June Wrap Up: Book Clubs & Reading Groups

Posted on 3 July 2019 by admin

City of Parramatta Libraries, Book Clubs and Reading Groups seem to grow each month; in June we welcomed another Book Club into our Club’s.

Before June comes to end I find myself already preparing July’s Book Club and Reading Groups Kits; with twenty seven kits already to for July!

The popular title and author this month was Jane Harper, with two groups reading The Lost Man and other reading Force of Nature. In fact Jane seems to re-appear each month on the list of book club reads. I can understand why too. I loved both The Dry and The Lost Man.

If you are also a Jane Harper fan then you might like to check out her website for more information and updates on the up-coming film version of The Dry; starring the talented Eric Banner as Aaron Falk!

As always you can read our Book Club and Reading Groups reviews on Parra Reads. Just search the Categories Book Club Kits and Book Reviews.

Happy Reading!

Jody

Book Review: Our Souls at Night by Kent Harurf

Posted on 1 July 2019 by admin

Our Souls at Night By Kent Haruf

Addie Moore’s husband died years ago, so did Louis Waters’ wife, and, as neighbours in Holt, Colorado they have naturally long been aware of each other. With their children now far away both live alone in houses empty of family. The nights are terribly lonely, especially with no one to talk to. Then one evening Addie pays Louis an unexpected visit. Their brave adventures-their pleasures and their difficulties-form the beating heart of Our Souls at Night. Kent Haruf’s final novel is an exquisite and moving story about love and growing old with grace. It is a lasting tribute to the extraordinary author who wrote it.

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Book Review: Seven Types of Ambiguity by Elliot Perlman

Posted on 28 June 2019 by admin

Seven Types of Ambiguity by Elliot Perlman

Following years of unrequited love, an out-of-work school teacher takes matters into his own hands, triggering a chain of events neither he nor his psychiatrist could have anticipated. At once a psychological thriller and a social critique, Seven Types of Ambiguity is a story of obsessive love in an age of obsessive materialism.

COMMENTS

Beautifully written. The writer has a brilliant turn of phrase. For our little book club though, this book was a struggle. We found its volume a little overwhelming and struggled to connect with any of the characters. We liked the premise; we liked the way the story was told from each character’s point of view and how new pieces of the puzzle were revealed with each person as they told their version of the story. We also found it fascinating that two people could be in the same situation and both see it so very differently. However, towards the end of the novel, the changing of views, brought with it a lot of repetitiveness and it felt cumbersome.

Overall, we would recommend this to readers who have time to read and are not reading to a deadline. As even with an extension, many of our readers still struggled to get this one finished.

READ BY

6.5/10 – Cultcha Club Book Club

Book Review: The Bush by Don Watson

Posted on 25 June 2019 by admin

The Bush by Don Watson

While most of us live in cities clinging to the coastal fringe, our sense of what an Australian is, or should be, is drawn from the vast and varied inland called the bush. But what do we mean by ‘the bush’, and how has it shaped us?

Starting with his forebears’ battle to drive back nature and eke a living from the land, Don Watson explores the bush as it was and as it now is: the triumphs and the ruination, the commonplace and the bizarre, the stories we like to tell about ourselves and the national character, and those we don’t.

A milestone work of memoir, travel writing and history, The Bush takes us on a profoundly revelatory and entertaining journey through the Australian landscape and character.

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