Tag Archives: What ya reading Wednesday

They’re not all the same…

All things books,

Libraries that is….

The branches I use back in Melbourne are part of a large group that come under the banner of Eastern Regional Libraries.
The one I use up here in Bowen is part of a much much smaller group under Whitsunday Regional Council Libraries

Here in Bowen the library might be smaller in size with not so many copies of each book but there are little touches I appreciate that don’t seem to be available at home….or if they are I’ve not noticed them😊

This whirly roundabout shelving has books from ‘series’ – not just the latest publication but all others from a popular series, and look (you might have to enlarge to see)……the library actually numbers them in the order they’re published
You can see at a glance if the elusive one you’re hunting for is available.

And if you look at the top right hand square you’ll see another doodad holding books labelled as ‘Classics’….we might only have one copy I got told, they tend to get get lost – almost swamped in the main collection so they’re better off here where they can be found.

… … … …

Now for something different but just as pleasing.
I know most of us are familiar with the little pictorial genre identifiers – those little coloured stickers on the spine.
Seeing the red kangaroo makes me smile, my ‘local’ doesn’t use them, so when I see them on the shelves it means I can identify Aussie authors and books about/set in Australia without actually having one in mind.
Big discoveries made this way!

Last month red kangaroos introduced me to novels by two more ‘new to me’ Australian authors.
Both books covering two young Australian’s experiences during recent world wars
Both enjoyable in their own special way.

The Stars in the Night – Clare Rhoden.
(Historical Fiction)

Book blurb:-.
Harry Fletcher is a confident young man.
Harry’s sure that he will marry Nora MacTiernan, no matter what their families say. He’s certain that he will always be there to protect Eddie, the boy his father saved from the gutters of Port Adelaide.
Only the War to End All Wars might get in the way of Harry’s plans…
From the beaches of Semaphore to the shores of Gallipoli, the mud of Flanders to the red dust of inland South Australia, this is a story of love, brotherhood, and resilience.

The Codebreakers – Alli Sinclair.
(Historical Fiction)

Book blurb:-.
1943, Brisbane: The war continues to devastate and the battle for the Pacific threatens Australian shores. For Ellie O’Sullivan, helping the war effort means utilising her engineering skills for Qantas as they evacuate civilians and deliver supplies to armed forces overseas. Her exceptional logic and integrity attract the attention of the Central Bureau-an intelligence organisation working with England’s Bletchley Park codebreakers.
But joining the Central Bureau means signing a lifetime secrecy contract. Breaking it is treason.

… … … …
And then there’s this one I picked up the other day – Flames – Robbie Arnott.
(Magical Realism Fantasy)
Let’s just say it’s proving to be interesting’ 😊

  • Book blurb:- A young man named Levi McAllister decides to build a coffin for his twenty-three-year-old sister, Charlotte—who promptly runs for her life. A water rat swims upriver in quest of the cloud god. A fisherman named Karl hunts for tuna in partnership with a seal. And a father takes form from fire.

What’s been on your book shelf recently- anything interesting?

Taking the easy way out…

All things books,

Do you see the date…..July 27th already! And I haven’t got round to taking part in the challenge – yet!

As I was leaving my book club back in June all I said was ’I’ll try’.
Some of the others were in favour of joining in with Jane Austen July info……a challenge to read/watch/appreciate Jane Austen whatever way you can – I didn’t feel so committed.

Anyway knowing I had lost the urge to read and thinking it might put me back on track my battered copy of P&P (which even after various attempts over the years I’ve never finished….last one in 2009 ) came along….and has sat here on the bedside locker, ignored while I’ve been doing other things. I did briefly wonder about looking for an online production but that’s as far as it got.
( Internet – signal – online – words spoken here with rolled back eyes…..it seems (as with other years) park wifi reception is usually good BUT there can be/ often is problems/issues with the dreaded NBN. My phone (5g plus plan with our national carrier) is a bit hit and miss and using it as a hotspot for my iPad isn’t much better.)

Now you know how the libraries often have ‘just returned’ books on a trolley – hoping another reader picks them so saving the staff from having to shelve them….well look at this – The Usborne Complete Jane Austen – a (quite hefty) but really beautiful, printed on glossy paper, children’s book with abridged versions of all her novels – was sitting there just waiting for me to find it yesterday morning. How timely was that 😊

What I’m wondering is…do you think I’d be taking the easy way out, almost cheating, by reading (and most likely finishing) from this book rather than my Penguin edition with it’s over 400 pages of tiny print???
And look what else is included – before each of the novels there’s a whole double spread of who’s who and how they relate to each other. A pictorial cast list!

What ya reading Wednesday

All things books,

At the end of last year 2020 I set myself a challenge of reading 52 books during this year 2021….that equated to 1 a week . Of course things don’t always work out the way we want them to and during the second quarter the ‘reading slump’ put in an appearance. Which meant that by the end of June (week 26) I was way behind…..7 books in fact.

Since then I’ve caught up a bit – Bowen was a great place to sit around and do nothing, a lot of reading happened there – but I’m going to have to get a move along to finish the way I intended. It’s a light hearted challenge….there’ll be no tears shed if I don’t reach that total…..but you know how it is…..If you think you can, there’s no reason you can’t

So far this month I’ve taken two off the total and there’s two more in hand ready to go!

And to answer those all important questions we ask our ’book loving’ friends

What are you reading at the moment?
What did you just finish ?
What are you planning to read next ?

I’ll go about it this way….

Sitting on the table waiting to be read is – Women of the Dunes by Sarah Main

Book blurb:- From the author of the acclaimed novels The House Between Tides and Beyond the Wild River, a rich, atmospheric tale set on the sea-lashed coast of west Scotland, in which the lives of a ninth-century Norsewoman, a nineteenth-century woman, and a twenty-first-century archeologist weave together after a body is discovered in the dunes.

This is one I’m looking forward to reading and hoping it lives up to its reviews. Having read (and thoroughly enjoyed) her previous Scottish flavoured novels I’m sure it will.

My current read is – The Scholar by Dervla McTiernan

Book blurb:- When DS Cormac Reilly’s girlfriend Emma stumbles across the victim of a hit and run early one morning, he is first on the scene of a murder that would otherwise never have been assigned to him. The dead girl is carrying an ID, that of Carlin Darcy, heir apparent to Darcy Therapeutics, Ireland’s most successful pharmaceutical company.

I’ve only just started this one so don’t have any comments but if it’s anything like the earlier book in this series it should be ’a good ’un’

Just finished – The Echo Chamber by John Boyne

Book blurb:- What a thing of wonder a mobile phone is. Six ounces of metal, glass and plastic, fashioned into a sleek, shiny, precious object. At once, a gateway to other worlds – and a treacherous weapon in the hands of the unwary, the unwitting, the inept.

About a family, a ’modern’, some would say dysfunctional family, a family who are attached to their mobile phones and all the ‘must have’ social media apps.
Especially Twitter!
Humorous, witty, fun to read, seeing all the twists and turns that crop up in their lives and how the results of them link each family member to each other in unseen ways.

Also just finished – Wobble to Death by Peter Lovesey

Book blurb:- London, 1879. Crowds have gathered at Islington’s chilly Agricultural Hall to place their bets on who will become the next world champion in a six-day, 500-mile speedwalking race, the “wobble.” When one of the highly favored contenders dies under suspicious circumstances, Sergeant Cribb also has a race on his hands—to pursue a ruthless murderer.
 
A quick easy fun read, a couple of murders and other skulduggery linked to a popular 19c event (Pedestrianism). It’s the only book in this series at my library so I’m pleased I discovered it.

As an aside I found this on youtube – just right for a rainy day…which we’ve had plenty of recently

To use our PMs words ”it’s not a race” – no, unlike some things, this is not a race but I’d really like to get to the finish line before the end of the year.

How about you……what’s on your bedside table- what are you reading this Wednesday?

I read a book….

All things books

I knew it would happen – sooner rather than later
It would return and I’d wonder how and why it had managed to get lost
I just didn’t imagine it happening this way

All it took was one short 280 page novel to find it again
A YA (young adult) one at that
And a willingness to accept some events that might be a bit far fetched. Not quite suspension of belief – more…. Do they really expect me to believe that?

Could Australia be invaded via a small town in NSW…..over a short period of time by an unknown force speaking an unknown language when everyone (apart from the main characters who’ve ‘gone bush’ for several days) is at the yearly agricultural show?

After being dissatisfied with recent library picks, annoyed at not being able to find something I could lose myself in, mourning the loss of my reading mojo I rummaged through a bag of books set aside for Bowen and came out with something that had me engrossed from the first page in.

Tomorrow, When the War Began – John Marsden did it for me.
Deciding to have a set time to read during our latest lockdown (well we couldn’t go far so I wasn’t going to be out long if I did go out) rather than reading on and off during the day meant I actually looked forward to that time.
Plus choosing a genre (YA) not normally on the bedside table was a challenge in itself – I don’t remember ever having a book geared towards teenagers about teenagers there before.
But as the old expression goes – whatever turns you on 😉

Ever hopeful I can return to my usual reading rate I’m about to start The Awakening…..first book in The Dragon Heart Legacy written by Nora Roberts…..a new to me author, well I do know her name, just haven’t read any of her work
Fantasy, Romance, Magic…..all set in Ireland.
My mother always said once I got my nose in a book I was lost to the world – I’m about to open another book and get lost, all the while keeping a tight hold of my reading mojo 😊

What ya reading Wednesday….

All things books, ,

I saw this little ‘poster’ online somewhere and felt it summed up the past few weeks.

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As well as spending a good bit of my time recently with needles in my hand and chasing up long lost ancestors …..I ‘discovered’ another sister of one of my GT Grandmothers…..there has always a book close at hand for quiet moments when I wanted to retreat from all the ongoing madness.

Two that I read were written by new to me authors  – well not new in that I had never heard of them – just new in that I’d never read any of their works before.  And just by chance both books were the authors’ first novels and also the first in a series.

Jo Nesbø -The Bat

Book Blurb:-  Detective Harry Hole Is meant to keep out of trouble.  A young Norwegian girl on a gap year in Sydney has been murdered and Harry has been sent to Australia to assist in any way he can…..when the team unearths a string of unsolved murders nothing will stop Harry from finding out the truth.

Such an easy read, Harry Hole sent to observe but becomes involved.   It starts slowly but moves along dramatically/ violently/ humourously even at times- twisting and turning to a very surprising end.  Introduces the reader to Harry’s past which influences his present.  The other characters (the police he is working with) were very Australian, their language full of local expressions,  not quite what he was used to and the more he learns about the first death the more he unearths about previous killings giving him reasons to become more involved in finding the killer.

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Michael Robotham – Suspect/The Suspect

Book Blurb:- Joseph O’Loughlin appears to have the perfect life- a beautiful wife, a loving daughter and a successful career as a clinical psychologist.  But nothing can be taken for granted.  Even the most flawless existence is only a loose thread away from unravelling.  All it takes is a murdered girl, a troubled patient and the biggest lie of his life. 

If I’d known I’d be reading the same story twice I might have thought twice about actually reading this book.  The thing is it was what made the book what it was.

A really good read!

The first chapter certainly draws you in – meeting the main character on a window ledge trying to talk someone out of jumping!  Later he becomes involved in what appeares to be the murder of a prostitute but is actually someone he knew a few years previously.  Add that to the fact he’s recently been diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease and the book is off and running.  It follows his daily life seeing patients- one in particular is marked in his mind as the killer but after a conversation with the investigating police officer it’s he who becomes the suspect.  Cue part two!

After his arrest the ‘story’ is rewritten – same people places with different dialogue, thoughts, reasoning and explanations.  Of course Joe O’Loughlin is innocent, he proves the one he suspected is guilty in a very surprising ending.

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Have any of you read either of these books?  I’m hoping the library reopens soon as I’d like to order more of these authors works/series.

Until then I’m plodding through the large pile here at home.  Next in line are two from my ‘give the girls a go‘ idea.

The Hunters Wife – Kathleen Scholes

Daughters of Australia – Harmony Verna

 

What ya reading Wednesday….

All things books,

Unlike some of my coffee drinking friends, my very good friend the librarian didn’t think I was strange when she heard about my reading challenges for this year. ‘Are you up for another one?’ she asked, ‘do you mind what genre the books are?.  If not I’ll keep my eye  open for some you might be interested in’

I had two recommendations for an A and a B one word title sent in an email- put them on hold please I replied.

The first one Alice by Christine Henry  is described as:- A mind-bending new novel inspired by the twisted and wondrous works of Lewis Carroll

Book Blurb :-  In a warren of crumbling buildings and desperate people called the Old City, there stands a hospital with cinderblock walls which echo the screams of the poor souls inside.

In the hospital, there is a woman. Her hair, once blond, hangs in tangles down her back. She doesn’t remember why she’s in such a terrible place. Just a tea party long ago, and long ears, and blood…

So then it was on to the second one Bliss by Peter Carey

Book Blurb:- This novel, by the author of Oscar and Lucinda, tells the story of a man who, recovering from death, is convinced that he is in hell. For the first time in his life, Harry Joy sees the world as it really is, and takes up a notebook to explore and notate the true nature of the Underworld.

i saw one classed as Horror/Fantasy – the other as Satire/Black Humour in the form of literature.

Both arrived the other day but I haven’t picked them up yet,  I’m trying to finish off my February female first 😊

How about you.  Are you reading anything out of the ordinary ?