Author Archives: Jody

Miles Franklin Shortlist, Our Picks!

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Over the last month, myself and my colleague Sarah have been super busy reading!

What have we been reading? Well, as many books on the ‘Miles Franklin’ longlist that we could manage! Not to mention our leisure reading and book club titles. Luckily we both love books and reading; although Sarah is by far the superior reader. I am constantly in awe of her seemingly endless list of books she has finished.

Now back to the ‘Miles Franklin’ longlist. While we didn’t get through the whole longlist, we did manage to read six out of ten titles, which I think is not a bad effort.

We read:

The White Girl by Tony Birch, UQP, 2019. eBook – eAudiobook – This made me cry! In a good way. I was totally invested in Odette and Sissy’s story. If I am honest I would have read another two hundred pages. Jody

Room For A Stranger by Melanie Cheng, Text Publishing, 2019. eBook – eAudiobook – Meg is an elderly lady living alone in her childhood home. After a break-in she finds a student to share her house. This is Andy, an international student from Hong Kong. Although they are from different backgrounds they develop a friendship as they do have some things in common. Sarah

Islands by Peggy Frew, Allend & Unwin, 2019. eBook – eAudiobook – The many different layers/perspectives in this book did confuse me a times; enough so that I did find myself re-reading parts. However, overall I did enjoy the book and after finishing it, felt that on some level the way it was written perfectly matched the disjointed lives of the characters. Jody

Exploded View by Carrie Tiffany, Text Publishing, 2020. eBook – This book had the power to mess with my head! The narrator of this book is a teenage girl living with her mother, brother and a dangerous man. She uses her mechanical skill to fight back. I found this book quite disturbing. Sarah

The Yield by Tara June Winch, Hamish Hamilton, 2019. eBook – eAudiobook – Simply a perfect book! I enjoy reading books about Australian History, particularly Indigenous stories. ‘The Yield’ is complex and emotional book, with characters that will stay with you long after you finish reading their story. – Jody

The Weekend by Charlotte Wood, Allen & Unwin, 2019. eBook – eAudiobook – Four women in their 70s have been lifelong friends. After the death of one of the group the others spend a weekend at her beach house to clean it out. But there is conflict between the three ladies without the friend that held the group together. This novel looks at growing older and dealing with past regrets. – Sarah

We are crossing our fingers that our three favourite books, ‘The White Girl’ by Tony Birch, ‘The Yield’ by Tara June Winch and ‘Room for a Stranger’ by Melanie Cheng make it onto the 2020 ‘Miles Franklin Shortlist’.

Do you have a favourite? What will be your pick for the 2020 Winner?

Jody

Parra Pods – Short Stories

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Fiction that can be read in one sitting, short stories are a great way book lovers can explore a wide range of narrative content. In this episode, Nisa and Sandra explore short stories that span genres such as sci-fi and crime, original languages such as Japanese and Chinese and settings as diverse as the fictional city of Maardam and the outer reaches of the galaxy.

Books discussed include:

Grand Union / Zadie Smith. Hamish Hamilton, Oct 2019

Picnic in the storm / Yukiko Motoya (translated by Asa Yoneda), Oct 2018

Intrigo / Håkan Nesser. Pan Macmillan, Oct 2019

Broken stars / Ken Liu (edited and translated). Head of Zeus, Feb 2019.

Happy Listening!

June Picks! Parra Reads Online Book Club

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It was really hard choosing this month’s titles. We have been reading along together now for three months and trying to pick something different that would appeal to the greater reading community was difficult. In the end we decided to go with two titles we all had been wanting to read, ‘Bruny‘ by Heather Rose and ‘The Beekeeper of Aleppo‘ by Christy Lefteri.

Heather Rose is the author of ‘The museum of modern love‘, one book which we have all read and enjoyed. Christy Lefteri’s book ‘The Beekeeper of Aleppo has continued to be a popular pick among readers since it’s release in 2019; not mention one of our ‘most wanted’ Book Club Kits!

Hopefully they will prove as appealing to everyone reading along with us as they were to us!

Happy Reading!

Jody

Bruny by Heather Rose (2019)

Available in eBook & eAudiobook from our rbDigital Library! Download the FREE rbDigital Library App from the App Store or Goggle Play and start ‘Reading Together’.

Allen & Unwin

Book Summary

Why is a massive bridge being built to connect the sleepy island of Bruny with the mainland of Tasmania? And why have terrorists blown it up?

When the Bruny bridge is bombed, UN troubleshooter Astrid Coleman agrees to return home to help her brother before an upcoming election. But this is no simple task. Her brother and sister are on either side of politics, the community is full of conspiracy theories, her mother is fading and her father is quoting Shakespeare. Only on Bruny does the world seem sane. Until Astrid discovers how far the government is willing to go.

Bruny is a searing, subversive novel about family, love, loyalty and the new world order. It is a gripping thriller with a jaw-dropping twist, a love story, a cry from the heart and a fiercely entertaining and crucial work of imagination that asks the burning question: what would you do to protect the place you love?

The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri, (2019)

Available in eBook & eAudiobook from our BorrowBox Library! Download the FREE BorrowBox Library App from the App Store or Goggle Play and start ‘Reading Together’.

Allen & Unwin

Book Summary

In the midst of war, he found love
In the midst of darkness, he found courage
In the midst of tragedy, he found hope

What will you find from his story?

Nuri is a beekeeper; his wife, Afra, an artist. They live a simple life, rich in family and friends, in the beautiful Syrian city of Aleppo – until the unthinkable happens. When all they care for is destroyed by war, they are forced to escape. But what Afra has seen is so terrible she has gone blind, and so they must embark on a perilous journey through Turkey and Greece towards an uncertain future in Britain. On the way, Nuri is sustained by the knowledge that waiting for them is Mustafa, his cousin and business partner, who has started an apiary and is teaching fellow refugees in Yorkshire to keep bees.

As Nuri and Afra travel through a broken world, they must confront not only the pain of their own unspeakable loss, but dangers that would overwhelm the bravest of souls. Above all – and perhaps this is the hardest thing they face – they must journey to find each other again.

Book Reviews: The Nowhere Child & The Sunday Story Club

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The Nowhere Child

Christian White

I think it is fair to say ‘The Nowhere Child’ was my favourite pick from May’s two titles. If that makes me biased, then so be it. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, so much so that I finished it in one sitting. Yep, that’s right. I sat down one Saturday morning and didn’t stop reading until I finished it that night. ‘The Nowhere Child’ not only had suspense,it also provided you with a back story, giving you an invested interest in the characters story and how it would turn out.

I am totally hooked on Christian White now, and have already finished ‘The Wife and the Widow‘ and enjoyed it even more I think. Maybe the setting had something to do with this, I could almost feel the cold while reading.

‘The Nowhere Child’ is a 4/5 stars for me!

The Sunday Story Club

Doris Brett and Kerry Cue

‘The Sunday Story Club’ is full of heartfelt, true stories from regular women who have experienced incredible events in their lifetimes. Doris Brett and Kerry Cue, somehow make you feel like you are actually inviting this group of people into your home becoming a member of their ‘Club’.

You will laugh, and you will cry as you share these women’s stories. A book you will enjoy and want to share with anyone who will listen!

4/5 stars!

Hope you enjoyed May’s picks as much as I did.

Look out for June’s Pick later this week!

Happy Reading!

Jody

Ready, Set, Read!

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If you, like me are preparing for a long weekend of reading, you might be interested to check out the list of awesome books I will be picking from this June long weekend. You will find some new releases and old favourites.

I might not even finish reading one book, I have an embroidery project to work on too, but I will definitely enjoy browsing through them all! I might even add more to the list, once I start browsing our eBook collection.

I recently discovered, I have become just a little bit addicted to scrolling through all the pretty eBook covers. I discovered two new authors this way, Annie Lyons and Sarah Bennett.

Happy Reading!

Jody

The Dark Lake by Sarah Bailey

The River Home by Hannah Richell

Stella and Margie by Glenna Thompson

Bruny by Heather Rose

The Swtich by Beth O’leary

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Home: A Memoir of My Hollywood Years by Julie Andrews

The Silence by Susan Allott

The Drop-off by Fiona Harris & Mike McLeish

The Minute I Saw You by Paige Toon, who by the way is holding a live event tonight via Facebook with Dymocks Books.