Book Club: I came to say goodbye by Caroline Overington

Posted on 1 July 2016 by Jody

Abstract

Rachel catches the same commuter train every morning. She knows it will wait at the same signal each time, overlooking a row of back gardens. She’s even started to feel like she knows the people who live in one of the houses. ‘Jess and Jason’, she calls them. Their life – as she sees it – is perfect. If only Rachel could be that happy.And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Now Rachel has a chance to become a part of the lives she’s only watched from afar.Now they’ll see; she’s much more than just the girl on the train…

Comments

This was a much anticipated read for our group. It had been a popular choice when we selected our book titles a few months back. For some, it more than lived up to expectations, enjoying the plot twists and turns. While others found it a bit underwhelming.. A bit.. meh?

This was another book that really divided opinions amongst our group, generating lots of discussion. We all found the book to be well written, with characters that made us feel something.. Whether that be love or hate! Those who loved it; liked the plot twists and the suspense. Those who didn’t like it, found it hard to like the main characters.

Rating – 7.5 / 10

Read by Culcha Club

Jody’s Winter Reading Picks

Posted on 16 June 2016 by Jody

Blog Post Jody's Picks(1)

Now the colder weather has really started to settle in, the first thought that pops in to my head is all the great books I can curl up with in front of the fire and read.

This winter I am eagerly awaiting two books in particular. Of which I am happy to say are by Australian authors.

xtruly-madly-guilty.jpg.pagespeed.ic.-Se4QCZHKZ The one at the very top of my list is Liane Moriarty’s new book, Truly Madly Guilty. Released in July, myself along with quite a lot of my colleagues can’t wait to read this one! I have really enjoyed all of Liane’s books and I just know this one will be good, because really why wouldn’t it be? All of Liane’s books are enjoyable, easy to read and have great storylines.

IF ONLY THEY’D SAID NO…

What if they hadn’t gone? That’s the question Clementine can’t stop asking herself. It was just a backyard barbeque. They didn’t know their hosts that well. They were friends of friends. They could so easily have said no.

But she and her husband Sam said yes, and now they can never change what they did and didn’t do that beautiful winter’s day.

Six responsible adults. Three cute kids. One yapping dog. It’s a normal weekend in the suburbs. What could possibly go wrong?

It was just an ordinary Sunday afternoon…

Now if that blurb doesn’t make you want to read the book, I don’t know what will.Do you think it could be considered work if I sit quietly at my desk and read all day? I would of course promise to post a review when I’ve finished!

blame The second is Blame by Nicole Trope. I recently finished reading Three Hours Late and The Silence of Secrets by Nicole and I enjoyed both books, even if the

story lines were a little confronting.

Blame I think will be just as good. I think Nicole has a talent for creating real and believable characters that you become invested in and need to know how they cope and survive through some terrible and hard situations. Which is what I am expecting from Blame. I can’t wait!

There has been an accident and a child has died.

There has been an accident and two mothers are destroyed. Two families will never be the same.

There has been an accident but who is to blame?

Reserve your copy NOW!

HAPPY READING

Jody

‘Reckoning’ wins ABA Booksellers Choice Award; booksellers of the year announced

Posted on 30 May 2016 by admin

The Australian Booksellers Association (ABA) Booksellers Choice Award for 2016 has been won by Magda Szubankski’s Reckoning. The ABA conference awards night was held on May 29 at the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra. In her acceptance speech Szubanski took the opportunity to emphasise the value of Australian writers and authors saying that ‘without Australian stories we’re nothing but shadow puppets’, that, ‘we will dematerialise’.

Amelia Lush from Better Read Than Dead in Newtown was named Young Bookseller of the Year. Bookseller of the Year was shared by Deb Force from the Sun Bookshop in Yarraville, Melbourne and Anna Low from Potts Point Bookshop, Sydney. Robyn Huppert, the ABA’s Communications Manager and Kid’s Reading Guide organiser was awarded the Elizabeth Riley Fellowship for Children’s Bookselling.

Comedian Dave O’Neill hosted the night which included a speech from Deng Adut, who described his experiences as a child soldier in the Sudanese Civil War and his subsequent life in Australia. Jimmy Barnes from the band Cold Chisel read from his soon to be published memoir and performed three songs which drew a standing ovation from all in attendance.

I Came to Say Goodbye

Posted on 20 May 2016 by Jody

I Came to Say Goodbye by Caroline Overington

A young woman pushed through the hospital doors. She walked into the nursery, where a baby girl lay sleeping. The infant didn’t wake when the woman placed her gently in the shopping bag she had brought with her. There is CCTV footage of what happened next, and most Australians would have seen it, either on the internet or the news. The woman walked out to the car park, towards an old Corolla. For a moment, she held the child gently against her breast and, with her eyes closed, she smelled her. She then clipped the infant into the car, got in and drove off. That is where the footage ends. It isn’t where the story ends, however. It’s not even where the story starts.

Comments

A disturbing and at times, harrowing read, that was heart-breaking because of its reality. A very well written story that had us turning the pages quicker than an Aldi catalogue wanting to know what else could possibly happen or go wrong for this family.

While we liked the way the writer told the story, in letter form to a judge, some struggled to sympathise with him and other characters. We all felt like they all could have done more or should have done more for each other. This is the first book in a little while that has generated a lot of discussion within our group. Over who did and why they did it. And who was at fault. And if the grandfather had intervened earlier, like he had always intended too, would any of this have ever happened. We wondered where the mother went and why she seemed to have had no contact with anyone after she left. Did some of the blame lay with her for simply disappearing from her children’s lives.

We found it a difficult to rate this book. While we all agreed that while the writing was well done, we found the subject a little heavy and depressing and not something we wanted to scale too highly as to mislead other readers.

Read by – Cultcha Club

Rated – 6/10

The One Who Got Away

Posted on 6 May 2016 by Jody

The One Who Got Away by Caroline Overington

Caroline Overington’s latest book The One Who Got Away was released a couple of days ago; and I was so excited. Caroline is one my favourite authors and after reading a sample I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this one.

I must admit to being the tiniest bit biased in my opinion where Caroline’s books are concerned after having been lucky enough to have met her here at Parramatta Library a couple of years ago for an author talk. (Click HERE to listen to the podcast). I became an even bigger fan. Caroline is a very talented writer and a nice person.

I think it’s fair to say I expected a lot from The One Who Got Away and I wasn’t disappointed.

The One Who Got Away tells the gripping tale Loren and David; the perfect couple? When Loren meets David, she falls hard. Although they’re from the same Californian town they come from very different backgrounds … but Loren is not about to let that stop her from winning over her perfect man.

There is suspense with twists and turns all the way through and you wont know what to believe. I loved the way it was told from different perspectives; it really allowed the story to build up gradually to a point where you are practically screaming “I need to know what happens NOW”!

I resisted the urge to skip ahead to the end of the book so I could find out what happened, but let me tell you it was very hard. When I finally read the last page, I was in total shock and went straight back and reread the last chapter to make sure I hadn’t read it wrong. The way the story kept revealing secrets all the way to the very last line was masterful.

Do yourself a favour and read this one, I LOVED IT and can’t wait to talk about it with my reading obsessed colleagues here at the library.

Jody