Judy De la T: A
Mother’s Story by Rosie Batty
Judy described it as a good but difficult
book to read. It was very sad and hard to understand the abusive relationship.
Connie: The Selected
Letters of Willa Cather edited by Andrew Jewell and Janis Stout
During her life she wrote over 3000 letters
but indicated in her will that they were not to be published. Now they are out
of copyright, and this book contains 700 of them. Her letters begin when she
was 14year old and continue through her life, to her friends, family and famous
people she met. Many of them reflect her love for Nebraska where she spent her
early childhood.
She also writes about her books, making
Connie wanting to read these books now.
Diann: Women of Spirit,
True-Life Stories of Inspiring Country Women by Anne Crawford
These are the true stories of 9 women who
grew up in the country or married men working on the land. The book touched
Diann because of these strong women who showed strength, fortitude, and courage
often in very difficult conditions.
Tam: My Story:
Schapelle Corby with Kathryn Bonella
Understanding that the book is written from
her point of view, Tam thought it raised some doubt about whether Schapelle was
guilty. Much has come out later about the role baggage handlers may have played
and how the media manipulated the story. The conditions in prison were
horrendous but at all times Corby maintained her innocence. An interesting
story.
Jo: Survival: The Inspirational Story of the Thredbo
Disaster’s Sole Survivor by Stuart Diver
Stuart had spent his childhood taking part
in outdoor activities, including learning survival skills.
Following the avalanche he was trapped
under concrete, next to his badly injured wife. The story of his survival was a
fantastic, gripping story.
Julia: Judi Dench: With a Crack in her Voice by John Miller
This was a lovely book with lots of good
photos covering her incredible and varied career. She has starred in many
films, TV series, plays etc and ‘never wants to retire’.
As a young girl she had wanted to be a
ballet dancer, but was talked out of this by her father because of the limited
time in such a profession.
There are updated versions of her life
story as her success continues.
Natalie: Lucky Man by Michael J Fox
An interesting story, covering his acting
career, his marriage and the diagnosis with Parkinson’s disease, which forced him to give up acting.
Claurine: A Writing
Life: Helen Garner and her Work by Bernadette Brennan
The book covers the 40 years that Helen Garner
has been writing and describes her life at the time of writing each book. The
author spoke to family and friends and had access to Garner’s private papers.
Claurine really enjoyed the book, and it
made her want to read more of Garner’s books.
Judy J: Evita, the Real
Lives of Eva Peron by Nicholas Fraser and Marysa Navaro
This book gives many details of Eva Peron’s
short but very full and interesting life. She grew up poor and had always
dreamed of being an actress. After moving to Buenos Aries as a teenager, she
later met and married Juan Peron and helped him to take on the presidency of
Argentina. On her death at 33 years, she was a controversial figure, loved by
the poor and unions but not popular with the military. The political history of
the country is also well covered in this book.
Bev: My Family’s Keeper by Brad Haddin
This book charts the rise of Brad Haddin
from a talented junior cricketer to playing test cricket for Australia. Along
the way he had to battle the stress of being an international sportsman and his
family responsibilities when his daughter was diagnosed with cancer. As a
cricket fan, Bev enjoyed reading about other cricketers and matches.
Luckily the story has a happy ending!
Charis: I Me Mine by
George Harrison
George Harrison was the youngest member of
the Beatles and began playing with them in Hamburg when he was 15years old.
This book tells of his life until his death aged 58 from throat cancer. Charis
was interested in the account of the amount of money he donated to the Hare Krishna.
He left the Beatles when he was 23, to
begin his own musical career, saying that the Beatles had overshadowed his
life. As a music fan, Charis enjoyed the book.
Anne: Natural Born
Keller, My Life and Other Palaver by Amanda Keller
Anne described the book as light-hearted
and reasonably well written. The author documents her early life and her path
to her successful TV career. As she described this, it is a lot of hard work
and not such a glamorous life.
There were some humorous parts, but much of
it was forgettable.
Pamela: Hildergarde
von Bingen
Born in 1098, she was an artist, author,
composer, mystic, pharmacist, poet, preacher and theologian and is considered
to be the founder of scientific natural history in Germany.
Her feast day is Sept 17th and
she was canonized on 10th May 2012.
Val: Clouds of Glory:
a childhood in Hoxton by Bryan Magee
Val had spent part of her childhood in
Worth (UK) and in this book the author has written about his childhood in
nearby Hoxton. Val could relate to the area, the games, the shops, the people
and the life they lived.
She liked the way he wrote, straightforward
and descriptive. It was lovely to read and reminisce.
Judy A: The Return:
Fathers, Sons, and the Land in Between by Hisham Matar
This is the author’s story of his search
for his father. When he was 12 years old, his family went into exile in Egypt
from Libya. A number of years later his father was kidnapped and sent back to
Libya. After the fall of Gaddafi the author sets out to find out what happened
to his father.
The story had a complex structure moving
between the past and present, intertwining the history of Libya with the search
for his father and his frustrations with the British Government and access to
information.
This moving and well-told story won the
2017 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography.
Ed: The Lost Boy by
David Pelzer
This is the 2nd book and begins
when the author is about 9 years old. His early life had been dreadful, unloved
and abused by his mother. In this book he is eventually taken into foster care
and moves through a series of families and the Juvenile Justice System. He is
fascinated by aircraft and wants to join the Air Force, but he need an
education for this!
Despite the details of the boy’s suffering,
there is no explanation as to why his mother hated him.
Wendy L: A Fence Around the Cuckoo by Ruth Park
This lovely book tells the story of Ruth
Park’s childhood growing up in New Zealand during the Depression. Much of what
she experienced comes out in her books; tolerance, reliance, charity and humour. A
delightful read.
Kris: The Autobiography
of Eleanor Roosevelt
She was a marvelous woman who led a very
interesting life. Although she came from a wealthy family she seemed to be a
very frightened child, her mother was aloof and her father’s health was ravaged
by alcohol. She married Franklin D Roosevelt who served four terms as President
of the USA. She became very involved in political life, particularly women’s
rights. Her book also tells of the famous people they mixed with, and gives
explanations for many of the decisions her husband made. A remarkable woman.
Diane: A Very English
Scandal by John Preston
Diane described it as one of the best books
she had read. It is the true story of the
Thorpe affair in Britain, in which former Liberal Party leader, Jeremy Thorpe,
was tried and acquitted of conspiring to murder his alleged former lover,
Norman Scott.
Diane was flabbergasted by their behavior,
all true and provable; members of Parliament conspiring to murder, cover-ups
and the incredible power of the ‘upper class’.
Rosemary: Pastor and Painter: Inside the lives of Andrew Chan
and Myuran Sukumaran – from Aussie schoolboys to Bali 9 drug traffickers to
Kerobokan’s redeemed men by Cindy Wockner
Although they grew up in similar
circumstances, they really didn’t know each other until the lure of easy money
through drug running, brought them to Bali. Having been caught and charged,
they were sentenced to death. This book tells how they rehabilitated themselves
while in prison; one became a preacher, the other a pastor.
They accepted what they had done; they didn’t
want release, just life. But all their good work was not enough to change their
sentence. They died being good men. So sad. A gut wrenching story.
OCTOBER: Susan Fletcher ~ various
titles available from the Library
NOVEMBER: Lisa Genova She is
an American Neuroscientist and author who writes fiction about characters dealing with
neurological disorders.
DECEMBER: The best book you’ve read this year. (not from
Book Club)
