APRIL, 2025 - AUSSIE APRIL - BOOKS BY AUSTRALIAN AUTHORS

 

ROSEMARY:  THE BEEKEEPERS SECRET BY JOSEPHINE MOON

Rosemary said this was an easy read despite the background story of the Royal Commission looking into the abuse of children by the Catholic Church.  It is set on the Sunshine Coast of Qld. The story is about Maria and Tansy. Maria, a former nun is leading a very reclusive life at Honeybee Haven, making honey and honey products to support a Cambodian orphanage. Tansy is the daughter of Maria’s sister with whom she has been estranged for many years.  Tansy has never met Maria before, but she is hoping to reunite broken family ties. Throughout the book are some wonderful and fascinating facts about the world of bees.  The author has written a book that is very Australian in the setting, including the beaches, the café culture, the bushland and the mountains behind the Sunshine coast. It’s a story of family secrets, the give and take in marriage with the life of bees thrown in the mix.

PAT: SECRETS OF MIDWIVES by SALLY HEPWORTH

Pat said she enjoyed reading this book.  The story got you in from the first page with a twist at the end.  She thanked Judy, one of our book club members, for recommending this author to her.  Pat said she will definitely read more of her books.

ED:  THE TILT BY CHRIS HAMMER (2022)

Nell Buchanan is a fairly new homicide detective who is annoyed that she has been assigned an old “cold case” in her hometown. It’s set in the NSW/Victoria border. The bones of a body have been found.  This is not just an ordinary cold case, and the discovery of this body sets off a chain of events. Eventually, another body is found.  Ed said it was a gripping story, and she enjoyed reading it.

JUDYJ: GUNNAWAH BY RONNIE SALT (2025)

This is set in 1974 in the Australian Riverina, the weather is hot but the body in the Murray River is stone cold.  This crime thriller has all the characters straight from the 1970’s and lots of action. There are many interesting characters.  Most who have come to the town are hiding a past and wanting a new start.  As well as all the local folk, Gough and Margaret Whitlam pay a visit. Al Grassby is the local politician, Billy McMahon is a joke and Donald McKay, the anti-drugs campaigner, has just started to speak out. A young journalist is looking into corruption by politicians in the acquisition of land in the area.  Judy said it’s an easy and enjoyable read, fairly predictable, but thankfully it has a bit of a twist at the end.  The strength of this book is the depiction of this innocent lifestyle in a country town in the 1970’s and how it was upended when the truth of what was really happening under their noses, was exposed.

JUDY D:  FOUR FIRES BY BRYCE COURTENAY

This is a family saga spanning the years 1955 to 1999.  It felt as if the author was sitting there telling the story of an Irish family.  There were five children with different fathers.  They couldn’t be accepted by the Catholic schools.  It was long and involved.  You couldn’t just skim through.  Judy enjoyed the read.

LYN:  RANSOM BY DAVID MALOUF

This was published in 2009. Lyn said it was her first David Malouf book and felt certain it would not be her last.  

Note on back of book: “From the walls of Troy, King Priam watches the body of his son, Hector, being dragged behind Achilles’ chariot in the Greek camp, day after day. Maddened by grief at the death of his friend. Patroclus, Achilles refuses to give up Hector’s body.  King Priam is convinced there must be a way of reclaiming his body – of pitting compromise against heroics, new ways against the old, and of forcing the hand of fate. This fable enlarges on a section of the Iliad, with God’s being able to be seen and the seemingly impossible trip to the Greek camp and the result.”

SHEILA:  BREATH BY TIM WINTON

This story is about a 12 year old boy and his mate who are outsiders at school.  They mess about in the bush and then decide to take up surfing.   There are amazing descriptions of surfing.  The boys are pushing boundaries.  A fellow takes them under his wing and shows them how to surf in dangerous conditions.  It’s an interesting book about two boys between 12 and 15 growing up and learning about sex.  Sheila said it was well worth the read if you like the beach. It’s set in Western Australia.  She did enjoy it.

JOAN:  CAPRICORNIA BY XAVIER HERBERT (1938)

This is an epic classic, a book of fiction, 604 pages long.   The themes are colonization of the far north and race relations.  The story centres around the Shillingsworth brothers. Oscar and Mark.  They arrive around 1904 in serge suits and bowler hats to work as clerks in Government Services. It’s set in mythical Capricornia, northern Western Australia.  Oscar prospers and takes his place as a gentleman and property owner but Mark is restless, takes up in bad company, becomes an alcoholic and with an Aboriginal woman produces a half caste son, Norman.  It’s this family story the book spans for several generations.

JO:  THE SURVIVORS BY JANE HARPER

This story is set in a Tasmanian coastal town.  Guilt still haunts the protagonist Kieran Elliott about an accident that happened 12 years ago. He returns to the town he called home, to help his parents.  A body is discovered in the area. Jo said it was a very good book.

VAL:  STAZILAND BY ANNA FUNDER

A tremendous amount of research was done for this book. Both sides got in contact with her.  So much of the research, the Stasi did not want her to write.  They tried to bring her around to Communism. The Stasi were the secret police in East Germany from 1950 to 1990.  Some of their behaviour was absurd, such as a 16yr old girl being arrested and deprived of sleep for many days for having an anti-communism banner.  It was all about control. There were thousands of informants.

LESLEY:  AUSTRALIAN GOSPEL: A FAMILY SAGA BY LECH BLAINE

It’s a wild madcap, tragic/funny fact filled story of the life of Lech Blaine.  It’s set mainly in Queensland. His eccentric parents, Tom and Lenore Blaine, publicans, were loud but very loving.  His actual birth parents were Michael and Mary Shelley who were fanatical, foul-mouthed Christians who had three children, all taken away due to neglect. The extreme beliefs of the parents suggested they could be in danger.  The children were raised by Tom and Lenore Blaine, who had to move frequently, experienced kidnaps, assaults and tirades.   It was a tragedy and reflects poorly on the child welfare system, but it is written with dry humour.  It is hard to believe the lives the Blaine family led were true. Lesley enjoyed the read.

PRUE:  MR EINSTEIN’S SECRETARY BY MATTHEW O’REILLY

Prue thought he wrote exciting, brilliant books but then she went off him.  This one is a bit different.  A young girl is the daughter of a physicist.  Her father raised Hannah and her twin sister after their mother died.  The father was involved in the Treaty of Versailles.  Einstein rescued Hannah. She became Einstein’s secretary.

She went to Germany and became a spy during the Nazi regime.  Prue thoroughly enjoyed the read.  She said Matthew O’Reilly was no literary genius, but he wrote very exciting books.

KERRY: THE THINNING BY INGAR SIMPSON

The Thinning is the idea that the water, land and space are very thin layers that connect.

Kerry loves the way she writes.  She is an activist for the environment.  This is a dystopian thriller set in the not too distant future.  There are no koalas, and the Barrier Reef has disappeared.  There are children being born with large eyes and brains made for screens.  It is an adaptation, and they are called Incompletes.  Terry is an incomplete.  He has mind reading ability as well.  Finn is a girl brought up in the Warrumbungles.  She builds things and fights the people destroying the Earth. They join forces.  Kerry said she writes beautifully about the Australian wildlife.  She enjoyed the read.

JUDY A:  THE BURROW BY MELANIE CHENG

This story is about the Lee family.  The father, Jin is a doctor in the emergency department of a local hospital. The mother, Amy, is a published author, but struggling to put pen to paper. Then there is their ten year old introverted and bookish daughter Lucie. Amy’s mother, Pauline who has come to stay with them after breaking her wrist. The hospital social worker deems her to be needing assistance for a period.  Missing is the daughter Ruby who, four years earlier, at the age of around eight months, died in a horrible home accident. The grandmother’s presence sets up tension because of how Ruby died.  The family are struggling separately with their grief but are forced to confront the circumstances around Ruby’s death.  It's a short, moving, beautifully written book.

BEV:  THE VALLEY BY CHRIS HAMMER

Bev read the first one in the series and really enjoyed it.  There is a new detective based in Dubbo investigating a murder on the south coast. He and another detective go to the Valley, a tiny hamlet in Bega/Bateman’s Bay area. The local police and detective from Queanbeyan can’t understand why these two interlopers from Dubbo are involved.  A fellow was found face down in the river.  He was a good man.  The story goes back and forth twenty years.  Bev didn’t like that.  She said there were too many people and too many things going on, making it hard to work out.  It was not a patch on the first book.

TAM:  COME RAIN OR SHINE BY PATRICIA STRINGER

This book shows all the difficulties of living on the land.  Tam said it was a good read.  It is a warm hearted rural romance.  A year into Paula's marriage with farmer Dan, she falls pregnant. When she moved to the country, she knew it would be tough.  Life is busy but good.  Her husband, Dan, who promised to always tell her the truth, is increasingly tired and distant and seems to be hiding something. Paula gets some shocking news.  The story is set in South Australia.  Tam said she would read another of her books.

Kris

MAY:  We will be reading one of two books from the Library Kit

          Lessons in Chemistry or The Dressmaker

March: 行進 Japanese Authors 日本の作家

 🎌 Kris: Before we Forget Kindness by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

This is the fifth novel in the internationally best selling ‘Before the Coffee gets Cold’ series. They are set in a Tokyo café which is visited by people who want to travel back in time.

To go back in time there is a strict set of rules to be adhered to  and the coffee must be finished before it gets cold. If not, they will not be able to return. Most people want to set things right with someone. They cannot change anything that happens in the future.

There are four unique stories with each person wanting to be able to move on with their lives. 

Quite easy to read stories mixed with a bit of fantasy.

 

🎌 Rosemary: The Goodbye Cat by Hiro Arikawa

This is a collection of seven stories about the relationship between the cats and their owners but told from the perspectives of the cats and their families with humour and love.

The stories vary in length and cover such themes as love, loyalty, companionship, family and grief.

Rosemary described the book as a lovely, nice read.

 

🎌 Tam: Klara and the Sun by Kazuro Ishiguro

Klara is a robot and the story is told through her eyes. She has been bought by  a teenager Rosie as an AF (artificial friend) . Rosies mother decides to clone Rosie, maybe as a replacement for a daughter who had died. So the robot is being processed to copy the little girl’s movements. 

Other themes covered are pollution and contrived social situations.

Tam quite enjoyed the interesting themes but noted it is scary the way things are going with AI.

 

🎌 Kerrie also read Klara and the Sun.

For her the book was about loneliness and artificial friends. Klara and her like are created to fill the gap of loneliness in the world. 

 In this dystopian world these children have been genetically altered to be the leaders but have no communication skills.

Klara, the robot is a little bit special, she learns from the others. She understands all this cloning and is almost the most human these.

 

🎌 Judy A:  Black Rain by Masuji Ibuse 

First published in 1965, this novel is based on the historical records of the devastation caused by the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and from the diaries of people who escaped the blast but later died from radiation sickness.

Ibuse builds the novel around Mr Shizuma, his wife and his niece Yatsuko. It’s almost a year after the bomb and so he is trying to find a suitable husband for her, but it’s rumoured she has the ‘sickness’ from the bomb and so her chances are slim.

The book alternates long pieces from Mr Shizuma’s diary on the day of the bomb and the period just after with the descriptions of their day-to-day life as they try to get on with living.

His descriptions are quite vivid, but the story is told in a very unsentimental way.

Very typically Japanese.

 

🎌 Rosemary W: Hear the Wind Sing by Haruki Murakami

Although written in the early 1970’s it was only recently published in English.

There is no single straightforward story line. It is semi-autobiographical, more philosophy, fantasy, cats, language, communication and stories about sexual relationships.

You either love it or hate it! Rosemary loved it.

 

🎌 Ed: The Strange Library by Haruki Murakami

This short novel tells of a boy who goes to the public library because he was wondering about the Ottoman tax collection system. This was the advice of his mother.

He knows the place well but this time he is sent to a reading room, via an enormous underground labyrinth, escorted by a sinister old man. Many strange happenings along the way, is he in a real or magical world, will he live or die?

 

🎌 Pat: Men without Women by Haruki Murakami

The book is a collection of stories about despairing men and loneliness. The men have lost women in their own lives usually to other men or death. They now have affairs or one-night stands. Cats are involved and all the women tended to be unattractive.

In the first story, an aging actor is now unable to drive so hires a young woman to drive him to the theatre.

In the beginning he practises his lines but as time went on, they become more familiar with each other. As their friendship evolved, they confide in each other about the sadness that has been in their lives.

 

🎌 Judy de la T: Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

Judy had read several titles by Japanese authors, commenting that their style was infectious, and she would continue to read more.

Her favourite was Kafka on the Shore which she described as an allegory for so many things including eating, cats and sex.

 

🎌 Lesley: The Ten Loves of Mr Nishino by Hiromi Kawakami

The book is told from the perspective of each of the women Mr Nishino has fallen in love with. He is a cool womaniser with great charm.

Ten women quite randomly come into his life, work colleagues, friend of a friend, friend of latest partner etc. The women’s stories are not linear so the reflections from each of the women are not in chronological order.

He loves them all deeply, but he is complicated man who struggles with long term commitment. He fears the term ‘forever’.

Each of the chapters is about one of his loves. The focus is really on the women, their emotions and reactions to him. The women were far more interesting than Mr Nishino.

The writing has a calmness about it, very Japanese.

 

🎌 Jo: The Forest of Wool and Steel by Natsu Miyashita

A young boy, Tomura, hears the sound of a piano being tuned in his school and from that moment he is determined to discover more.

All the while that he is learning, he doubts himself that he has what it takes.

He has a long apprenticeship before he is able to even talk to clients, but his determination and perseverance win through.

Jo found it very interesting.

 

🎌 Joan:  Diary of a Void by Emi Yagi 

The only woman in the office is expected to do all the menial tasks until one day she ‘snaps’. She announces that she can longer be expected to carry on as usual as she is pregnant.

She can now rest at home, attend aerobics class etc and this last for 9 months .A pesky co-worker watches over her because he and his wife don’t have children. 

The author is a young woman and is highlighting the gender imbalance in the Japanese workplace with the ending open to different interpretations.

Joan thought it was well written, funny and a page turner and she thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

🎌 Theresa: Malice by Keigo Higashino

A thrilling detective story featuring Detective Kaga. When a successful author is found murdered, his struggling fellow author is in the same house. The detective soon solves the crime when the murderer confesses.

The majority of the book is devoted to what had led to this situation and uncovers many things in the past of these two men and the meticulous work of the detective.

Theresa was surprised at how much she enjoyed the book.

 

🎌 Val:  An Artist in the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro

Having first read the book many years ago,  Val didn’t enjoy rereading it now. She found the excessive politeness of the Japanese to be annoying.

It is set in the city in the 1950’s after World War 11 when the Japanese are trying to bring themselves up after their humiliating surrender.

He is drinking with friends and musing about the life he misses,  the American influence is becoming more obvious and things are more westernised.

He misses his old life and reflects on mistakes he has made.

But he eventually comes to terms with himself and hopefully the future of Japan. 

The writing is very concise, not an unnecessary word.

 

🎌 Lyn: The Blanket Cat by Kiyoshi Shigematsu

There are seven stories about seven different cats. They come from a peculiar pet shop in Tokyo which offers the customers the opportunity to ‘rent or hire’ a cat. 

Each customer is hoping that a temporary feline companion will help them work through their particular anxiety or concerns. These could range from infertility, a woman on the run from the police or families in different circumstances.

There are very strict rules: cats must be returned in three days, eat only food provided  and sleep on the provided blanket.

An example of Japanese cat healing fiction!

 

🎌 Judy: J Issun Boshi

This is a very old Japanese folktale, and it has many slightly different versions.

It also has elements from folk tales from other countries and eras.

An old childless couple pray for a child and are blessed with a baby boy. They name him Issun Boshi, Inch Boy because he is only one inch tall.

He grows up in a loving family but wants to go to the big city.

Still only one inch tall his mother gives him a needle as a sword and his father a rice cup for a boat.

Along the way he encounters an ogre, fights him off, falls in love with a beautiful girl and through the power of the magic hammer, he returns to normal size.

The moral is that even the smallest person can be brave and resourceful, and self-confidence is important.

A fun way to finish a very interesting and different morning.

Judy

 

 

Next month is AUSSIE APRIL

Choose a book by any Aussie author.

 

 

 

 

FEBRUARY 2025 - BOOKS ABOUT MUSIC

 

FEBRUARY BOOKS.

February Book Club saw us happily welcoming new members. Our topic was 'music' and a varied selection of reading material and music was very well presented.   

ED - MUSIC AND HOW IT WORKS. The book covered all aspects of music, instruments, styles etc. Ed enjoyed it.

JUDY D - SOUND BITES - Edited by La Brock.

ROSEMARY S - THE MUSIC SHOP - Rachel Joyce.  - A quirky book with quirky characters, an eccentric mother dies and donates her estate to the Cats Society. She has a boot full of vinyl records so her son Frank saves them. Frank, a loner, has amazing knowledge of music and knows what people want to listen to. He opens a shop, is successful and into the shop comes a mysterious women named Isla. Life is about 2nd chances. A good read.

ROSEMARY W - THESE ARE THE DAYS - MICK THOMAS. An Australian songwriter and performer. Folk/Rock. Melbourne based, the book tells many stories of the band, the social issues of the times, the environment and the outback.  What was happening in the 1980's.

JO - THE SEEKERS - DVD - Jo loved the DVD.

KRIS - MUSIC AND SILENCE - ROSE TREMAIN. 1999. Historical novel. 1629 an English lute player joins the Royal Orchestra of the King of Denmark. The country is going through tough economic times, the King's wife is having an affair, there is unrest in the court. Music soothes his jangled nerves. The lute player is unhappy in the conditions in the court but further complications arise when he falls in love with the lover of the Kings wife. Kris loved the book, many twists and turns, a good mystery but she had to race through the final chapters to finish it.

PAMELA - Discussed a piece of music. Australian composer Nigel Westlake suffered great loss when his son was killed. He couldn't write, couldn't function due to the grief. Then he heard an ancient Hebrew hymn that speaks of compassion and leads to a sense of freedom. For Nigel it started the healing process. Nigel was able to create a orchestral backing for the hymn. He won an ARIA in 2013 for COMPASSION.

VAL - PIANO SHOP ON THE LEFT BANK - T.E.Carhart. Memoir of himself, an American living on the left bank in Paris. He meets Luke, a man with many piano's in his shop. Luke not only knows a great deal about piano's, he matches his piano's to the buyers. He finds a special piano for the author, T. E. Carhart. The book has a lovely feel, a glimpse into the Parisian way of life.

JOAN - DANCING QUEEN, THE REAL STORY OF ABBA. Carl Magnus PALM. Definitive biography of the amazing Pop group ABBA. All 4 members had previous musical careers but after winning Euro 1974 they skyrocketed to fame. 1976 they visited Australia to screaming fans, became a hit in the disco era and have a musical - Mumma Mia - to secure their popularity.

PAT - MAESTRO - Peter Goldsworthy. 1967. Living in Darwin, father a doctor, son Paul a talented pianist, he is expected to always be the best with this talent, but he's careless. He has an Austrian music teach, unorthodox style, never compliments or shows joy with Paul's playing. Enters a comp and comes 3rd - great disgrace, a humiliation. Life then changes, a wake up moment, studies law and is a success but always keeps in touch with his Austrian piano teacher from his past.

KERRY - BERNIE TAUPIN - SCATTERSHOT.  An autobiography. Non linear so moves around in time, Bernie had a French mother, lived a rural/hippie/Spartan  life but - was a wordsmith. Hated school.  So very talented. He was always a writer and observer of the world however Kirry was disappointed with the book.

MARGARET - THE ANGRY WOMEN'S CHOIR. Meg Bignell. 2022. A group of women realise they can achieve many things if they are incensed enough to act. The enjoyable book looks at issues covering the environment, social justice, positive affirmation and the joy of singing together.

PRUE - GURRUMUL. Robert Hillman. ABC. 2013. - Coffee table book, glossy, great pictures, with CD. Includes words to the songs in both Indigenous language and English. Relationship between the land and culture, descriptive and insightful, the writing is descriptive and emotional. Born blind, with family ties to Yothu Yindi, a remarkable man. The book was well worth reading.

LYN - TELL ME WHY? Archie Roach. 2019. Part of the Stolen Generation, Archie was 2yo when taken from his family. He was a talented musician but an alcoholic. He managed to overcome this and developed into a wonderful song writer.  

JUDY A. - A SONG OF THE LARK - Willa Cathar. 1915.  

An Autobiography of a  young woman growing up in small town in USA and her musical awakening, eventually becoming an opera singer. Insights into how the creative process develops and the many challenges she faced in her journey to the world stage.  

KELLY - To Kelly music is reading

LESLEY - RIVERSONG - Di Morrissey. 2024. With themes of friendship, small town life, environmental issues, heritage questions and many of life's challenges the book covers so much of contemporary Australia. Likeable characters, and a easy read. The talented Percy Grainger, (born in Melbourne 1882) and his eccentric  life, compositions and quirkiness are also woven into the narrative.

 Lesley

In March we will be reading books by Japanese authors

JANUARY - SANTA SACK ~ CHOOSE A BOOK ENJOYED OVER THE FESTIVE SEASON

Lyn: The Mystery Case of Rudolph Diesel by Douglas Brunt

 

Lyn described this as a fascinating read. The author is an investigative journalist who has tried to explain the disappearance of Rudolph Diesel by looking at family records, diaries and other clues.

It begins to sound like a murder mystery.

Rudolph Diesel invented the internal combustion engine but only wanted it to be used for peaceful purposes. Despite this, the Germans used it for their weapons in World War 1.because of this, Diesel defected to England but vanished on the journey. Was it an accident, murder or suicide?

Well worth reading.

 

Judy J: Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty  

 

The story begins on a delayed flight from Hobart to Sydney when an older woman walks through the cabin pointing at passengers and predicting how and when they will die. The plane lands safely but everyone on board will be forever changed, especially the six passengers whose predicted deaths loom in the very near future.

Some will live their lives differently, some will try to ignore it while other obsess over it, affecting their lives and those around them. Judy thought there was a little too much emphasis on the life of the psychic.

There are some surprising connections by the end and some satisfying and heart-warming conclusions for a few of the characters.

A little too long but an interesting read.

 

Bev: Shock Waves by Fleur McDonald

 

The story is set in a small country town in Western Australia where not much happens.

One day ,the Government building which houses all the local and state services, explodes.

Is it someone who holds a grudge?

Detective Dave Burrows from the Stock Squad is sent to solve the problem.

An interesting story said Bev.

 

Rosemary S: The Olive Sisters by Amanda Hampton

 

Adrienne Bennett is a successful businesswoman with an enviable lifestyle but when her business goes down her life falls apart and her self-confidence quickly crumbles. She is forced to move from her beautiful Sydney apartment to the small rural community of Duffy’s Creek and the run-down olive grove she has inherited from her grandparents.

In a parallel narrative we follow Adrienne’s grandparents who had worked hard to establish the olive grove as a legacy for their family.

Rosemary described it as a good, light summer read.

 

Pat: The Complete Book of Heroic Australian Women by Susanna De Vries

 

Pat was particularly taken with the stories of women who lived in the outback during the 1800’s particularly the amount of work they had to do. With the men away for many months they had to battle flood, drought, lack of medical help and who knows what else. It was humbling to read.

 

Judy A: The Empusium: A Health Resort Horror Story by Olga Tokarczuk

 

The setting is 1913, in the Guesthouse for Gentlemen on Göbersdorf which is now in Western Poland. The real town was the first place in the world to specialise in the treatment of tuberculosis. Young 24-year-old Mieczyslaw Wojnicz has come to stay to get treatment at the famous sanitorium and the narration is centred around his character. While this group of 5 men are not having treatment they gather in the guesthouse, imbibe the hallucinogenic local liquor and pontificate about world events, politics, religion, the inferiority of women, which was sometimes interesting and sometimes was skimmed by Judy.

Strange things start to happen in the mountains around there, including mysterious deaths which affect the villagers and the guests – things which seem to happen regularly every November. 

Judy described it as an interesting read, and she would like to read more of the author’s work.

 

Prue: The Gray Wolf by Loise Penny

 

Louise Penny is sometimes referred to as ‘the Agatha Christie of Canada’. This is the 19^th book featuring Inspector Gamache and set in the little town of Three Pines.

The story is a murder/mystery where a domestic terrorist is trying to pollute the waters of Montreal.

She writes beautifully, it’s easy to read and her characters are always interesting.

The book gets more exciting as the story is revealed and little snippets link this book and characters to previous books although it does work as a standalone read.

Prue thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

Helen: The In-Between by Christos Tsiolkas

 

The book  tells the tender love story between two guys of different backgrounds. It is raw and carnal and explicit in the description of gay sex. The story is a standout observation of the human condition and cultural wars.

Helen liked the story but thought some of these passages were a distraction.

 

Kerrie: Astray by Emma Donaghue

 

Kerrie is particularly fond of this author’s writing and the genre of short stories.

All the characters have gone ‘astray’ but the stories are set in different times and continents.

Some are emigrants, stowaways , lovers or even runaways but added to this is her ability to put you in the place whether it be Ireland, San Francisco or the many other wonderful worlds she creates all based on a little bit of fact.

 

Joan: Patriot by Alexei Navalny

 

This is the memoir of the author fearlessly opposing the corruption in Russia by Putin and his cronies.  The first part was written while he was in a German hospital recovering from poisoning by Russian agents.

With his return to Russia he was again arrested on trumped up charges and died in a prison in solitary confinement in the northern Russia .

He was a true, fearless patriot in every sense of the word.

 

Val: The Wild Science by Raynor Winn

 

This is the follow up the couple’s journey chronicled in  The Salt Path as they walked 630 miles after finding themselves homeless.

Having returned, they now face the difficulty of going back to a normal life. Fortunately, they are offered the tenancy of an overrun farmhouse in Cornwall. The house is decrepit as are the surrounding gardens. Again it is the physical work that has helped the author’s husband who had been diagnosed with a terminal illness.

Not satisfied with this challenge, they also start walking again, this time in Iceland.

They are a great believer in that life in the countryside is good for you and how vital is that instinctive connection to nature.

 

Jo: Malice in the Cotswolds by Rebecca Tope

 

Even though she is only a house sitter, Thea Osborne accompanied by her faithful hound Hepzie, seems to find herself in situations  where there are bodies and mysteries to solve.

The author has written over twenty ‘cosy crime books’ , eleven of these feature Thea Osborne and all set in the glorious English countryside.

 

Rosemary W: Juice by Tim Winton

 

A man and a child live in the wilderness in a post-apocalyptic scenario. This has happened very slowly, not from one event and is set 200 years in the future.

The story revolves around living in this desert landscape and how to maintain decency as it descends into  savagery.

The title refers to the ongoing need for power.

Winton  writes beautifully, a good page turner, but this could be our future.

 

Margaret:  Smoke by Michael Brissenden

 

The author was previously a  journalist so the book is well researched and covers many themes.

It is set in a small town in California, where a body is found following fires sweeping down the canyons. There is police corruption, mystery, murder and betrayal. The characters are convincing and there are some subtle hints that could be related to  Australia. The plot moves along, and it comes to a surprising ending.

Margaret thought it a brilliant book.

 

Kris: The Time of the Child by Nial Williams

 

This is a beautiful story about the small village of Faha in Ireland. The doctor in the town is helped by his eldest daughter Ronnie, his wife having died and other daughters left home.

A newborn baby is found after the travellers from the fair have left town. The baby was considered dead, but the doctor revived her and Ronnie took over the care. Will she be able to keep her?

It was the 1960’s and with the church being very powerful what would be the future of this abandoned child?

 

FEBRUARY - The theme is MUSIC. Choose your own title, fiction or non fiction.

  

DECEMBER 2024 -- CHOOSE THE BEST BOOK YOU READ THIS YEAR ( NOT A BOOK CLUB CHOICE)

 

At our December Book Club get together our group enjoyed listening to an eclectic mix of books we have read over the year.   The range of genres, themes and styles made for, another, very enjoyable meeting. 

VAL  - THE SALT PATH - Raynor Winn. 2018. A married couple invested in a friends business. The business went broke and the couple lost their investment, plus the family farm. Homeless, they decide to live rough, buy a tent and walk 630 miles along the South West Coast Path. Adding to their difficulties, the husband has found he has a neurodegenerative disease.  Extraordinary the lives of many others.

KRIS - THE SALT PATH - Raynor Winn. 2018. Kris added that the book is also about endurance, the power of nature and the deep love of the couple. Gruelling.

JO - A COTSWOLD MYSTERY - Rebecca Tope. A body is found, a murder mystery unfolds, a beautiful setting and ..... a very good read.

JOAN - JAMES - Percival Everett. 2024. Shortlisted for the 2024 Booker Prize. Set in 1861 on the Mississippi River, this is a reimagining of Mark Twain's novel. The writing is from the perspective of Jim, an enslaved black who journeys with the young Huck Finn.  A good read despite some brutal scenes.

ROSEMARY - THE LITTLE CLOTHES - Deborah Callaghan. Contemporary novel set around Balmain with the lead character a female lawyer who feels unnoticed. Interesting.

HELEN - A BIT ON THE SIDE - Virginia Trioli. Often in life it's the small things that bring joy. The 'main course' can be heavy and unappetising whereas the bits on the side can be more memorable and special. Filled with wisdom, stories, memories and recipes. Humorous.  

JUDY J - BURNING BRIGHT - Nick Petrie. A murder mystery, a fast pace and a clever plot.

JUDY A - THE GOD OF THE WOODS - Liz Moore. 1975 a 13yo girl goes missing from a campsite in the Airondacks. 14 years earlier the girls then 8 yo brother also went missing. He was never found. Were these cases linked? Well drawn characters and multi threads. Judy never lost interest.

TAM - A WEEK IN TIME - Maeve Binchey. A guest house in a small village in Ireland, detailed characters, full of everyday, human foibles. Thoroughly enjoyed.

BEV - SLEEPING BEAUTY - Raymond Chandler. A detectives story with a good plot. Bev could read and watch the cricket at the same time.

PRU - ROUND HOUSE - Louise Erlich. 1980 on an Indian reservation. Tribal rules. There's an attack at the round house. Full of mystery, with insights into 1st Nations culture.

ROSEMARY S. - A CLASS - Suzie Murphy. A family saga. Very enjoyable.

LYN - THE HAZELBOURNE LADIES MOTORCYCLE AND FLYING CLUB - Helen Simonson. After WW2 many women were forced to leave their paid jobs and return to domesticity. A group of well to do women decided to ride motorcycles to deliver goods and services. During the war they had been mechanics, drivers etc. Full of humour, mocking social order, historical fiction. So enjoyable.

JUDY J - THE BEE KEEPER OF ALEPPO - Christy Lefteri. 2019. A family, Nuri a bee keepers and wife Afra an artist, live in a workers camp in Syria and face increasing danger and adversity. Their son is shot, Afra is blinded by fear after bomb blast and they need to escape. A cousin in London offers hope, the family struggle to get Turkey, Athens then escape to London. Nuri holds out great hope that in England his cousin will support him in keeping bees.

PAMELA - SIR GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT. Norman Davis. Set in Arthurian times, Sir Gawain upholds the virtues of courage and honour by accepting a challenge with the Green Knight. Sir Gawain beheads the Knight, who promptly picks up his head and says he will return in a year for a rematch. The poem is written in alliterative verse and the author is unknown. One of the better known Arthurian legends.  

 

SHEILA - CODE NAME BUTTERFLY. Embassie Susberry. Paris 1941, the country is about to be occupied by the Nazi's. Based on facts, the story deals with spies who chose to stay in Paris and fight against the Nazi's. The book was thoroughly enjoyed.

MARGARET - THE THINGS THAT MATTER MOST. 2023. Gabbie Stroud. A school community is in a very difficult position - there are administrative problems, ill health within the staff, a few very vocal, interfering parents, registration is approaching, stress all around. Thank goodness for some of the students! Australian school life shown.

PAT - THE GRAPES OF WRATH. John Steinbeck. Audio version with a great narrator. The Joad family are forced to travel through Oklahoma and California to a new life. Set during the Great Depression, the dust bowl migration of the family show the inequalities between the 'have' and the 'have nots', the inner strength of the main characters, the hardships so many faced and life in America during this period. A classic  Pat really enjoyed.

LESLEY - MRS WINTERBOTTOM TAKES A GAP YEAR. Joanna Bell. 2023. Modern day fiction, humour with reflections on life. Heather, a recently retired Doctor want to travel, enjoy many widely different experiences and have all the repairs done on her home (that have been waiting for years to be fixed) soon. Husband Alan, also recently retired, wants to stay at home, wear old clothes and build a vegetable garden. They have vastly mismatched expectations of retirement. Heather travels to Greece, on an odyssey just like Homer. Humour, wit, poignant reflections, likeable characters, a very easy read.

Apologies for the lateness this Blog. The Elves were keeping me so busy with pre Christmas preparations that I forgot to send the finished Blog!

 Wishing everyone a happy, healthy 2025. Our book club members look forward to more exciting reading adventures.

Lesley

 

 JANUARY:  We will be reading a book we read over the festive season

NOVEMBER ~ Non Fiction month

 Helen:  Here’s the Story: A Memoir of family, war, peace and politics by Mary McAleese   Published in 2021

 

Mary McAleese is an Irish activist lawyer, academic, author and former politician who served as the 8^th President of Ireland from 1997-2011.

She succeeded Mary Robinson making her the second female President of Ireland and the first woman in the world to succeed another woman as President.

In this memoir she traces her astonishing rise from growing up in the streets of Dublin through the times of the ‘Troubles” to a professorship in Dublin while still in her twenties. Her presidency was dedicated to peace building and healing relationships between England and Ireland.  The Queen’s visit in May 2011 was a very moving moment.   She writes of her encounters with Prime Ministers, popes and royalty with the same easy candour and intimacy with which she describes her childhood.

But the Presidency was not the pinnacle for her. As soon as her 2^nd term was finished, she resigned and moved to Rome for further study within her Catholic faith. This had been so important through all her life. She studied  Canon Law to help further end abuse against children in Catholicism all over the world. She had never shied away from these difficult subjects.

A truly amazing woman with so much energy and goodness.

 

Rosemary:  Killing for Country :  A Family Story by David Marr

 

David Marr was shocked to find out that uncles of his were part of the Native Police Force in Maryborough who slaughtered many aborigines in the 1800s.

The book is an uncomfortable read bringing up many other topics such as intergenerational trauma, colonization and Government sanctioned slaughter.

The research was mainly drawn from journals and newspapers. 

It’s a factual book, a book of truth telling not a book of fancy or fiction.

 

Joan: A Village in the Third Reich: How ordinary lives were transformed by the rise of fascism by Julia Boyd and Angelika Patec  Published in 2022

 

Oberstdoft is a beautiful village of about 4000 people, in the Bavaria Alps. Most were Catholics who farmed, made cheese and took visitors on hiking and mountaineering experiences.

In 1933 Adolf Hitler was sworn in as German Chancellor and gradually Nazi heavies took over positions in the village.The Resistance started from villagers who still wanted to welcome wealthy Jewish tourists.

Eventually the French tanks rolled in in 1945 with the Americans soon following.

The book gives an understanding of how and why Germans embraced the Nazi philosophy and why it eventually fell apart.

An easy and informative read about life under the Nazi reign and its effects on a small Bavarian mountain village.

 

Margaret: remember by Lisa Genova

The book is about how we make memories, tricks we use, why we forget and what is normal forgetting.

A lot of what is in the book seems to be common sense. Science tells us that to maintain a good brain we should live a healthy lifestyle, get good rest etc.

But brain processing time does slow down as we get older!

Margaret thought that the author  was a better fiction writer and that the book was a bit too long. But she is repeating things in a different context.

 

Jo: Relicopter Rescue by Ken Wishaw

Co-founder of CareFlight and specialist doctor, Ken Wishaw tells of the hair-raising rescues and medical retrieval missions performed by the helicopter crews, and also of the personal turmoil he faced when he had to decide whether to put his career or his family first.

Jo thought it was an amazing story with fantastic pictures in the book.

 

Val:  Would That be Funny? Growing up with John Clarke by Lorin Clarke

 

The book is written by John Clarke’s eldest daughter and is a medley of letters, scripts and stories about his childhood.

He grew up in New Zealand but left school under a cloud not helped by having a father who always ran him down.

John eventually became known in both Australia and New Zealand as a performer, an actor, a writer, a satirist and a commentator. “Fred Dagg” and the “Clarke and Dawe” were always amusing and made him a much-loved personality.

His death in 2017, while walking in the Grampians, devasted his many fans.

It was while dealing with this, that his daughter found the letters etc which in turn led to the book.

Val enjoyed it, laughed out loud, while some parts were sad and moving  while others just amusing.

 

Theresa M :  We Are the Stars: A misfit’s story of love, connection and the glorious power of letting go by Gina Chick

 

Theresa described this an incredible story, like nothing else she had ever read.

Gina was/is certainly not your normal woman or housewife. She had quite a sad childhood, never really fitting in and trying to find friends. She was a voracious reader and spent as much time as possible in the outdoors.

Among the many other things that she has done in her life was to enter, and win, the first series of ‘Alone Australia’.

The book is beautifully written, and she is happy in her own company. What is life but a series of stories? She has the most amazing stories to tell.

 

Pat: The Way We Are  by Hugh McKay

 

Hugh McKay  is a well respected and well known  social researcher who looks at many issues that we are facing in modern society. These include loss of community, loss of communication and face to face interaction and obsession with self.

By quoting interesting facts he asks many questions.

In the last 100 years our households have been gradually shrinking even though our population has increased.

Church attendance has declined at a steady rate for the last 50 years. However Hinduism and Islam are on the increase.

Top 20% of Australian households own more than 60% of Australia’s wealth while the bottom 20% own 4% of Australia’s wealth leaving the middle class owning the remaining 36%.

 

Prue:  You Can Change the World: The kids guide to a better planet by Lucy Bell

 

The book is aimed at older children or younger teens and is written in easy, uncomplicated and encouraging language.

The problems of the world eg plastics and environmental waste seem to be too huge for one person to solve. But we can fix them, if we each do our part – one step at a time.

This book gives practical ideas which children can take up and get involved.

It quotes case studies in Australia and from overseas.

She was very impressed with the book.

 

Pamela: Mystique, Magic and Medicine. The Healing Art of Ancient Times by J H Leavesley 

Published by ABC in 1984

 

One of Pamela’s own books and now not readily available, it gives many examples of how modern medicine has ignored, disbelieved or overlooked cures known to many older civilizations.

Examples are:

Aboriginals have used the warm nest of the green ant on the forehead for headaches.

A cough medicine made from plants in Senegal is more effective and cheaper than codeine.

A plant from Madras reduces malignant tumours by 70%.

Because of jealousy and ignorance much information and knowledge has been lost.

 

Kris: The Complete Book of Heroic Australian Women by Susanna De Vries

 

The book was published in 2010 and included the stories of 21 extraordinary women.

One, Joice NanKivell Loch was born in 1887 in North Queensland where she had a privileged childhood on a sugar plantation owned by her grandfather. Her family went bankrupt when the Queensland government prohibited the importation of Kanakas to work on the sugar plantation.

She later married an English writer and travelled to London with him. They went to the refugee camps in Eastern Poland where the Quakers were ministering to 1000’s of displaced Polish peasants. They had gone there to report on the situation, but both worked tirelessly to help these people. They continued their humanitarian work  in Greece, Rumania and Hafia (then British Palestine) for many, many years.

Kris was fascinated by the life and the bravery of a woman most people would never have heard of.

 

Judy De L:  Somebody Told Me by Danny Wallace

One man’s unexpected journey down the rabbit hole of lies, trolls and conspiracies.

 

Rise by Ingrid Poulson

In 2003, Ingrid’s estranged husband killed their two young children and her father.

This tragedy occurred at Wilberforce in the Hawkesbury.

Early in her bereavement, she knew she could choose to start with survival and build from there .

The book is in 4 sections:

Resilience

Identity

Support

Everyday resilience

She now has her own company and runs workshops on building resilience and living positively to a diverse audience from emergency workers, schools and hospitality staff. With her second husband she now has 2 children.

 

Judy J : You don’t have to have a dream  - advice for the incrementally ambitious by Tim Minchin

 

Tim Minchin is probably better known as a comedian and musician but has several times delivered speeches to a university honouring him with a doctorate degree. Undoubtably his best known one was in 2013 to the University of Western Australia. He didn’t know it was being taped and was later viewed online, more than a couple of million times. The context of his speech was life lessons for these graduating students, and these are expanded upon in this book told with plenty of Minchin humour and wisdom.

Some examples are:

You don’t have to have a dream, be micro ambitious.

Don’t seek happiness – we didn’t evolve to be constantly happy

Be hard on your opinions – everyone has them

Be a teacher – if not a teacher, share your ideas. Rejoice in what you learn.

Define yourself by what you love – be pro stuff not just anti stuff.

Respect people with less power than you.

Don’t rush – you don’t need to know what you are going to do with the rest of your life.

 

Rosemary: The Boy who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba and Brian Mealer

 

William Kamkwamba (born 1987) grew up in Masitala Village, Malawi and lived in poverty on the farm where his family grew maize and tobacco. 

When drought devastated the village, William spent all his time in the school library reading about how things worked. He eventually was able to build a functioning windmill out of junkyard scraps and became the local hero who harnessed the wind.

He moved on to bigger and better projects including a solar powered water pump that supplied drinking water in the village for the first time.

In 2008 he founded a non-profit organization named “Moving Windmills Project” to support not only his local community but all communities in Malawi and drought proof them.

His extraordinary life has recently been made into a Netflix movie.

 

Ed: Broke by Sam Drummond

 

Sam suffered from many adversities in his life. His parents had separated when he was very young and his diagnosis with a form of dwarfism led to many operations. Surgeons kept breaking and resetting his legs in attempts to keep him walking.

His disability combined with the poverty his family lived with provided many challenges.

But with each set back he didn’t give up hope, and combined with the support of his mother, teachers and friends he made his way in life.

He is now a lawyer and disability advocate specialising in human rights.

 

Bev: Fearless by Jelena Dokic

 

This is the follow-up to her first book  ‘Unbreakable’ and highlights the difficulties she faced after retiring from tennis. She had problems with her legs because of the beatings from her father and also filling her time after tennis. She had turned to eating and soon was very overweight.

She was hammered by the media and especially social media because of her appearance, and this happened at the time of the breakup of a long-term relationship. Suicide attempts followed.

Jelena finally accepted the need for professional help which she says she has found to be important to her recovery. Her councillor is like the parent she never had. The support of a small group of friends is also vital to her.

She is now enjoying a new career in motivational speaking, something she didn’t think she could do, but this is also helping in her recovery.

She has reconciled with her mother to  a certain extent, realising that she was also being abused by her husband.

 

Judy A: The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathon Haidt

 

Around 2010 studies started to show an alarming increase in the rates of adolescent mental illness, namely anxiety, depression, self-harm and suicide affecting boys but more significantly girls.

Jonathon Haidt is a social psychologist who studies social trends. He describes two trends – a move away from play based childhood and a move towards a phone based childhood. Overprotection in the real world and underprotection in the virtual world are the main reasons why children born after 1995 became the anxious generation.

The iPhone was released in 2007 and between 2010 and 2015 the social lives of teens moved largely onto smartphones with continuous access to social media, online video games and other internet  based activities.

The introduction of the first iPhone with front facing cameras made it far easier to take photos and videos of oneself. This merged with social media platforms and meant that everyone was now comparing themselves with everyone else.

He argues that this rewiring of childhood is the single largest reason for the tidal wave of adolescent mental illness that began in 2010.

There is a lot more covered in this book all of which is heavily researched and gives a lot of food for thought regarding our future generations.

 

Lyn: Bush Nurses by Annette Brailey

 

The author is a trained nurse who worked mainly in the bush or on rural stations.

The book is divided into sections beginning with stories about birthing in the outback. Although often inexperienced, the local nurse was the only one available to handle the situation.

Lyn’s favourite section told stories of the author  working with the aboriginal communities. The women were so inclusive and wanted to take her out gathering food and teaching her about cooking . She respected their knowledge and often used it. 

The women also wanted to teach the men about the berries and other bush remedies. They needed to learn it from them.

A very heart warming and enlightening book.

Judy

Next month ~ Favourite book of the year.