Category Archives: Recommended Reading

Staff Picks

Posted on by

 

Have a look at what library staff have been reading this week.

 

Cat out of hell by Lynne Truss
About a librarian overcome with grief for his wife’s death who unwittingly becomes involved in a murder mystery featuring talking cats… – 3/5

Who Do You Love by Jennifer Weiner
Andy & Rachel meet one night in the ER when they are kids, a love story spanning 3 decades it’s a story about how they keep finding each other throughout the different stages of their lives and how they overcome different backgrounds. A nice easy holiday read – 3/5

The invasion of the Tearling by Erika Johansen
Book two in the Queen of the Tearling trilogy follows Kelsea as she deals with the fallout from stopping the shipments to Mort and the inevitable invasion by the Mort army. We also meet Lily, a woman from pre crossing era – 5/5
Four: a Divergent collection by Veronica Roth
Story starts 2 years before we meet Beatrice Prior in Divergent, we hear Four’s story and how he came to be in Dauntless, eventually merging with Beatrice’s story – a bit of a pointless book, only for devout divergent fans – 2/5
The Sun in Her Eyes by Paige Toon
Amber is an Australian living in the UK, after being made redundant she learns her father back in Aus has had a stroke, leaving her husband Ned behind she flies to Australia to help her dad in his recovery. There she reconnects with Ethan, a boy she has been in love with since she was 8 years old. Ambar must choose between her husband and the man she’s always loved… A slight side story, when Amber was 3 she was involved in a car accident which killed her mother, we meet the stranger who stopped to help and holds her mother’s last words. It’s well written, but hard to like and relate to the main character Amber, so only – 3.5 stars
Ready by Kate

xcat-out-of-hell.jpg.pagespeed.ic.XJVs3uiBC5who-do-you-lovethe-invasion-of-the-tearlingfourthe-sun-in-her-eyes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Gilded Hour – Sara Donati

A well-written, well-researched story about life as a female doctor in 19th Century New York. Sara Donati captures this period beautifully, touching on poverty, wealth, racism, and a women’s right to choose, which made me very grateful to live in this place, in this century – 5 stars

Tower of Thorns – Juliet Marillier

I always love Juliet Marillier’s books, but I’m worried they’re starting to follow a bit of a formula. This one seemed a bit same-same. I still enjoy her gentle writing though and her fairy-tale-like plot. Fingers crossed for the next one! – 3 stars.

 

We Never Asked for Wings – Vanessa Diffenbaugh

I read and loved The Language of Flowers a few years ago so picked up this one eagerly. It reminded me that sometimes we put our mothers up on pedestals when really, they are often as troubled, and have as much baggage, as the next person – 4 stars

The Natural Way of Things – Charlotte Wood

I know there has been a lot of press around this book and it is receiving some amazing reviews, but I just found I couldn’t get into it. Maybe it’s just not my kind of story, or I’ll go back to it one day and love it. For now though…2 stars.

The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend – Katarina Bivald

A lovely, light book for all the book-lovers out there. A great one for the summer, I think! – 4 stars

Read by Amanda

the-gilded-hourtower-of-thornswe-never-asked-for-wingsthe-natural-way-of-thingsthe-readers-of-broken-wheel-recommend

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Reading!

 

 

The time traveler’s wife

Posted on by

0224073087The time traveler’s wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Summary
The story of Clare, a beautiful art student, and Henry, a librarian, who have known each other since Clare was six and Henry was thirty, and were married when Clare was twenty-two and Henry thirty. Impossible but true, because Henry is one of the first people diagnosed with Chrono-Displacement Disorder: periodically his genetic clock resets and he finds himself misplaced in time, pulled to moments of emotional gravity in his life, past and future. His disappearances are spontaneous, his experiences unpredictable, alternately harrowing and amusing.

Comments
Snippets of time filled with highly charged emotions deliver us the life-long love story of Claire and Henry. This story highlights themes of deep, unconditional love, loss, loneliness, abandonment and grief. Complex characters and a love story spanning years from childhood to adulthood draw the reader into the world of time travel and lives lived in secret.
Claire and Henry have a unique love and a trust that many relationships never fully develop. But this is often overshadowed by the sudden departures and reappearances of Henry as he battles with his “gift”. The deep connection these two share isn’t without it’s issues. The time travel raises issues of loss, abandonment and ultimately grief.
It is a world unfamiliar and surreal to those of rational thought, yet the detail and development of the story line, transport the reader with Henry on his journeys and back into the arms of “his” Claire with ease.
This was a most enjoyable read, however, attention needs to be paid to the dates, times and ages of the travel. Made into a major motion picture starring Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana, it made for the perfect  prelude to a girls movie night.

Rating – 7/10

Read by – Cultcha Club Book Club

The Book of Night Women

Posted on by

the-book-of-night-womenDid you love A brief history of seven killings? Why not read Marlon James’ previous novel, The book of night women, a sweeping, historical novel of Jamaican Slavery.

‘This is the story of Lilith, born into slavery on a Jamaican sugar plantation at the end of the eighteenth century. Even at her birth, the Night Women – a clandestine council of fierce slaves plotting an island-wide revolt – recognize a dark force in her that they treat with both reverence and fear. But as Lilith comes of age and begins to understand her own feelings and identity, she dares to push at the edges of what is imaginable for the life of a slave woman. And as rebellions simmer and unspoken jealousies intensify, Lilith’s powers and sense of purpose threaten not just her own destiny, but the destinies of all the slave women in Jamaica.’

Man Book Prize 2015

Posted on by

9781780745879The Man Booker Prize promotes the finest writing traditions in fiction by rewarding the very best book of the year. The prize is the world’s most important literary award and has the power to transform the fortunes of authors and publishers. In 2015, The Man Booker Prize for Fiction Committee was chaired by Michael Wood with the other judges: Ellah Allfrey, John Burnside, Sam Leith and Frances Osborne.

The winner for 2015 is A brief history of seven killings by Marlon James. Reserve your copy of the winner and the shortlist now. The shortlist included 5 other tiles:

The Fisherman by Chigozie Obioma
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
Satin Island by Tom McCarthy
A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler
The Year of the Runaways by Sunjeev Sahota

Orange is the new black

Posted on by

orange-is-the-new-blackOrange is the new black by Piper Kerman

 

Abstract

With her career, live-in boyfriend and loving family, Piper Kerman barely resembles the rebllious young woman who got mixed up with drug runners and delivered a suitcase of drug money to Europe over a decade ago. But when she least expexts it, her reckless past catches up with her; convicted and sentenced to fifteen months at an infamous women’s prison in Connecticut, Piper becomes inmate #1187-424. From her first strip search to her final release, she learns to navigate this trange world with its arbitrary rules and codes, its unpredictable, even dangerous relationships. She meets women from all walks of life, who surprise her with tokens of generosity, hard truths and simple acts of acceptance. Now a major original televison series, Piper’s story is a fascinating, heartbreaking and often hilarious insight into life on the inside.

 

Comments

The United States has the highest number of people in prison in the whole world.

The author of the book was incarcerated for 15 months in a US prison after pleading guilty to drug0-related crime.

One reader was really surprised at how much she enjoyed the book. The insights into the US prison system were very interesting.

The book reviews were not good, but the book group found it a good read.

The writing is not in a classic style but it was easy to read and the group is glad to have read it.

 

Read by – The Second Tuesday Evening Book Group