Tag Archives: reading

2011 Ned Kelly Awards Shortlists

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The shortlists for this year’s Ned Kelly Awards for Australian Crime Writing have been announced. The shortlisted titles are:

Best Crime Fiction
Prime Cut by Alan Carter

Line of Sight by David Whish-Wilson

The Old School by PM Newton

Best Fiction
The Half-Child by Angela Savage

The Diggers Rest Hotel byGeoffrey McGreachin

          
Bereft by Chris Womersley

True Crime
Abandoned: The Sad Death of Dianne Brimble by Geesche Jacobson
Wasted by Ross Honeywill
Honeymoon Dive by Lindsay Simpson & Jennifer Cooke

S D Harvey Short Story Award
‘Southern Hemisphere Blues’ by Robert Goodman
‘Hemisphere Travel Guides: Las Vegas for Vegans’ by A S Patric.

The Irish princess – a book review

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Title : The Irish princess

Author: Karen Harper

New American Library, 2011

Thanh’s pick

A book from the National Bestselling Author, for all the fans of the Tudors television series, as it is set during the time of Henry VIII. 

It’s the story of Elizabeth Geraldine, a high born lady from the first family of Irelandin 16th century.  Her whole family, including father, brother and uncles, was condemned then executed by King Henry.  She moved to live inEngland with her mother and sister, with one purpose in her mind:  revenge for the death of her loved ones, and restoration of her family name to its rightful place.

Her life went through many straights and bends, ended up being lady in waiting for King Henry’s last queen, Catherine Parr.  She married Sir Anthony Browne, a close courtier of the King, for protection, while harbouring a secret love to Lord Edward Clinton.  She befriended with the two Tudor princesses Mary and Elizabeth.

By the end of the book,Geragot what she wanted:  her surviving brother was reinstated to his rightful place inIreland; and after the death of her husband, she was at last married to her true loveClinton, and she had the long lasting friendship of Queen Elizabeth I.

Somehow the story telling is a bit bland, the writing style uninspiring – the only reason you turn the pages is because it has many intrigues: glimpses of the royal court, of the Henry VIII    himself, his queen and his two princesses, all the plots, the betrayal involved … It feels just like you are reading the pages of a history book.

The psychology the main character is not well executed either.  Gera, our heroine, advertised as beautiful, bold, rebellious and daring, appeared through the book rather tame, with lots of teeth gnashing and grumbling “I hate him” “I want to gouge his eyes”, and some silly deeds: she once tried to pour water on a royal letter sent north in order to save some rebellious towns.  Another time, she crept through secret passages to the King’s dying bed to kill him, but ended up pretending to be his queen’s ghost and cursed him to hell.

It’s rather a shame, as we have here several elements for a good story: a heroine, a plot and a love interest.  Somehow the author failed to breath live and credibility to her main character.

Discussion notes for ‘The brain that changes itself ‘

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The 2nd evening Tue reading group has discussed the book ‘The brain that changes itself‘ by Norman Doidge. It’s still a popular book after three years of its publication. The notes from the group said

it’s a layman’s scientific book. The subject matter was interesting.
The case studies covered were quite inspirational when dealing with autism, cerebral palsy and the girl born with half-a-brain.

Some members of the group didn’t finish the book and thought the subject matter would be better addressed in a medical journal, but others found it was a very interesting reading.

The ‘moral’ of the book is ‘never say never’ to learning something new.

It is not a typical ‘book club book’ but would have an appeal to a wide audience who are interested in science and the brain.