Literary Brooding

Goodwood – Holly Throsby Paperback, 304 pages Published October 1st 2016 by Allen & Unwin A small country town in Australia, two missing people within a week and everyone is walking on eggshells. Told primarily through the eyes of Jean, a teenager in the town, we come to know the characters and secrets of the town. I found myself in two minds about this story. The first half showed a great deal of promise, Jean and her friend Georgia were curious, engaging and certainly knew all the gossip about town. With the disappearance of Rosie, the two teenagers do quite a bit of theorising about what happened and when Bart the butcher also goes missing the two go into overdrive. It is through Jean we meet the characters of the town and they are a group of people you would find in every single Australian country town. Yet by the halfway point of the novel the mystery of the two missing people had been pushed to the background as Jean struggled with her identity. It is the second ...

The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher Kindle Edition, 267 pages.  Published November 22nd 2016 by Blue Rider Press “ I was sitting by myself the other night doing the usual things one does when spending time alone with yourselves. You know, making mountains out of molehills, hiking up to the top of the mountains, having a Hostess Twinkie and then throwing myself off the mountain. Stuff like that .” There is a lot that makes this book hard to read and death of the author being the biggest one. Yet the main thing you have to remember that this is the recollections of a 19 year old woman trying to find her way in a man’s world. She is involved in a casual relationship with her married co-star, Harrison Ford and she cannot talk to anyone about what is happening. This forms the basis of Fisher’s memoir about her time on the first Star Wars movie. I found Fisher’s writing to be honest and heartfelt. As outsiders, we see actors as confident, worldly people who are able to handle a...

Well it was a two book day as I finished Kathy Reich's 'The Bone Collection' and then powered through J K Rowling's 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay'. The Bone Collection - Kathy Reichs Paperback, 368 pages Published November 3rd 2016 by Arrow (first published November 1st 2016) I remember many years ago reading Deja Dead and quickly working my way through the next five or six books with relish. Over time that relationship with reading every Reich's book as soon as it was released has diminished but I do like to come back to Brennan and see how things are going. The Bone Collection is four novellas that find Brennan in various stages of her career and comes complete with author notes. Bones in her Pocket has Brennan looking at case that turns into advocacy against puppy breeding farms. Swamp Bones - when a Burmese python has more in its stomach than local wildlife, Brennan is no longer on holiday and chasing a mur...

Well being ill did not stop the reading but did stop all the posting. I managed to keep my goodreads reviews going but could barely find the energy to update here.  A list of what I made my way through is here . I did finish 72 books and my favourite was Helen Garner's 'Everywhere I look'. I did think 'The Girl on the Train' was a bit over hyped and I am not sure why it received so much attention.  So this year I am planning on making my way through 60 books. I am aiming to be more adventurous and look to read authors from outside my comfort zone.  There is a second hand book store near my parents and they certainly sell some stuff cheap. I managed to pick up some classic Australian reads for $1 and 'All the light we cannot see' by Anthony Doerr for $4 and the first book I have read for 2017.  This book really surprised me, really surprised me. I had put reading this book off for some time as to be honest I was really not ready for another World W...

Toward a Secret Sky by Heather Maclean Hardcover, 368 pages Expected publication: April 4th 2017 by Blink Maren greets us in the worse of situations as she stands at the graveside of her mother. Finding herself an orphan she is moved from the United States to Scotland to live with her estranged Grandparents. Struggling to come to terms with the death of her mother and adjusting to a new life, Maren is further disturbed by her dreams. Maren receives a parcel from her mother which contains a mysterious journal and a letter saying her life is in danger. From here Maren becomes involved in a mystery and of course there is a romance. I have to admit that I am finding this book very difficult to review. There is so much to like about the story, it has an original twist and the world building is really good. However I am not sure that the balance between the romance and mystery has the right mix. The area that I found difficult was the romance as is was just too sudden and too deep....

Trial by Fire (Worldwalker #1) Josephine Angelini Hardcover, 374 pages, Published September 2nd 2014 by Feiwel & Friends Lily Proctor is a mess; her health is a daily management affair and her best friend Tristan went to boyfriend status and cheater in a space of week. Then there is her mother who has had a mental breakdown. So believe me when I say Lily is not having the best of times. Then a voice calls to her and Lily finds herself transported to another world with many similarities and differences. What commences is an adventure as Lily comes to terms with this new world and the impact her presence is having. Josephine Angelini has taken the concept of a witch and given it a really good shake up. What she has created is unique and wholly original. It was a fantastic revelation to come into a world devoid of vampires, fairies and werewolves (sorry but I am over them) but instead you have good and evil where the lines are blurred as to the characters intentions. ...

The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo Amy Schumer Hardcover, 323 pages Published August 16th 2016 by Gallery Books First of all I would like to thank all the trolls who made a concerted attempt to have Amy Schumer’s ‘The Girl with the lower back tattoo’ rated a one. If they had not made such an effort, had not gathered so much publicity in their attempts I may have never decided to purchase the book. I mean my interest was piqued and I wanted to know why they were so happy to lambaste everything about Amy Schumer. Amy Schumer has written a frank, brutally honest account of moments in her life whether they are good or bad. She has to be given full marks for telling moments of her life that are confronting and many would argue should not be discussed in public. It is never easy to talk about family illness, domestic violence and anything sexual. Yet Schumer tackles all these of issues with respect, authenticity and humour. There is some powerful writing in this book that will reso...