One of the greats of espionage fiction – John le Carre – passed away at the end of 2020. Join Nisa and Sandra as they take a quick tour through some of his books and focus on two titles in particular:
Our Kind of Traitor – John le Carre. Viking, 2010
The Night Manager – John le Carre. Hodder and Stoughton, 1993
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
2020 might not have been the best year so far, but the positive side of things it has been a great year for Young Adult fiction.
I don’t know about most people but I enjoy reading YA fiction; in particular YA fantasy novels and this year there has been some great titles already released and more still to come.
So in the interest of spreading the word about great YA fantasy reads I thought I would share with you some of the new releases I have read and the ones I can’t wait to read and not forgetting my all-time-favourites!
I hope you discover something great to read!
Jody
2020 Releases
The Shadows Between Us by Trivia Levenseller
The Court of Miracles by Kester Grant
Sisters of the Sword by Rebecca Ross, paperback edition released October 2020.
The Other Side of the Sky by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner
Woven in Moonlight by Isabel Ibanez
Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust
Coming Soon
Lightbringer, book three in the Empirium series by Claire Legrand released November 2020. Book one – Furyborn and Book two – Kingsbane
Of Silver and Shadow by Jennifer Gruenke, released February 2021. I forget where I even came across this title but is sounds great. However thanks to the COVID the publishing date has been pushed back to February 2021.
The Silvered Serpents, book two in The Gilded Wolves series by Roshani Chokshi. Book one – The Gilded Wolves.
All Time Favourties
The Tiger at Midnight, book one Tiger at Midnight by Swati Teerdhala Look out for book two ‘The Archer at Dawn’.
La Belle Sauvage, book one of The Book of Dust by Philip Pullman. Book two – The Secret Commonwealth
The Red Queen, book one of The Red Queen series by Victoria Aveyard. Book two – Glass Sword, book three – King’s Cage, book four War Storm.
Dread Nation by Justina Ireland
The Kiss of Deception, book one of the Ramnant series by Mary E. Pearson. Book two – The Heart of Betrayal, book three – The Beauty of Darkness
P.S
Just in case you missed it you, might want to back-track and listen to the Podcast we did on YA Reads to check out some more recommendations!
One of my favourite duties is researching and staying up-to-date with all the new book releases that come out each month. After all it is our job to make sure we offer you, our community of readers a wide selection of the up-and-coming new releases!
While some deliveries and publications dates have been delayed & affected by the COVID pandemic, publishers and our amazing suppliers are working hard to ensure we don’t have to wait too long for all the amazing new books.
Below I have listed a few of the up-and-coming new releases I can’t wait to read. When I say can’t wait to read, it means I have pre-ordered my own personal copy so you our readers are first in line to reserve our ‘New Books’. And yes we have ordered copies for the library!
On order titles can be placed on hold via our online library Catalogue or by asking one of our super friendly librarians for assistance. A note to remember though any holds/reserves placed on ‘On Order’ titles may take a while to arrive and do count towards your five (5) holds/reserves limit.
Now to the important stuff, the books!
Hope you find something among my picks to read. Maybe you will discover an author you hadn’t heard of before and embark on a wonderful journey through all their titles.
Don’t forget you can also make a ‘Suggestion for Purchase’ for a any title you think our community of readers would like to read.
Happy Reading!
Jody
Continue readingThis July, I am going to be exploring some of the thriller titles I have been steadily adding to my TBR pile over the last few months.
I don’t tend to read thriller books all the time, rather I have spurts when I read a few, then don’t pick up another one for six months. Coincidently it always seems like it is around the middle of the year, maybe it is the colder weather!
By no means do I consider myself an expert in recommending thriller titles, so while I have listed some titles I am looking forward to reading. I also enlisted the help of some of our Library’s resident ‘thriller’ aficionados! who have kindly contributed some of their all-time-favourite titles.
I am sure there will be something for everyone to read, from first timers to hard-core fans!
Happy Reading!
Jody
On the Lighter Side – A Good Starting Point!
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