‘…the past is in us, and not behind us. Things are never over’ wrote Tim Winton in ‘Aquifier’. These words are the foreward of this collection of short stories and they set the tone from the get-go as the author promptly transports us back to our high school years. Yes, those teen experiences – wonderful and hideous and embarrassing – are explored in […]
Category Archives: Grab it Now
July
19
My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante
posted by Ms A
Lila, Gigliona, Alfonso, Nino, Pasquale, Rino, Carmela and Ada are just some of the children of various ages featured in this book. Throw in their parents; Fernando, Nunzia, Alfredo, Giuseppina, Melina, Donato, Silvio, Manuela, Nicola, Assunta and the evil Don Achille and you pretty much have the village. These are the names of the friends and […]
June
16
The Wonder Lover by Malcolm Knox
posted by Ms A
This is a man’s book. Actually it is a multi – functional man’s book. First you can read it and marvel at what it tells you about male behaviour; then you can thump the nearest guy across the head with it. Written by Australian author Malcolm Knox (otherwise known for Jamaica, The Life and Summerland), this is a fictional equivalent […]
May
31
The Household Guide to Dying by Debra Adelaide
posted by Ms K
Ok, I know, I know. This might not be the most obvious choice for May Faves but given Barbara Kingsolver and Geraldine Brooks had already earned a place here this month, I simply could not go past this as one of my favourite books of all time. If you judge a book by how often […]
May
12
A Little Princess – Guest Review by Miss Ellie (aged 11)
posted by Ms A
“In the early morning smog I had him. But in the lovely lunch of my birthday I lost him.” A Little Princess is written by Frances Hodgson Burnett who also wrote The Secret Garden. Frances weaves a story about a rich girl with perfect manners and an extreme love of books. Frances tells this story […]
May
03
The Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks – Guest Review by Ms D
posted by Ms A
Behold, there’s a book that covers everything: rampant disease, death, suicide, murder, torture, grief, greed, lust, sex, sorcery, devil worship, flagellation, crazed mobs, cruel parenting, and that old chestnut: religion. In her first foray into historical fiction, Australian foreign correspondent, Geraldine Brooks (who has witnessed her share of horrific war zones), addresses an ethical dilemma. […]
March
25
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
posted by Ms K
I learnt a new word courtesy of this book. Unputdownable. I didn’t make it up – someone else did – one of the book’s reviewers who clearly loved this book as much as I did. To say I was like a rabid dog reading it, is an understatement. I couldn’t stop myself. It’s simply unputdownable. I don’t think I […]
February
25
The Mountain Between Us by Charles Martin
posted by Ms A
If you are in the mood for a page turner then I have found your next read. Written by Charles Martin (who also wrote Where the River Ends), this is a story of two people left clinging for their lives on a mountain in the middle of winter. Through their struggle for survival they learn […]
February
11
Wild by Cheryl Strayed
posted by Ms K
Cheryl Strayed took on a new name the day she divorced her husband. Strayed came to her and it stuck…….. “It’s layered definitions spoke directly to my life and also struck a poetic chord: to wander from the proper path, to deviate from the direct course, to be lost, to become wild, to be without […]
January
06
Daring and Disruptive by Lisa Messenger
posted by Ms K
True to this book’s title, it indeed did prove Disruptive. I picked it up one rainy Sunday to scan the first page and four hours later, there I still was…… Do you know Lisa Messenger? Do you know the magazine Renegade Collective? Well, it was her brainchild so once you have finished reading this, I […]
