I love this book, and I will re-read it all my life. Such breadth and scope, such depth of loyalty, faithfulness, commitment and love, such exciting and moving adventures. It is a powerful and thoroughly beautiful story.
Month: June 2017
Jewel of the north by Tricia Stringer
It was so nice to revisit the Bakers and the Wiltshires and share in their stories of life in the Flinders Ranges. This is the third novel featuring these characters. There is hardship, joy, sorrow and survival. The Australian landscape can be beautiful and also cruel. It is a lovely insight into what pioneering farming families had to achieve and how communities were built.
Naming Jack the Ripper by Russell Edwards
After 125 years of theorizing and speculation over the identity of Jack the Ripper, Russell Edwards is in the unique position of owning the first physical evidence relating to the crimes to have emerged since 1888 – a shawl belonging to one of the “Rippers” victims, Catherine Eddowes. This evidence is from one of the crime scenes, and has now been rigorously examined by some of the most highly-qualified forensic scientists in Europe who have ascertained its true provenance. With the help of modern forensic techniques, Edward’s ground-breaking discoveries provide conclusive answers to many of the most challenging mysteries surrounding the case.
Unfortunately however, Russell Edwards is an “over-sharer” Continue reading
New review team members
We welcome three new members onto the rrlreads review team who will contribute reviews over the next 6 months.
Ariba : My best books are from “Pug Series” but I enjoy adventurous books too. In my free time I love to watch movies.
Kate : My love is non-fiction, especially memoirs narrated by the author (Magda Szubanski and Moby narrate their memoirs just as brilliantly as Luisa). With a seven year old (who especially LOVES books) I can do children’s picture books and I myself have been getting into a lot of young adult fiction while wondering what I had to read when a young adult myself!
Renee : I read widely but the majority of the books are commercial fiction. I tend to use the Borrowbox app for audiobooks and some ebooks more than reading paperbacks. I also review the middle-grade fiction books I read to my kids as bedtime stories.
We look forward to reading their reviews!
Dubliners by James Joyce
Dubliners is a series of short stories, set in Dublin in the early 1900s. There isn’t a great deal of plot; it is a snapshot of the lives of different people across the city. Lives filled with love, frustration, contentment, rage, drunkenness, hope, loneliness, lust and despair. They are a little bleak, but beautifully so.
First we make the beast beautiful by Sarah Wilson
It was really great to get a picture of what anxiety can be like to live with; how it feels, and how easy it can be to misunderstand an anxious person. I found that element of this book fascinating and helpful. Otherwise, I found it confused and confusing, contradictory and scattered. There are many more questions in the book, than answers, but perhaps the journey will be helpful to other travellers.
The butterfly and the violin by Kristy Cambron
The Butterfly and the Violin is a sad and gentle tale of two young lovers who were sent to the Nazi concentration camps, how they survived by a small thread of hope, how they were separated and found again, and how poignant and fragile the gift of life is. I was so deeply moved by this story that I purchased my own copy. If you wish for a book that will speak deeply to your heart, this I recommend!
Our souls at night by Kent Haruf
Our Souls at Night is a gentle and quietly beautiful book. Addie and Louis are neighbours, who find comfort, adventure and love together, late in life. It’s about small town life, how people are more than the facts of their lives and about choosing happiness.
Stars across the ocean by Kimberley Freeman
A foundling chasing her mother around the globe, a mother’s heartache at losing love and her daughter and a daughter coming to terms with her mother’s illness. Each of story is told well, but I finished the book feeling that I wanted so much more depth to each of the characters.
The ending was a surprise and I loved the way that Kimberley concealed it throughout the story.
I have enjoyed all of Kimberley’s stories that I have read and will continue to seek them out as I know I will get an interesting set of characters to read about.
The making of MONA by Adrian Franklin
I chose this book because it is a great example of the book as an object of beauty – that is lovely to hold – to flip between the pages – soak up the ideas – and think about a trip to Tasmania to see MONA for real. It also matches my jacket!
In the world of eBooks there are lot of reasons why the new formats are so convenient, portable and accessible. But sometimes I just want to hold a paper book – it has a certain weight in your hands, it has a beautiful layout, amazing images and it tells a story – this time it is about the mysterious art collector and successful gambler David Walsh and how he created the always controversial MONA: the Museum of Old and New Art in Hobart.
Libraries give us the chance to walk in someone else’s shoes and travel to places we may never know otherwise. Don’t forget to check out our books on design, art and architecture nest time you come to the library. Be inspired!
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