to name just two), but they seem to be there as plot devices and nothing more. The story line lurches from the strange to the absurd leaving you feeling confused and let down. However it does hold enough potential to keep you going, I kept holding one waiting for that one moment when it all came together and I got to share in Atwood's grand design. Unfortunately I think the design should never have made it off the drawing board.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">The Heart Goes Last gets 2 stars.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><br /></span></span></span>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">* Did not like it<br />** It was OK<br />*** Liked it<br />**** Really liked it</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">***** It was amazing</span></div>
<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><br /></span></span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03023415087460105672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3036731973200703689.post-21191532343649775652015-11-05T17:51:00.002+10:002015-11-05T17:51:52.060+10:00Book Review: The Silver Donkey<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhalppN2PINc9bmqtCdhObrf1WKs8blxhz-24peDdUA_xJXFxyuvvUgEI5trm6NuTvqBwmh8pvP9ZibMGDIYs59ZILyBr7vVmSBvdIQl1KaNNOufzAJOMSqX61ACFuGEFWVH0itUNgGdbw/s1600/donkey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhalppN2PINc9bmqtCdhObrf1WKs8blxhz-24peDdUA_xJXFxyuvvUgEI5trm6NuTvqBwmh8pvP9ZibMGDIYs59ZILyBr7vVmSBvdIQl1KaNNOufzAJOMSqX61ACFuGEFWVH0itUNgGdbw/s1600/donkey.jpg" /></a></div>
<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12457884-the-silver-donkey">From Goodreads</a>: </b><i><span id="freeText6083402399665257454">One bright spring
morning in the woods of France, a soldier, blinded by the war, is found
by a little girl named Coco, and her older sister Marcelle. In return
for their kindness, the soldier tells the sisters marvelous tales, each
story connected to the keepsake he carries in his pocket: a perfect,
tiny silver donkey.<br />As the days pass and they struggle in secret
to help the soldier reach home, Coco and Marcelle learn the truth behind
the silver donkey, and what the precious object means: honesty,
loyalty, and courage.</span></i><br />
<br />
<span id="freeText6083402399665257454"><b>Thoughts: </b> Sonya Hartnett is quite simply a beautiful writer. </span><span id="freeText6083402399665257454"> The Silver Donkey was her the first foray out of YA and Adult and into younger reader territory. In my mind that is always a dangerous time for an author, especially one who has so firmly cemented themselves as an outstanding YA author. In reality I think there are very few who do the cross over successfully - Hartnett is without doubt one of them.</span><br />
<span id="freeText6083402399665257454">The subtly of her writing is still strong - just because her audience is younger she doesn't feel the need to pander to them and explain every single event. A book such as this is ripe for discussion either in a class room or between parent and child. At the same time, Hartnett does not shy away from portraying war as a horrible and nasty business - no glorification here! </span><br />
<span id="freeText6083402399665257454">Adults take a back seat in this story, the children are driving it, but adult help is sought when it's needed. By doing this Hartnett doesn't stray into the territory of the children accomplishing something they quite simply wouldn't be able to. Themes are plentiful and it could be used to fit many a theme - war, trust, secret keeping, how the world has changed, story telling, loyalty. In the lead up to Remembrance Day it would be a good book to share with a child who appreciate a war story which did not focus so much on the fighting, but on the possible emotional issues faced by those caught up in such terrible times.</span><br />
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<span id="freeText6083402399665257454">The Silver Donkey gets 4 stars </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> * Did not like it<br />** It was OK<br />*** Liked it<br />**** Really liked it</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">***** It was amazing</span></div>
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<span id="freeText6083402399665257454"> </span>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03023415087460105672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3036731973200703689.post-17486010805456140702015-11-03T12:30:00.002+10:002015-11-05T18:09:56.116+10:00October in Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWivl-oY2barjstUcn3LGHSghDO3ALpBEZqvGntmBLNaRqlpqmelHrKEekbm9prKPfpx-v7h3gGtlQYRYNeksnX6wE2SlENLjsf5uun1dRATMhZkqq-TpXGWn4m_3JC560_B_LmAJ8GxU/s1600/October.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="102" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWivl-oY2barjstUcn3LGHSghDO3ALpBEZqvGntmBLNaRqlpqmelHrKEekbm9prKPfpx-v7h3gGtlQYRYNeksnX6wE2SlENLjsf5uun1dRATMhZkqq-TpXGWn4m_3JC560_B_LmAJ8GxU/s400/October.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
October?? Already gone??? Oh help!!!<br />
<br />
On the reading front, not a bad month.<br />
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Stats first.<br />
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<div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-3890583835384545959" itemprop="description articleBody" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px; position: relative; widows: auto; width: 656px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Kindle</b> - 4 <b>Library</b> - 3<br /><b>Book</b> - 3 <b> Own</b> - 4</span></div>
<div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-3890583835384545959" itemprop="description articleBody" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px; position: relative; widows: auto; width: 656px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Audio - </b>0 <b>Borrowed (non library)</b> - 0<br /><b>Fiction</b><b> <span style="font-weight: normal;">- 5</span></b> <br /><b>Non-fiction</b><b> <span style="font-weight: normal;">- 2</span></b><br /><br /><b>Female Autho</b><b>r</b> - 2 <b>New to Me Authors</b> - 5<br /><b>Male Autho</b><b>r</b> - 6<br /><b>Australian Author</b> - 5</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLH9huMhueITx0QuCiD5jAfs-sfRxwZQvnaRe4GPR2MvlIjiPaPmgEnQ3PJtdcxO2lhuw5MnvNvhO3ah5ggbmA_ZaxJmO0Hf72kqJGUtPa0T70YXP4Cvgw6sjCBtF5xg1rZDye3AEbraE/s1600/october.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLH9huMhueITx0QuCiD5jAfs-sfRxwZQvnaRe4GPR2MvlIjiPaPmgEnQ3PJtdcxO2lhuw5MnvNvhO3ah5ggbmA_ZaxJmO0Hf72kqJGUtPa0T70YXP4Cvgw6sjCBtF5xg1rZDye3AEbraE/s400/october.png" width="310" /></a></div>
<br />
7 reads this month. Not bad and a great selection. Pick of the month is hard, but I think <a href="http://kyliesreads.blogspot.com.au/2015/10/book-review-martian.html">The Martian </a>has to be it. If you have seen the movie and thought it was good, read the book - it's excellent. <a href="http://kyliesreads.blogspot.com.au/2015/10/book-review-brother-of-more-famous-jack.html">Brother of the More Famous Jack </a>was our October book group read and <a href="http://kyliesreads.blogspot.com.au/2015/11/book-review-flesh-wounds.html">Flesh Wounds</a> is our November read. Both were really enjoyable and well worth discussing. Brother of the More Famous Jack surprised me - I enjoyed it but didn't think there was much to it until we started talking about it and I discovered there was quite a lot! Flesh Wounds should produce a great amount of discussion plus a game or two of "Who has the weirdest parents?"<br />
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No audio this month, although I am more than half way through Margaret Atwood's <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24388326-the-heart-goes-last?ac=1">The Heart Goes Last</a>. Like last month I'm listening to a lot of podcasts, having added <a href="http://themoth.org/">The Moth</a> and <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/series/books">The Guardian Books</a> podcast to my subscriptions. I often find myself in the car laughing or crying as I listen to some amazing stories.<br />
<br />
<b>Looking forward</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
No hard copy book purchases this month - no book launches! Although given I have yet to open any of the purchases I mentioned last month, most probably not a bad thing!<br />
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Not many library borrowings either, but have added a couple to the list.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXqcWD0cJCBnwOXWhiA1-NDDTDmb-yrlEg6c_GksLheaPbb4xjNrF1ziGsjyK4FCaH3J4_ToVwmcVgr0_S-Qi7Uyn54HmeMjaiEg8PHy6DOQkfx63U23PJxq7W1CECEBZUSuzKk6Fkrg4/s1600/library+october.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="124" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXqcWD0cJCBnwOXWhiA1-NDDTDmb-yrlEg6c_GksLheaPbb4xjNrF1ziGsjyK4FCaH3J4_ToVwmcVgr0_S-Qi7Uyn54HmeMjaiEg8PHy6DOQkfx63U23PJxq7W1CECEBZUSuzKk6Fkrg4/s320/library+october.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I'm continuing my love affair with Kate Forsyth, picking up her children's novel, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6889348-the-puzzle-ring?from_search=true&search_version=service">The Puzzle Ring</a> and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25421771-cracking-the-code?from_search=true&search_version=service">Cracking the Code by Stephen and Sally Damini and Leah Kaminsky</a> I picked up after hearing an interview with them on <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2015/04/22/4220872.htm">Richard Fidler's Conversation Hour</a>. I'm going to concentrate on library books in November because while I do have a huge amount out, I can't just keep renew the ones I do!<br />
<br />
As for the Kindle, I have purchased <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24611425-the-secret-chord?from_search=true&search_version=service">The Secret Chord by Geraldine Brooks</a>, <a href="http://kyliesreads.blogspot.com.au/2015/11/book-review-flesh-wounds.html">Flesh Wounds by Richard Glover</a>, and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25064563-the-little-red-chairs?from_search=true&search_version=service">Little Red Chairs by Edna O'Brien</a>. At least I know I have a choice in what I want to read!<br />
<br />
Well that's October, looking into November. What was your month like?<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03023415087460105672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3036731973200703689.post-87722486930185470122015-11-01T09:31:00.000+10:002015-11-01T09:31:25.331+10:00Book Review: Flesh Wounds<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWggDnV2uKxLCKMy1MbZoTrdtEWwhpudzI_h_sFfyxKPSvgnphnNxT7Iay493gDBuQoj1Dv932y1fHPXBxOdRB0G933nFtbMtuzoaDhb2IIob0MWXkzdH_dtyy1ousDrla7ynqssFDVSw/s1600/flesh.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWggDnV2uKxLCKMy1MbZoTrdtEWwhpudzI_h_sFfyxKPSvgnphnNxT7Iay493gDBuQoj1Dv932y1fHPXBxOdRB0G933nFtbMtuzoaDhb2IIob0MWXkzdH_dtyy1ousDrla7ynqssFDVSw/s320/flesh.jpg" width="232" /></a></div>
<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26079330-flesh-wounds">From Goodreads</a>: </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><i>A mother who invented her past, a father who was often absent, a son who wondered if this could really be his family.</i></span><br />
<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Richard Glover's favourite dinner party game is called 'Who's Got the Weirdest Parents?'. It's a game he always thinks he'll win. There was his mother, a deluded snob, who made up large swathes of her past and who ran away with Richard's English teacher, a Tolkien devotee, nudist and stuffed-toy collector. There was his father, a distant alcoholic, who ran through a gamut of wives, yachts and failed dreams. And there was Richard himself, a confused teenager, vulnerable to strange men, trying to find a family he could belong to. As he eventually accepted, the only way to make sense of the present was to go back to the past - but beware of what you might find there. Truth can leave wounds - even if they are only flesh wounds.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Part poignant family memoir, part rollicking venture into a 1970s Australia, this is a book for anyone who's wondered if their family is the oddest one on the planet. The answer: 'No'. There is always something stranger out there.</span></i><div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><b>Thoughts: </b>I reckon everyone has a story they could tell during a game of "Who's Got the Weirdest Parents?", I know I've got a couple that could be contenders for the top prize. Richard Glover's life is full of them. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Flesh Wounds is our book group book for November. It was my choice, made after I heard him interviewed by Richard Fidler on the Conversation Hour. It's a great interview - funny and cringe worthy at the same time. You can find it <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2015/09/01/4303811.htm">here</a> and I highly recommend a listen. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">The book was the same, you'd be laughing out loud one moment and then cringing the next, feeling slightly ashamed that what you were laughing at was someone's life and delusions. But Glover wants you to laugh, he wants you to acknowledge the absurd and the crazy.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">As a book group read it's fantastic. Lots of discussion to be had and pasts to be delved in. I'm sure there will be a round or two of Who's Got the Weirdest Parents and some pondering over what stories our own children might tell when they are older. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">I think it must have taken incredible courage for Richard Glover to write this book. His parents are not portrayed in a good light in any way. In fact as you read, you find yourself wondering how Glover turned out to be a functioning adult at all. He is a shining example of resilience and thriving despite not because of your circumstances. This book could have so easily been a depressing, dark and horrible journey through a not terribly nice childhood. Instead Glover presents his life as it is what it is and you can't change that so you might as well make the best of it. He acknowledges there are aspects of his life he keeps at arms length, developing a kind of detachment from the more bizarre and hurtful parts. His continued devotion to his parents, continuing to visit and include them in his life is not something I think a lot of people would have done. If nothing else this book goes to show a dysfunctional family does not mean the end of a functional life. As Glover himself says: </span></span></span><em style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">" ...So many people had inadequate childhoods but we're not all insane or self-harming or miserable. We just found the love we needed elsewhere... This is the amazing resilience of humans. We are hungry for love and - mostly - we somehow find it."</em></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Flesh Wounds gets 4 stars</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> * Did not like it<br />** It was OK<br />*** Liked it<br />**** Really liked it</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">***** It was amazing</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03023415087460105672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3036731973200703689.post-4483668496991075842015-11-01T08:55:00.002+10:002015-11-01T09:01:14.822+10:00Closet His, Closet Hers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE_u6jj9WjY3yj8H5lv7lBRG7PrNooxy19RgO6Fz_369AHTRQI4lls8_AVOi39hDNcNASXiq15zO2Z4KGO0qpUM790wGoLvdYY1aluFcfK66yHuO1KwTiTOOfzUQ9kEQ_m2PK9LDcVYi8/s1600/closet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE_u6jj9WjY3yj8H5lv7lBRG7PrNooxy19RgO6Fz_369AHTRQI4lls8_AVOi39hDNcNASXiq15zO2Z4KGO0qpUM790wGoLvdYY1aluFcfK66yHuO1KwTiTOOfzUQ9kEQ_m2PK9LDcVYi8/s320/closet.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<b><a href="http://burgewords.com/closet-his-closet-hers/">From Burge Words</a>: </b><i>A COLLECTION of ten stories, all variations on the same theme: hiding from the truth.<br />The matron who interprets her sexual desire as physical pain, obsessed with one of her nurses to the point of stalking.</i><br />
<i>The father who has liaisons with men at public toilets, and the kid who works out he knows the bloke.</i><br />
<i>The painter who is out but not too proud, not until she’s achieved something with her life, and the Auschwitz survivor she must care for in her day job.<br />The mother who tries to find ‘the right girl’ for her son, only to come face-to-face with his male partner.<br />The daughter who finds her gay uncle on Facebook and confronts her christian father about his homophobia in one insightful email …<br />Captured at the crossroads of their lives, these people face choices between extraordinary heroism and cowardice.</i><br />
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<b>Thoughts: </b>Michael is a writer who likes to tell it like it is, even if his characters are hiding some pretty big secrets. His characters are all struggling with their sexuality and how they fit (or don't fit) into the roles society has chosen for them.<br />
If you have read Michael's book <a href="http://kyliesreads.blogspot.com.au/2015/10/book-review-questionable-deeds.html">Questionable Deeds</a> you will recognise some of the situations he presents in Closet His, Closet Hers. There are a couple of stories which were almost like dry runs of what is delved into more deeply in the non fiction Questionable Deeds. For me it felt almost like a testing of the waters - can I write about this or is it still too raw?<br />
All of the stories are about same sex attraction. At times it is very confronting, forcing you to not only face how parts of society react to same sex relationships or sex, but possibly your own thoughts and feelings.<br />
Closet His, Closet Hers highlights the shame and trauma placed upon people when they are forced to hide what they truly feel. All of it's characters are damaged in some way because they feel they have to hide how they truly feel. And the damage extends to their friends and their family. No one can be happy if they are living a lie.<br />
I would like to think that many of scenarios presented in Closet His, Closet Hers no longer exists. That a man no longer feels he has to marry, have children, live the suburban life if that is not what he wants. That a woman doesn't have to deny what she really wants and feels able to follow her desires and dreams. Sadly however I know these scenes are still played out in the daily lives of some. Hopefully books like this can highlight how damaging that is and everyone can learn to accept that love is love, regardless of a persons gender.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj42NT_cAMjDPwVQ0u6R9-trlo3_lgNorzvcTOVKfs5n7gNguBWqllwEUH5ljEo0uaiGFTS-YXhK1EXkPjCGxL2aJRpOvx2g1vqK_QXzl_jqzbefE0fonw30I_G3jx3TknRKRYBdmwhEpg/s1600/love.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj42NT_cAMjDPwVQ0u6R9-trlo3_lgNorzvcTOVKfs5n7gNguBWqllwEUH5ljEo0uaiGFTS-YXhK1EXkPjCGxL2aJRpOvx2g1vqK_QXzl_jqzbefE0fonw30I_G3jx3TknRKRYBdmwhEpg/s320/love.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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If you would like to know more about Michael Burge, his current publications and his upcoming releases, check out his website, <a href="http://burgewords.com/">Burge Words</a>.<br />
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Closet His, Closet Hers gets 4 stars<br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> * Did not like it<br />** It was OK<br />*** Liked it<br />**** Really liked it</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">***** It was amazing</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03023415087460105672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3036731973200703689.post-52272038571335326062015-10-28T17:52:00.002+10:002015-10-28T17:56:27.723+10:00Book Review: Joel and Cat Set the Story Straight<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXWlzaRqWwWe7MJJfy9Gxq0XfmSjbhQsx6Npqn-TuGHP2k20v7xElUC1weygN0SCDlbTdE_QHHG20qsDeb5IvgR8Tys2HPgLL8FcO_LDtvQEhSynRV8KgdCpO1RbqXNz73yNlfzchhjJo/s1600/joel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXWlzaRqWwWe7MJJfy9Gxq0XfmSjbhQsx6Npqn-TuGHP2k20v7xElUC1weygN0SCDlbTdE_QHHG20qsDeb5IvgR8Tys2HPgLL8FcO_LDtvQEhSynRV8KgdCpO1RbqXNz73yNlfzchhjJo/s320/joel.jpg" width="205" /></a></div>
<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1885730.Joel_and_Cat_Set_the_Story_Straight?from_search=true&search_version=service">From Goodreads</a>: </b><i><span id="freeText12308345511010794251">Joel and Cat Set the
Story Straight is two weeks in the life of Joel Hedges and Cat Davis.
Joel would prefer to get through his final year of high school without
Cat Davis or his mother's faux Spanish boyfriend and just hang-out with
his best-friend Luke. Cat Davis has an annoying best-friend, and even
more annoying little brother, and a deep abiding hatred of Joel Hedges. <br />Due
to an unfortunate incident involving a leaking pen and suspected
outbreak of Bird Flu, Joel and Cat are forced to sit next to each other
in Extension English. To make matters worse, and to their mutual horror,
they are paired together for a tandem story writing assignment. </span></i><br />
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<span id="freeText12308345511010794251"><b>Thoughts: </b>A tandem story about a tandem story! I am in awe of anyone who can write a good tandem story. I've read books where it worked really well like Gaiman and Pratchett's <a href="http://kyliesreads.blogspot.com.au/2014/12/book-review-good-omens.html">Good Omens</a>, Green and Levithan's <a href="http://kyliesreads.blogspot.com.au/2015/04/book-review-will-grayson-will-grayson.html">Will Grayson, Will Grayson </a>and I've seen disasters like Picoult and van Leer's <a href="http://kyliesreads.blogspot.com.au/2012/07/between-lines.html">Between the Lines</a>. Earls and Sparrow I am glad to report pulled it off with great aplomb! Joel and Cat Set the Story Straight is what good quality young adult fiction should be. It's fun, interesting, thought provoking, has a little bit of angst and laugh out loud funny.</span><br />
<span id="freeText12308345511010794251">For me, any good YA does have a bit of a moral/ education to it. Maybe it's the mum in me, maybe it's the teacher, or maybe it's just that I like books that give you that little bit extra than just pure entertainment. The real skill is presenting that information without hitting teens over the head with it, because, lets face it, we can't teach them anything! (Oh to be back in that time when I knew EVERYTHING!) The message in Joel and Cat can be summed up beautifully in this meme</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfHdQq9471IbJ0GPMyt2-K5QT7ElU7OTjVOLA7gj5ttBK64yTeqFt_MlSDw2-JPbIw_khu5yidkzN7yTQ0hDnswPXgiGjUuastLX_-KXH9AWSvH86Hnkr1EmLUNXEE9jxQ8-BMx07y9d0/s1600/battle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfHdQq9471IbJ0GPMyt2-K5QT7ElU7OTjVOLA7gj5ttBK64yTeqFt_MlSDw2-JPbIw_khu5yidkzN7yTQ0hDnswPXgiGjUuastLX_-KXH9AWSvH86Hnkr1EmLUNXEE9jxQ8-BMx07y9d0/s1600/battle.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span id="freeText12308345511010794251">Things are not always what they seem. The person who seems to have it all in reality most probably doesn't. It takes nothing to be kind and non-judgmental. You may find out something you never knew.</span><br />
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<span id="freeText12308345511010794251">Joel and Cat Set the Record Straight gets 4 stars</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> * Did not like it<br />** It was OK<br />*** Liked it<br />**** Really liked it</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">***** It was amazing</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03023415087460105672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3036731973200703689.post-51971471663244216912015-10-20T07:20:00.001+10:002015-10-20T07:20:18.031+10:00Book Review: Brother of the More Famous Jack<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9MjuP7yxuRDLSJEfQ84HrdmDiz2zTzSFr_kh7OUw0A8IMKhllXZ6fn5xDnqd4sps49c85Jv_wYNUP7zioC4myGrscmmzpFW-yLue_0pvA5w2DKJ8PBpq59QUMBaeJnVM2Vl4flmAK_Dk/s1600/jack.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9MjuP7yxuRDLSJEfQ84HrdmDiz2zTzSFr_kh7OUw0A8IMKhllXZ6fn5xDnqd4sps49c85Jv_wYNUP7zioC4myGrscmmzpFW-yLue_0pvA5w2DKJ8PBpq59QUMBaeJnVM2Vl4flmAK_Dk/s320/jack.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20518796-brother-of-the-more-famous-jack">From Goodreads</a>: </b><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Ask today's favorite novelists what books influenced their writing and you'll hear</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Brother of the More Famous Jack </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">again and again</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> Dog-eared copies of this long out-of-print novel are highly prized and shared enthusiastically in literary circles-its return to print is cause for celebration.</span></i><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><i>Stylish, suburban Katherine is eighteen when she is propelled into the heart of Professor Jacob Goldman's rambling home and his large eccentric family. As his enchanting yet sharp-tongued wife, Jane, gives birth to her sixth child, Katherine meets beautiful, sulky Roger and his volatile younger brother, Jonathan. Inevitable heartbreak sends her fleeing to Rome, but ten years later, older and wiser, she returns to find the Goldmans again.</i></span><div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><b>Thoughts: </b>This was our book group read for October. After I finished it, I though - meh - interesting, but nothing spectacular. Then I started to think about what I would say about it at book group and suddenly discovered the book had infiltrated me in a way I didn't expect. There was a lot more to it than I first thought. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Trapido follows Katherine from a young, fairly innocent girl, through young love, heart break, years of discovering what she loves and a rediscovery of love and friendship. Like life itself, this book meanders along and the big events are not realised as big events until they are after. You know what I mean, the times when something happens and later on you look back and realise how momentous it was. Through the book you can hear Katherine's voice mature, her mature and grow. You can feel the effect events have had on her and the way she has had to deal with them build her into the person she is. I love her connection with Goldman's and the way they seem to need her just as much as she needs them. This book is full of surprising characters that speak to you more than you realise. At only 256 pages it's not a long read and one that I feel may be well worth revisiting.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.8px; line-height: 19.32px;">Brother of the more Famous Jack gets 4 stars.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> * Did not like it<br />** It was OK<br />*** Liked it<br />**** Really liked it</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">***** It was amazing</span></div>
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