Category Archives: Recommended Reading

Book Review: To kill a mickingbird by Harper Lee

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Summary
‘Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ’em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird‘. Atticus finch gives this advice to his children as he defends the real mockingbird of this classic novel – a black man charged with attacking a white girl. Through the eyes of Scout and Jem Finch, Lee explores the issues of race and class in the Deep South of the 1930s with compassion and humour. She also creates one of the great heroes of literature in their father, whose lone struggle for justice pricks the conscience of a town steeped in prejudice and hypocrisy.

Comments
While this story seemed to lack the ‘punch’ of a modern story, there were quite a lot of pros for this book.  We enjoyed the overall simplicity of the writing, the simple setting and the quiet strength of the main characters. We’d all wished we had a father like Atticus.  We can also see the impact this book would have had when it was first released and understand completely why it is studied in schools. While we have come a long way, the subject matter is still very much relevant today.

For some of our readers, it did lack the ‘pace’ of today’s stories.  Overall though, we rated this book a commendable 7!  This is definitely a book that everyone should read it at least once.

Rating – 7/10
Read by – Cultcha Club

 

Top Book Reads of 2016!

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If you were wondering what books had the most loans for 2016, wonder no more! Here are the top ten of the year.

Adult Fiction

  1. The girl on the train – Paula Hawkins
  2. 15th affair – James Patterson
  3. Cometh the hour – Jeffrey Archer
  4. Make me – Lee Child
  5. Big little lies – Liane Moriarty
  6. Rogue lawyer – John Grisham
  7. The crossing -Michael Connelly
  8. The steel kiss – Jeffrey Deaver
  9. The guilty – David Baldacci
  10. Private Paris – James Patterson and Personal – Lee Child

Adult Non Fiction

  1. The life-changing magic of tidying up – Marie Kondo
  2. Road users’ handbook – Roads and Traffic Authority of NSW
  3. Driver qualification handbook – Roads and Traffic Authority of NSW and A guide to the driving test – Roads and Traffic Authority of NSW
  4. Reckoning: a memoir – Magda Szubanski and Hazard perception handbook – Roads and Traffic Authority of NSW
  5. The secret – Rhonda Byrne
  6. Tax for Australians for dummies – Jimmy B. Prince
  7. The happiest refugee – Ahn Do
  8. I quit sugar – Sarah Wilson
  9. The 8-week blood sugar diet – Michael Mosley
  10. Flesh wounds – Richard Glover

For Young Adults

  1. Harry Potter and the cursed child. Parts one and two – Jack Thorne
  2. The fault in our stars – John Green and Paper towns – John Green
  3. The scorch trials – James Dashner
  4. Allegiant – Veronica Roth
  5. Catching fire – Suzanne Collins
  6. Divergent – Veronica Roth
  7. The book thief – Marcus Zusak
  8. The hunger games – Suzanne Collins
  9. The city of heavenly fire – Cassandra Clare
  10. If I stay – Gayle Forman

For Children

  1. Diary of a wimpy kid: the long haul – Jeff Kinney
  2. Diary of a wimpy kid: the third wheel – Jeff Kinney
  3. The 52-storey treehouse – Andy Griffiths
  4. Thea Stilton and the mystery on the Orient Express – Thea Stilton
  5. The only me – Meredith Harvey
  6. The 65-storey treehouse – Andy Griffiths
  7. Diary of a wimpy kid: old school – Jeff Kinney
  8. The wimpy kid movie diary – Jeff Kinney
  9. The perilous plants – Geronimo Stilton
  10. Totally weird! – Ahn Do

Top eBook Reads of 2016!

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Ever wondered what type of books are popular as eBooks? Here are the top ten most borrowed eBooks of 2016.

Adult Fiction

  1. The Girl of the train -Paula Hawkins
  2. To kill a mockingbird – Harper Lee
  3. Mine to share – Jenesi Ash et al.
  4. Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen
  5. Worth dying for – Lee Child
  6. The hard way – Lee Child
  7. All the light we cannot see – Anthony Doerr
  8. A game of thrones – George R.R. Martin
  9. Any duchess will do – Tessa Dare
  10. The alchemist – Paulo Coelho

Adult Non Fiction

  1. Eat, pray, love – Elizabeth Gilbert
  2. Wild: a journey from lost to found – Cheryl Strayed
  3. People can’t drive you crazy if you don’t give them the keys – Mike Bechtle
  4. The power of now: a guide to spiritual enlightenment – Eckhart Tolle
  5. International Students’ Survival Guide – Collins (Publishing)
  6. Think and grow rich – Napoleon Hill
  7. Success: the best of Napoleon Hill – Napoleon Hill
  8. Twelve years a slave – Solomon Northup
  9. Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Someone Who’s Been There – Cheryl Strayed
  10. Last woman hanged – Caroline Overington

For Young Adults

  1. Harry Potter and the cursed child – parts one and two – Jack Thorne, J.K. Rowling and John Tiffany
  2. Divergent – Veronica Roth
  3. Looking for Alaska – John Green
  4. The hunger games – Suzanne Collins
  5. The maze runner – James Dashner
  6. The city of bones – Cassandra Clare
  7. The icebound land – John Flanagan
  8. The hobbit – J.R.R. Tolkien
  9. The selection – Kiera Cass
  10. Animal farm – George Orwell

For Children

  1. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone – J.K. Rowling
  2. Little women – Louisa May Alcott
  3. The curious incident of the dog in the night-time – Mark Haddon
  4. Percy Jackson and the lightning thief – Rick Riordan
  5. WeirDo–  Ahn Do
  6. Billie B. Brown: the second best friend – Sally Rippin
  7. I love you book – Libby Hathorn
  8. The adventures of super diaper baby – Dav Pilkey
  9. Skulduggery Pleasant – Derek Landy
  10. The 78-storey treehouse – Andy Griffiths

Good Reads – Best Books of 2016 Winners!

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good-reads-2016The winners of the Good Reads Best Books of 2016 have been announced – did your favourite win?

Categories included: Fiction, Mystery & Thriller, Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Romance, Science Fiction, Horror, Humour, Non Fiction, Memoir & Autobiography, History & Biography, Science & Technology, Food & Cookbooks, Graphic Novels & Comics, Poetry, Debut Goodreads Author, Young Adult Fiction, Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction, Middle Grade & Children’s, and Picturebook.

HINT – Click on the category below to see the winner and shortlisted books and click on the title to reserve your copy of the winner now. The Library has all of the winning books and many of the shortlisted ones. Continue reading →