What I read in September

My favourite book this month was The Vale Girl by Nelika McDonald - small town prejudice with a twist.

I also enjoyed Colin McLaren's telling of his Grandfather's experience in Gallipoli and the trenches of First World War France

I picked up The Handmaid's Tale in the Salvos book section and it was as chilling as the first time I read it in high school.

Blow on a Dead Man's Embers was a story of a family in a small Welsh village struggling to carry on in spite of wartime betrayals and secrets.

What I read in August

My favourite read this month was...

Frankie and Stankie by Barbara Trapido - coming of age in 1960's South Africa

I also loved...

Thornwood House  Anna Romer - haunting family secrets...

The Railwayman's Wife  Ashley Hay - post-war traumas in a small Australian town

Valentine Grey  Sandi Toksvig - a feisty Victorian girl goes off to fight in the Boer War

The Long Earth and The Long War   Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter - I loved these two really believable tales of parallel Earths - and The Long War was the first book I read on my iPad!

What I read in July...

My favourite read this month was...

A story of neighbourly relationships in Newcastle. (The Australian Newcastle..)

I also read, in no particular order -

The Twelve 
Justin Cronin

(Scary)

Peaches for Monsieur Le Cure 
Joanne Harris

(The sequel to Chocolat and The Lollipop Shoes)

The Last Girls
Lee Smith

(Mississippi reunion)

The Camomile Lawn 
Mary Wesley

(Wartime Cornwall)

The Forgotten World 
Mark O'Flynn

(Coal mining in the Blue Mountains)

What I read in June...

I bought the first two from the library for a dollar! (A dollar for both!)
Both worth a read.

The Nature of Ice by Robyn Mundy

The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs

Five Bells by Gail Jones

I'm discovering a lot of Australian authors, and Gail Jones is my new favourite - I'm now reading Sorry which I'm having trouble putting down.

The Language of Others by Clare Morrall

I love Clare Morrall's novels because they're usually set in Birmingham which takes me back to my uni days - especially this one which is partly set in Selly Oak and Harborne - ah those were the days...

The Midnight Zoo by Sonya Hartnett

I picked up The Midnight Zoo while the boys were in their art class at the library - it's really a children's book but  I loved its depiction of three children taking care of each other and then discovering a zoo full of animals to take care of.

What have you been reading?

Recently...

I got all excited at finding an actual genuine deciduous tree!

It rained...

I became addicted to Smooth FM...

It started to feel like Winter (sort of..)

Our library started giving away free books!

All good stuff :)

Today....

Today I finished our blackboard wall - 

I'm thinking about painting...

And reading this - a must-read for any Salinger fans out there.

Reading this month...

My top recommendations for this month!


A dark tale of guilt and retribution from WA's King of fiction!



True stories of life in East Germany

Sibling rivalry and childhood secrets


From the author of Chocolat, a story of island tension


I loved this for it's detailed descriptions of 1950's New York

Photo a Day - Bedside

My bedside reading pile - 'This is my Digger' is a classic..

What I've read so far this year...

Last January I gave myself a reading list.
It didn't go well...
This year I'm just reading whatever catches my eye - so far.....

Solar by Ian McEwan

I find myself reading an Ian McEwan book, getting a quarter of the way through and thinking why am I reading this depressing book... but then I have to finish it.. (See also Enduring Love and The Innocent - Atonement is also depressing but in a good way..)

A Neville Shute triple bill - The Far Country, On the Beach and A Town like Alice - I love novels about Australia, and these three sum up a certain era of Australian history which I love. 

Wise Children by Angela Carter - I must be getting old because I heard an extract from Susannah Clapp's 'A card from Angela Carter' on Radio 4 (?!) on the way to work and remembered how much I loved 'The Magic Toyshop'.  
I love Wise Children too.


Finally, from the library - Ice Road by Gillian Slovo

I love books about the siege of Leningrad, I read The Siege by Helen Dunmore when I was in hospital having Bill... Cheery I know!


What are you reading at the moment? What's on your Amazon wishlist....