That’s a Wrap! Parra Reads Online Book Club, February

As we come to the end of February and our first month of Online Book Club, I am feeling super excited & motivated for the months ahead.

A big thank you to every one of you who joined our Goodreads group, I love seeing what you’re reading. Navigate over to the discussion board and share your thoughts on the books you are reading, I don’t want to bore you all with my comments too much, I admit I have a tendency to babble.

I don’t know how you all did reading Australian authors this month, but I loved it! I hope you enjoyed discovering some of our wonderful home grown literature as much as I did. The books I got through this month were, ‘Mr Wigg’ by Inga Simpson, ‘Three Wishes’ by Liane Moriarty and ‘The Yield’ by Tara June Winch all of which were re-reads for me.

‘Mr Wigg’ is one of my all-time favourite reads. This is a beautifully written and gentle book that allows the reader to share the intimate story of Mr Wigg’s life. This book transports you to another time and place, allowing you to soak up the characters and the environment around him. If you enjoy reading a beautifully written book that allows you to share one-persons journey, then this book is a must read.

‘Three Wishes’ is one of Liane Moriarty’s first books and to this day remains one of my favourites. The Prologue reels you in, leaving you no choice but to turn the page to find out what happens. A fast-paced book with characters that draw you into their story, not to mention the hilarious family dynamics. An enjoyable read.

For the second time in less than a year I found myself reading; ‘The Yield’ by Tara June Winch; one of the best books I read in 2020. I loved the language, story and characters. This time I have been reading and listening at the same time. If you have read the book and enjoyed it, you should try the audio version. Hearing the Wiradjuri language pronounced adds such depth to the story.  

As we move forward into March and reading ‘Books to Screen’ I have been spending a lot of time thinking about what I want to read. While I was putting together the monthly list of reading recommendations, I identified a few potential titles to read during March, they are:

The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton

The Dry by Jane Harper, another re-read. It has been a while and I want to read it again before I watch the movie.

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne

Whichever book you read in March I hope you enjoy it. I look forward to reading all about it on Goodreads, or share your review via our ‘Read & Review’ form, and I will share it on the blog.

I hope March is a good reading month!

Jody

The Golden Age of Hollywood in Books

This year, I admit I have become a little obsessed with The Golden Age of Hollywood; in books that is!

This started when I was browsing the newsagency for some light reading, and I came across The Australian Women’s Weekly Special Editions, Icon magazine. Packed full of retro photos, interesting stories and nostalgia, these special edition magazines have become my go-to Sunday morning reading.

I have been filling the gaps between issues reading some biographies & books about the stars who have intrigued me the most, the majority of those being women who found Hollywood at the time anything but golden. While some of their stories proved to be tragic, that didn’t stop their strength and determination from shining through.

Below I have listed a few titles I have browsed over the course of 2020, in the hopes that you might find something interesting to read over the coming summer months.

Happy Reading!

Jody

Judy Garland a Biography by Anne Edwards

Get Happy: The Life of Judy Garland by Gerald Clarke

Home: A Memoir of My Early Years by Julie Andrews

Home Work: A Memoir of My Hollywood Years by Julie Andrews

Hedy Lamarr’s Double Life by Laurie Wallmark

Elizabeth Taylor: the lady, the lover, the legend-1932-2011 by David Brett

Ava: A Life in Movies by Kendra Bean

Audrey Hepburn: a photographic journey of a beautiful star’s rise to silver-screen icon by Gabrielle Mander.

Katharine Hepburn: a remarkable woman by Anne Edwards

Hollywood love stories: true love stories from the golden days of the silver screen by Gill Paul

Book Club Reviews

Our Dundas Book Clubs have been very busy reading and reviewing their book club picks over the last month.

Read what they thought about, ‘The Woman in the Window’, ‘Any Ordinary Day’ and ‘The Alice Network’. All of which have been hugely popular reads with a lot of our clubs.

Enjoy!

Jody

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Book Review – Big Little Lies

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

ABOUT THE BOOK

A murder… A tragic accident… Or just parents behaving badly? What is indisputable is that someone is dead.

Big Little Lies will take you on a roller coaster ride with the secrets of the three women.  

Madeline is a force to be reckoned with. She is funny, biting, and passionate; she remembers everything and forgives no one. Celeste is the kind of beautiful woman who makes the world stop and stare but she is paying a price for the illusion of perfection. New to town, single mum Jane is so young that another mother mistakes her for a nanny. She comes with a mysterious past and a sadness beyond her years. These three women are at different crossroads, but they will all wind up in the same shocking place.

Big Little Lies is a brilliant take on ex-husbands and second wives, mothers and daughters, schoolyard scandal, and the little lies that can turn lethal.

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Podcast – Young Adult Fiction

In Episode 17 of Parra Pods, Katherine & Nisa discuss some of the amazing Young Adult fiction books they have read over the last couple of weeks.

Reading Youth Adult fiction in all its diversity is great way to understand the issues facing the up and coming generation. The books that we review in this episode discuss diverse themes  such as “Black lives matter”, growing up Muslim in Australia, body issues and being young and LGBTQ identified. What these wonderful books have in common is that they are all thought provoking, funny at times, often inspiring and always entertaining. I urge you to grab a YA book now and enjoy!

Some of the books discussed in this podcast include:

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, 2017.

How (Not) to Ask a Boy to the Prom by S.J. Goslee, 2019.

You Must Be Layla by Yassmin Abel-Magied, 2019

There’s Something About Sweetie by Sandhya Menon