Lyn - Noor's Story. My Life in District 6. By Noor Ebrahim. 1999.
District 6 on the outskirts of Cape Town was, according to Noor, a mix of cultures that had formed a large community and lived in harmony. There were many festivals, parades, activities that saw the inhabitants mix and enjoy their lifestyle. Until 1966 when it was declared that all inhabitants of District 6 had to be white. Noor, and all of the residents who were not white were forced to move. When the bulldozers arrived families were given 1 month to leave. His story tells of the fun, enjoyment and good times prior to apartheid.
Jocelyn - Gods and Demons. Deborah Cassrels. 2020.
In 2006 Foreign Correspondent Deborah went to live in Bali. Her book reveals numerous complex issues and dilemmas that the Balinese face. Part of the 170,000 islands that make Indonesia, there are multiple religions, corruption at all levels of government, terrorism, rampant crime, scams, scandals, mixed marriages, tourism issues etc that affect all who live there. Deborah, owing to her journalist profession accessed many contacts who provided insights into life in Bali. The book was illuminating but hard to read.
Jo - Snowy: The Making of Modern Australia. Brad Collins. 1991.
A marvellous engineering feat - 16 dams, 100,000 workers migrated from Europe. Such hard work tunnelling through the mountains, building and installing hydro electric turbines to capture the water from inland. Many accidents and a huge cost. Each dam, during 1950's and 1960's cost $38 million. Nowadays they would cost billions of dollars.
Diann - The Soul of a Woman. Isabel Allende 2020.
A tribute to the women in her life, the book is self reflective. The times jump forward and backward as the author ponders love, children, marriage (she has been married 3 times), violence against women, aging and equality. Diann really enjoyed it.
Val - Growing up in Country. Rick Morton. 2022.
A compilation of essays how about a cross section of society generally feel about growing up in the country. Isolation, loneliness and boredom are considered. Val gave examples of the views of 2 interviewees. A man from Karachi (Pakistan) and his family lived in Northam on the outskirts of Perth. There were 2 pubs, 1 Chinese restaurant and a servo. His comment - the food was better in the servo. He now lives in Melbourne, slowly adjusting to a far more busy lifestyle however during the Pandemic and lockdowns he reflected that the quiet, empty streets reminded him of Northam and was grateful for the peace. Another - an Iranian journalist lived in Deniliquin. A drive into a bigger town was a big event. He still packs dates and naan bread for road trips.
Pru - Dingo. Brad Purcell. 2010.
The book was written as an extension of his PHD work and as such had a lot of references, graphs, scientific details and technical jargon. Many facts were very interesting - Dingo's are an Australian icon however they are both a pest and a protected species. Pure bred dingoes are not dogs, they only breed once a year. Native animals in areas where dingoes inhabit are better protected as dingoes attack their predators. However they also attack live stock so a conundrum exists. A very interesting story.
Judy A - Empire of Pain. Patrick Radden Keefe. 2020.
The Sackler Dynasty - 3 brothers, all doctors, originally in marketing positions bought a company, Purdue Pharma and moved into pharmaceutical field promoting pain relief drugs such as Oxycontin. They were the founders of medical advertising. Medical professionals were aggressively encouraged to prescribe a variety of pain relief drugs. Long term use and large doses resulted in addictions, mental health disorders and was seen as a key cause of the opioid epidemic in the States. The Sackler family's wealth vastly increased and they turned to philanthropy. However growing unrest about the serious effects of the drugs promoted by the Sackler's resulted in major backlashes, with their names being removed from buildings, and foundations and organisations refusing to accept their patronage. Judy found the read enthralling and gave it 5 out of 5.
Judy J - Kidnapped. Mark Tedeschi. 2015.
Australia's only known kidnapping and ransom of a child. The family won the Opera House Lottery in 1960. Their details were published in newspapers. Graeme was abducted from Bondi and a ransom of $20,000 was made. Sadly Graeme's body was found shortly after. The Kidnapper, a Hungarian immigrant, was envious of the family's win. He planned the abduction but did not intend to kill Graeme. The book covers in detail the solving of the crime, the many police and investigators involved, the use of early forensic processes and Australia's laws. Interestingly in 1961 there was no law against kidnapping so the police had to pursue it as a murder case. Also it was the first time women were allowed to participate in jury duty. Whilst a guilty verdict was reached and the perpetrator went to jail, both families lives were destroyed by the after effects of heinous crime.
Julia - The Australian Woman's Weekly. 2002.
Julia enjoyed the article about the Queen Mother and the beautiful photo's of the time.
Rosemary - Australian Midwives. Paula Heelan. 2016.
13 chapters covering a variety of midwives - why and how they came into the profession, the challenges (a number were in remote areas), fly in fly out nurses, accommodating differing cultural expectations and traditions. They, with great courage, really are pioneers all trying to make life better for women in the outback. Amazing what they do! Rosemary found it very interesting.
Kris - The Invention of Russia. Arkayda Ostrovsky. 2015.
Gorbachevs freedom to Putin's War. Journalist Arkayda looks at the last 25 years of Russia's history from the Cold War to the disintegration of the Soviet Union. He blames massive media domination and interference that had led to ex KGB agent Putin now in command. Very interesting.
Pamela - The Colour code. Paul Simpson. 2021.
Quite interesting how the scientific information and social conventions blend to provide many facts about colour. Paul looks at 11 colours and examines how they influence how we think. Yellow/Orange - sacred in some religions. Red - danger, anger, but in Asia red in lucky, brings prestige. Green - poisonous, Brown drab. Why are there blue bloods? Very interesting.
Sheila - Ghost Empire. Richard Fidler. 2016.
A father and son adventure through the Byzantium empire (centred on Constantinople), learning about the clashes of civilizations, the rise of Christianity, Roman rule, murder, wild times - the book brings people alive. Plus the deepening of the relationship with his son. Not hard to read and very enjoyable.
Lesley - Take Six Girls. Laura Thompson. 2015.
A group biography of the Mitford sisters, 6 women born into a privileged, upper class family, they received virtually no formal schooling however all were well read. This and the company they kept, allowed strong political and social views to develop. The family were outspoken, outlandish in many behaviours, bored and indulged. Nancy became a successful author however her razor sharp wit was cruel. Diana married the leader of the British Fascist Party, had her wedding at the home of Goebbels, Hitler was a guest and frequently mixed with the Nazi hierarchy. She spent time interred during the war years for her beliefs and never repented concerning her views of the Holocaust. Jessica was also an outspoken fascist. Pamela enjoyed country life but married a high profile homosexual who had been married 6 six times. Unity, in love with Hitler, also spent time in Germany and mixed freely with those in the Nazi Party. Brother Tom died during WW2. Deborah married the Duke of Devonshire and went on to restore Chatsworth House. The book jumps forward and backward often, there are too many other characters involved and it really needs a family tree to sort out who is being referred to and how they fit into the overall picture. A high profile but quite unlikeable family.
DECEMBER: We will be reading our favourite book of the year
Don't forget to wrap a pre loved book as a Christmas gift and get dressed up for our Christmas lunch.
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