JANUARY:- SANTA SACK

This month we share books we have read during the holiday period.

BETH:-    NIGHT SCHOOL by RICHARD WISEMAN
Subtitled 'Wake up to the power of sleep', the book covers myths and research about sleep and dreams. Beth described it as being scientific but written in an easy way. It was funny and whimsical, she enjoyed reading it and learnt much, including techniques for better sleep. The book is available in the library.

TAM:-    THE OTHER ANZACS by  PETER REES
This is the story of the Australian and New Zealand nurses in World War 1 and Tam thought it was absolutely brilliant.They showed amazing courage, determination and stamina and worked under dreadful conditions. There were many heartbreaking stories and Tam felt emotionally drained after reading the book which was the basis for the recent TV series 'ANZAC Girls'.

ROSEMARY:-     THE WHITE MASAI by CORRINE HOFFMAN
This is the story of a young Swiss woman who falls in love with an African warrior while on holidays in Kenya, and returns to find him. They marry and later have a child. Rosemary found this a very annoying story to read with parts of it quite unbelievable. She persevered with the book fascinated with the hardships this woman endured and her complete lack of understanding of the culture and how she had ruined this man's life.

MAREE:   
Maree recommended a number of books she had read recently.
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
The Nazi Officer's Wife by Edith H Beer ....very interesting as she was Jewish
Det. Jason Strong by John C Dalglish ....great detective stories (no sex)
Yellow Crocus by Laila Ibrahim.... historical novel set in America's deep south
The Ladies Room by Caroline Brown....secrets told in the church's ladies are supposed to stay in the ladies room!
Maude by Donna Mabry.... historical biography of the author's grandmother

PRUE:-    THE LOST FLEET by JACK CAMPBELL
This is a military science-fiction series set one-hundred-plus years into an interstellar war between two different human cultures, the Alliance and the Syndics.
Prue thought the character development was excellent, she cheered when they won and cried when they died. Being holiday time, she had plenty of time to read and so finished 5 of the 6 books in the series!

ANNE & LESLIE:-    BURIAL RITES by HANNAH KENT
It tells the story of Agnes Magnusdottir, an abandoned outcast/illegitimate farm girl trying to survive in a small village community in Iceland. She is accused, with 2 others, of murdering 2 men. Leslie enjoyed reading about how the rural peasants lived in the frozen landscape, their routines, family structures, education, the high importance religion played and how gossip and superstition influenced decision making. Whilst the book is fiction, the events are real.

ROSEMARY:-   A GIRL'S BEST FRIEND by  DAVID DARCY
A beautiful book of photographs and stories about women in the outback and their dogs. A lovely doggy book.
                            THE MINIATUARIST by JESSIE BURTON
Set in Amsterdam 1686, a young girl becomes the wife of a rich merchant. As a wedding present she is given a doll's house, a miniature of her home. To furnish her gift, she employs the miniaturist whose tiny creations foretells the future of the family and other people in her life. A most interesting story.

CONNIE:-   GREY MOUNTAIN by JOHN GRISHAM
A young woman is working as a lawyer in New York when the GFC occurs. To retain her position she must leave  and work elsewhere without pay for 12 months. She goes to south west Virginia to the Appalatian Mountains where coal mining has polluted the streams and many people are suffering from lung diseases. So she proceeds to take on the big corporations where many of the lawyers are corrupt. Although it is fiction it is probably based on real life.
Connie would certainly recommend it.

JO:-   HOLD TIGHT by HARLAN COBEN
Hold Tight is a thriller dealing with problems of parental controls, teenage suicide, children independence and abuse of prescribed drugs. Jo thought it was an interesting story about how parents deal with trusting their children.

CLAURENE:-    THE LAST PULSE by ANSON CAMERON
It is the story of a South Australian grape grower whose wife suicides, leaving behind an 11 year old daughter. She was depressed by their situation and believing it to be caused by water being 'stolen' by cotton growers in northern Australia. So he sets off in a stolen punt to Queensland to dynamite the dam that is holding back the water.
Humour is always there, but behind this is the truth that the Murray River is in desperate situation.
Claurine said the book had received rave reviews in the newspaper and these were well deserved.

JUDY J:-    THE FOREVER GIRL by ALEXANDER McCALL SMITH
Better known for his Number One Ladies Detective Agency series, this is one of the author's stand alone novels, but Judy found it disappointing. With the exotic settings of Cayman Islands and Edinburgh it is a story of love, heartbreak and how this can shape and direct one's life. The plot is a bit thin and the characters somewhat shallow, and the ending comes quickly and is quite surprising.
The saving grace is the author's beautiful writing which is full of charm and wisdom.

ED:-    ELIANNE by JUDY NUNN
Elianne is a huge sugar plantation in Queensland named after the young French wife of the owner. The massive estate is self sufficient but the family has many dark and distant secrets. These are uncovered by later generations when the young wife's diaries are found. Ed found it easy to read, great for holiday times.

PAULINE:- THIS HOUSE of GRIEF by HELEN GARNER
On Fathers Day 2005 the car that Robert Farquharson was driving left the road and ploughed into a dam near Melbourne. Inside were his 3 sons, none of whom survived. The author followed the 2 trials and writes very fairly and with an even level of emotion. Was it an act of revenge or a terrible accident? Pauline found the story to be quite gripping and fascinating.

PAT:-    I AM MALALA: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban by MALALA YOUSAFZA & CHRISTINA LAMB
In 2012 at the age of 15, Malala was shot by the Taliban while travelling on a school bus in Pakistan. After recovering from her injuries, her family moved to Birmingham (UK) where she resumed her schooling. Her father was a school teacher and had taught her to have confidence in her own opinion and to expect equal treatment for women.
She has become an activist for female education, receiving numerous awards including the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014.

JOAN:-    JUNG CHANG CIXI The Concubine Who Launched Modern China by JUNG CHANG
 At the age of sixteen, in a nationwide selection for royal consorts, Cixi was chosen as one of the emperor’s numerous concubines. When he died in 1861, their five-year-old son succeeded to the throne. Cixi at once launched a palace coup against the regents appointed by her husband and made herself the real ruler of China—behind the throne, literally, with a silk screen separating her from her officials who were all male.
She ruled for 47 years and was responsible for much of the early modernization of China.
Joan thoroughly enjoyed the book as she had 'Wild Swans' also by the same author.

SHEILA:-    MAJOR PETTIGREW'S LAST STAND by HELEN SIMONSON
Sheila described it as a gentle book, funny, intelligent, romantic and fresh.
Major Pettigrew is a widower living in a small English village. When he meets and begins to fall in love with Mrs Ali a Pakistani shopkeeper and also a widow, they face racism and old conventions with good humour and civility.

PAMELA:-    CRUSOE'S DAUGHTER by JANE GARDAM
Polly Flint is being raised in northern England by her 2 very Christian aunts. Books are her solace and Robinson Crusoe is her hero. Polly, like Crusoe comes to terms with her loneliness and isolation and restrictions placed on women in these times.  Her isolation is physical (from the setting) and emotional (care, but little love from her aunts).
Pamela said it was not a depressing book, the writing style is very descriptive, it is funny and easy to read.

WENDY:-    THE NEW REPUBLIC by LIONEL SHRIVER & THE UNKNOWN TERRORIST by RICHARD FLANAGAN
 The New Republic:- A corporate lawyer wanting a change of career,  takes up a position as a journalist in Portugal to cover a small terrorist uprising in an imaginary province. A satire/terrorism thriller.
The Unknown Terrorist:-Set in Sydney in 2011, it tells the story of Doll, a pole dancer, who after a one night stand is caught up in an Islamic terrorist plot. The action happens in 5 days and much of her story is manipulated by the media to fit the plot.
Both books had the common theme of the role of the media in modern terrorism.

JULIA:-   The COLLECTOR by NORA ROBERTS
Julia can recommend this great thriller set in New York. A house sitter sees something happening in a nearby apartment and the intriguing story begins, finishing with a great twist.
The plot also involves a collection of Faberge eggs with quite a bit of background information which Julia found very interesting.
Other authors of thrillers:- Tami Hoag....Kill the Messenger
                                           Meg Gardiner....The Liar's Lullaby


NEXT MONTH:- Young Adult authors