What we read in April and early May

Hello everyone

Just 5 of us got in on the Zoom meeting today.
Many thanks to those who apologised for absences: Cindy, Sylvia, Heather, Helene, Annette, Jan, Suzanne,
Some gave me book lists too- so I have included them here
I suspect we may still be in Zoom mode next month- but we will see.
We had nearly finished when the NBN techies went into the hole outside my house and cut me off. :-(

Anyway happy reading with the lists.

BTW - the Campbelltown library anticipates being open soon, but they will be only letting 10 visitors to the library at once.
Their reservations system is working and you can select books from across the system again.

Regards

Kerrie Smith

Annette

The books Ive read recently  are Force of Nature by Jane Harper. Very good but I liked The Dry  best out of her 3 books  You are not  Alone by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen. Excellent !!

Meet me in Venice by  Barbara Hannay-- Enjoyable

 Alice to Nowhere by Evan Green written in 1984 and a crime novel set in the Aust outback .Very good . Khaki Town by Judy Nunn  .ok but a bit drawn out and slow. Nightingale  by Fiona McIntosh  A good read set just after world war 1 .The beekeepers  secret by Josephine Moon which I believe has been reviewed  in.the group previously  and one I enjoyed.

The Poppy Wife by caroline Scott An extremely  well researched  novel set after the First  World War. American Dirt  by Jeanine Cummins  About migrants who try and escape from the cartels in Mexico and those who assist them with compassion Compelling reading !

Heather

The Songmaster – Di Morrissey

The interesting story of a female solicitor, a QC, a retired judge, an Aboriginal ex television personality and a journalist all from Sydney who go to Kimberley, north west WA to have an immersion experience of traditional tribal Aboriginal life. The journalist is desperate to get pregnant with her husband and is on a last ditch effort at IVF.

The Aborigine, who was taken from his mother whilst young and placed on a white mission and then fostered by a white family in Perth, is searching for his identity, his roots and his family.

Other characters in the group include an ex nun who has spent many years living with the indigenous community and acts as the interpreter; an Aboriginal Art gallery owner and expert and a part Aboriginal baby abandoned in the Melbourne Art Gallery wrapped in a shawl printed with an Aboriginal tribal owl motif. The baby’s white mother is subsequently murdered. To be returned to her spiritual and physical family the people must trace the baby girl’s tribal family, the only clue is the shawl.

The group, especially the three lawyers, become increasingly impressed by the Aboriginal elders, the closeness of the earth, the creation Dreaming stories and atmosphere of where they are camping. They become involved in the fight for justice as the indigenous artists and community are being exploited and denied access to their sacred tribal sites by the aggressive pastoralists on whose leased land the sites are located.

Susan, the young solicitor, is increasingly attracted to a wealthy cattle property owner whom she met at the airport. His family own a large expense of land near the territory border and his father is fierce in his opinion that his family have been on the land for three generations and the whites are not giving up ‘their’ land without a fight. Susan is gradually drawn into the Dreaming spirituality and atmosphere, greatly impressed by the elders and joins the other lawyers in looking at ways to give the Aboriginal community justice in their claim for their more than 100,000 year old traditions.

The group is joined by a reluctant, aggressive, Pauline Hanson type, would be politician who is very anti everything and a wealthy American women who, under the guise of making a film, has tricked the elders into signing a contract giving her rights to their art and culture. (Can you own someone’s culture?)

Drama ensues with several deaths and the theft of a priceless piece of extremely ancient rock art.  Threaded throughout the story is much interesting Aboriginal lore and history.

Heritage –Judy Nunn

Set in Auschwitz, the Italian Alps, Israel and the Snowy Mountain area of Australia, this story of war, struggle, love and secrets, tells of the dreams of the thousands of European displaced persons and migrants who came to begin a new life working on the Snowy Mountains Hydro- electric Scheme and surrounding area.  Action packed, with strong characters and past paced, I enjoyed this Australian story.

War Cry – Wilbur Smith

I read most of his books forty odd years ago but this new (2017) one was a birthday gift. Set in 1930-1050’s Kenya and England during the lead-up to WWII , several families’ German, Jewish and Anglo African friendships and loyalties collide. Strong characters, good descriptions of scenery and pre and post-war society in Kenya, this love story stirred memories of my all too short time in Kenya, Tanzania and Johannesburg.

I also very much enjoyed The Giver of Stars – Jojo Moyes: the story of the backpack library, set in 1930, 40’s, hillbilly country, Kentucky, deep south USA. The courage and strength of several females on horseback (or mule) who fought against popular opinions, social mores of the times and parochial culture of the area, especially the male population, as the women struggled against physical and natural disasters to provide reading material to outlying inhabitants and school children is admirable and moving. (Thanks Cindy for the loan of this book.)

Gulpilil – Derek Rielly:  recommended last meeting. I found this most interesting with many things I was unaware of about his life.

In a Dark Room – Deborah Crombie: a tale of arson ,murder, kidnapping of a young girl, love, relationships, family and the work of firefighters and police set in London.

Cold Earth – Anne Cleaves: another in the Shetland series

An Apprentice in Death – J.D.Robb  - Dystopian

The Most Beautiful Woman in Florence – Alyssa Polombo – a novel set in 1480’s Italy around the painting by Botticelli of the Venus rising from a seashell and the Medici family.

{The Chosen Queen –Joanna Courtney  :  Two of a trilogy  fiction (faction) set around and the events leading up to the Battle of Hastings 1066 and the conquest of Saxon England by Duke William of Normandy (William I of England) seen from the perspectives of the Saxons (Queen Edyth) and the Normans (Queen Mathilda)

The Conquerer’s Queen – Joanna Courtney}

Jan

The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson

 The book is set in the town of Rye in East Sussex in 1914.

The main characters are Hugh Grange, who is studying medicine, and his cousin Daniel and they are visiting their Aunt Agatha. Agatha is a quite forward thinking and she has risked her reputation pushing for the appointment of a woman to replace the Latin master at the local school.

Beatrice Nash is the other character in the book and she is taken on as the Latin teacher but is significantly more free thinking (and attractive) than people think a Latin teacher should be. On her part, Beatrice has been left penniless since the death of her father and needs to work. Just as Beatrice is coming to terms with life in Sussex and also has romantic feelings for Hugh, the perfect summer that they have experienced comes to an end with the start of World War 1.

This book was very long but even so, it held my interest all the way through, especially with food shortages, hording and plans to grow and store food, etc. which I was reading about at the same time as we were starting to do much the same thing.

Suzanne

*THE GERMAN GIRL by Armando Lucas Correa - March listing

*THE PARIS MODEL by Alexandra Joel - March listing

*CODE NAME HÈLÉNE by Ariel Lawhon (based on the thrilling true story of Nancy Wake “The White Mouse”)-a great read

*A KISS FROM MR FITZGERALD by Natasha Lester

*HER MOTHER’S SECRET by Natasha Lester

*THE PARIS SECRET by Natasha Lester

Barbara Albrecht

REBECCA'S TALE, Sally Beaumann - recommended

GREY FRIAR'S HOUSE, Emma Fraser

THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COIN, Angela Kelly

Meredith

THE RAIN QUEEN, Katherine Scholes

THE BEAUTIFUL MOTHER, Katherine Scholes

THE WEDDING DRESS MAKER, Leah Fleming

THE OLIVE GARDEN CHOIR, Leah Fleming

THE PARIS SECRET, Natasha Lester

JAMES COOK, Peter Fitzsimmons

MELTING MOMENTS, Anna Goldsworthy

Annie

THE WEEKEND, Charlotte Wood

MUM & DAD, Joanna Trollope

THE WIFE & THE WIDOW, Christian White

Now having a Ruth Rendell/ Barbara Vine binge from books she owns

Barbara W

THE WOMAN IN THE GREEN DRESS, Tea Cooper

THE MIDNIGHT ROSE, Lucinda Riley

CLANCY OF THE OVERFLOW, Jacquie French

Kerrie

May 2020

    4.1, GREY MASK, Patricia Wentworth
    4.3, ELLY, Maike Wetzel
    4.4, THE CASE IS CLOSED, Patricia Wentworth 
    4.6, PAINTING IN THE SHADOWS, Katherine Kovacic
    4.5, LONESOME ROAD, Patricia Wentworth 

April 2020

    5.0, PEACE, Garry Disher  - Australian author & setting
    4.7, RIGHT BEHIND YOU, Rachel Abbott 
    4.5, THE PORTRAIT OF MOLLY DEAN, Katherine Kovacic - Australian author & setting
    4.8, THE GOOD TURN, Dervla McTiernan - Australian author
    4.5, BOXED, Richard Anderson - Australian author & setting
    4.6, IN THE CLEARING, J. P. Pomare - Australian author & setting
    4.3, THE BEEKEEPER, Stewart Giles
    4.3, RETRIBUTION, Richard Anderson - Australian author & setting
    5.0, SOUTHERN CROSS CRIME, Craig Sisterson - Australian and New Zealand crime fiction
    4.5, THE SHIFTING LANDSCAPE, Katherine Kovacic - Australian author & setting
    4.4, TRUE WEST, David Whish-Wilson -  Australian author & setting,

Zoom meeting Tuesday May 12

We will be having a Zoom meeting on Tuesday May 12 at 2 pm in lieu of our usual face to face meeting.

I will contact members of the group by email with details.

Check the titles

Click on the picture to enlarge it,

Reading

What we read in March 2020

Hello everyone

Here is the list of books that we have read recently.
Hopefully you will find some in here to inspire you.
All the best.
Kerrie

Heather

I have obviously read many books whilst confined to home over the past few weeks. They include, amongst others, 

several in the Shetland series by Anne Cleeves;  

Kiss the Girls and make them Cry by Mary Higgins Clarke; 

Chilbury Ladies Choir by Jennifer Ryan – an enjoyable read set in England during the war with a few parallels to our current situation (restrictions on food and travel, etc.); 

The Lying Room by Nicci French;  

The Lace Weaver by Lauren Chater and The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides.

The last three I recommend -   

The Lying Room –A woman in a twenty year routine marriage has a fling but on visiting the lover’s pied- à- terre she finds him murdered.  She wipes down and sanitises everything, however, whilst cleaning she has taken off her bangle and forgets to take it when she leaves. She has a difficult relationship with her teenaged daughter and whilst innocent of the murder, the more she lies the more entangled her life becomes (“What tangled webs we weave …. ….. .. ……. .. …….”).

The Lace Weaver – set in Estonia in the 1940’s amid the horrors of Stalin’s regime and Hitler’s Nazis. A small group of women knit traditional shawls and scarves to intricate patterns handed down for generations. They sell them at local markets for a small amount until that is banned, but some of the women are determined to keep their legacy alive.  This brought back many wonderful childhood memories of much time spent with my grandmother (both she and my mother wee tremendous knitters). When I was young my grandmother used to knit the finest, cobwebby stoles in white or black with silver or gold lurex thread running through them. The yarn was as fine as sewing thread and the knitting needles as thin as sewing needles.  The end product definitely passed the ‘wedding ring test’ as in the book and I only wish that I had one today, but alas she gave them all away.

The Silent Patient –is a shocking psychological thriller of a woman's act of violence against her husband―and of the therapist obsessed with uncovering her motive, with a twist at the end that you would probably not see coming! I won’t spoil it for you! I believe there is also a movie.

Perhaps you could remind readers about the click and collect system at some libraries whilst they are closed.

 [see a post on this blog]

Happy reading and thank heavens for good books to occupy us during these tenuous times. Stay safe and well everyone!

Helene

U3A Reading for Pleasure group read Australian (Adelaide) Hannah Kent’s ‘THE GOOD PEOPLE’, her second. Her first was ‘BURIAL RITES’, which I’ve been lent, but not yet read. 

In two minds how I feel about ‘THE GOOD PEOPLE’; well researched, covers some ‘taboo’ subjects that are so common, need recognition. Set in an older Ireland. 

Grim overall, I thought. 


Cindy
SUNSHINE SISTERS by Jane Green
& THE PEACOCK EMPORIUM by Jojo Moyes.

Jan N

THE HUNTER'S WIFE by Katherine Scholes

SECRETS - Lesley Pearse

THE LIGHT AFTER THE WAR - Anita Abriel

KISS THE GIRLS AND MAKE THEM CRY - Mary Higgins Clark

PARIS FOR ONE - JoJo Moyes (downloaded from Apple Books to my iPad for $1.99. Great very short story for reading between other books)

Barbara W

The Clergyman’s Wife – Molly Greeley.  This is the story of Charlotte Collins nee Lucas who married the vicar of Hunsford.   Charlotte is the cousin of Elizabeth, who marries Mr Darcy (Pride and Prejudice).  Charlotte becomes enamoured with a local farmer who lives in the local Parish.  It’s a lovely story and a very easy read.

Suspect – Robert Crais.  This was an audio book.  A great story which kept me engrossed.  Would have been hard to put down if it had been the book.  It’s the story of an Army dog who’s first handler was killed and she had to be re-trained into the Police Force.  Maggie (the dog) was given to an Officer who was severely injured in a robbery where is partner was killed.  A great story about the dog around solving the robbery.

The Paris Model – Alexandra Joel.  Alexandra Joel is an Australian author who has worked in and around the fashion industry for many years.  This story was inspired by a real story and real event.  Many of the names and events involved with the House of Dior were actual, although the names were changed.  It was a good story and the plot was very good, although the ending was a little bit predictable.  A great. light read.

River Run – Nicole Alexander.  This was an audio book that I read some years ago.  It was equally enjoyable as an audio book.  It’s the story of a family’s very large sheep property in western NSW and the intrigues woven around the family.  A good story.

Journey to Munich – Jacqueline Winspear.  This was another audio book which had a very good story and kept me interested to the end.  It’s the story of a widow who has previously worked for the British Secret Service and is asked to do one last job, rescuing a UK citizen who is being held at Dachau prison by the Gestapo.

The Boundary Fence – Alissa Callen.  This is the story of Ella Quinlivan, a country Vet living in a small town in rural Australia, and her next door neighbour who runs a bison farm.  Each of them have different but tragic stories.  It’s a good story, although a bit predictable, and a n easy read.

Barbara A

THE STRANGER, Kate  Riordan

THE SHADOW HOUR, Kate  Riordan

PAST IMPERFECT, Julian  Fellowes
Please note everyone that Barbara's husband Robert died unexpectedly on Tuesday 7 April.

Suzanne - having a shoulder replacement
ANGELS OF MERCY
intending to read
THE PARIS MODEL
HER MOTHER'S SECRET, Natasha Lester
A KISS FROM MR FITZGERALD, Natasha Lester
THE GERMAN GIRL
THE DAUGHTER'S TALE
WILD ASPARAGUS, WILD STRAWBERRIES

Meredith

Have just finished reading THE WEDDING DRESS MAKER by Leah Fleming

A story of a single mother and her life trying to provide for her son. A easy read as

I can’t seem to concentrate with all that is going  on at the moment.

Spent today moving 2 tons of wood so we can survive the winter.

Kerrie
I've had a good month, mainly because I have been travelling and sitting around in Tampa with nothing to do. Not much apart from crime fiction though. I read most of them as e-books on my Kindle

1. 4.5, DAY OF THE DEAD, Nicci French
2. 4.5, EVEN DOGS IN THE WILD, Ian Rankin
3. 4.7, DEATH IS NOW MY NEIGHBOUR, Colin Dexter - audio book  
4. 4.5, THE TATTOOIST OF AUSCHWITZ, Heather Morris - not crime fiction 
5. 4.5, NINE PERFECT STRANGERS, Liane Moriarty - Australian author 
6. 4.5, MR NOBODY, Catherine Steadman
7. 4.3, CHICKEN FEED, Minette Walters
8. 4.5, THE WIFE AND THE WIDOW, Christian White - Australian  
9. 4.5, THEIR LITTLE SECRET, Mark Billingham
10. 4.6. THE LONG CALL, Ann Cleeves
11. 4.5, GONE BY MIDNIGHT, Candice Fox - Australian 
12. 4.4, THE AU PAIR, Emma Rous  
13. 4.4, A MATTER OF MOTIVE, Margot Kinberg
14. 4.2, DARKNESS FOR LIGHT, Emma Viskic - Australian 
15. 4.8, BLOOD RIVER, Tony Cavanaugh - Australian