Guest Review by Mr M Much like stories told around a dinner table, I think the best ones contain facts with entertaining embellishment and in my own case, the occasional physical performance for added effect. Trent Dalton’s book, Boy Swallows Universe is one of the most entertaining dinner table stories, but I must admit – […]
Category Archives: The Perfect Gift
July
25
The Ninth Hour by Alice McDermott
posted by Ms K
When Alice McDermott writes, you don’t just read her words, you see and feel them. Her style is so delicate and intricate but so everyday and familiar. Somehow you simply settle into her character’s lives as though they were your own. I don’t know how she does this but if I ever choose to have […]
June
21
The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer
posted by Ms K
I chose this book in 10 seconds and read it in what felt like 10 minutes. It was just that good. It’s not what you may think by the title. The Female Persuasion is a novel about the relationships of our main character Greer Kadinsky, a disgruntled and shy student feeling lost at a sub-par […]
April
19
Force of Nature by Jane Harper
posted by Ms K
This is the second book by Jane Harper I have read in the past six months. I was going to put a bit more time between reads but I just couldn’t help myself. I loved Harper’s first novel, The Dry, and I’m very happy to report I burned through this one like a raging fever […]
February
25
Braving the Wilderness by Brene Brown
posted by Ms K
Brene Brown, as you may or may not know, is one of the most famous Ted Talk speakers – ever. Her talk on Vulnerability is in the top 5 Ted Talks of all time so that in itself was incentive enough for me to pick up her latest book but also, as a New Years […]
January
02
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
posted by Ms A
Every good holiday requires a good book. Frankly, it is beyond me why airlines don’t offer book sales with flight reservations. They could easily make recommendations according to destination, demographic and flight length and it would be a whole lot more fun than amazon. Instead of a little shopping basket icon there could be a […]
October
22
Days without End by Sebastian Barry
posted by Ms A
It scares me how many times I walked past this beautiful book. In the days of big publishing houses and even bigger marketing budgets, it is not at all uncommon to get enticed by a cover and find on reading it that the writing doesn’t quite match the hype. The opposite is true with this […]
April
17
Hillbilly Elegy by J D Vance
posted by Ms A
There’s not a single person I know that wouldn’t take something away from this book which probably explains why it’s a number one New York Times Bestseller. Released in late 2016 and timed to perfection, this personal memoir of US businessman J D Vance offers insights into the disintegration of towns and communities in the rust-belt of America. The […]
March
09
Swimming Lessons by Claire Fuller
posted by Ms A
Well hello page-turner. I’ve loved spending the last week with you. I’m normally more immune to the charms of your type, but I’m willing to admit you have me hooked. Swimming Lessons by Claire Fuller is a brand new, perfectly sized and perfectly paced novel about marriage, love, life and truth. It is set in the modern day (I […]
December
04
The Good People by Hannah Kent
posted by Ms A
I’ve toured the world in fiction in 2016 but am wrapping up my travels with a last-minute stop in 19th century Ireland courtesy of Australian author and household name in the making, Hannah Kent. I heard Kent talk about this book long before I started it and was blown away by the sheer force of […]
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