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Friday, October 9, 2009

The Italian matchmaker by Santa Montefiore

Incantellaria... images of warmth, magic and mystery. The latest Montefiore novel set on the southern Italian coast novel ticks all the boxes for a romance; a restored palazza with a dark secret, unrequited love, sunshine and water, flower scents on evening breezes, food and wine, ghostly visions and of course a disillusioned millionaire and a heartbroken mother. Primarily though, it is a story of friendship, family and acceptance.
If you haven't read any Santa Montefiore novels, start now. Check the library catalogue and request some. If you are waiting for this one, you will enjoy it as much as as her previous stories.
Helen

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Libary renovations

As you will all be aware we are about to embark on renovations at Bowral Library. Our library is now 10 years old and it's time for an update. We will be closed from the 1st of July and will re-open on Friday the 10th July. During this time requests for items from Bowral Library made online via the library website between Monday 29th July and Friday 10th July cannot be processed. Please do not place any requests during this time. Moss Vale and Mittagong Libraries will be open for business as usual.
We look forward to seeing again after the 10th.
Helen

Friday, June 12, 2009

Listen by Kate Veitch

“Daphne. That smell is the loveliest thing … and if you’ve got a good bush growing, you never want to shift it, you know that don’t you darl?”
“Yeah, I’ve heard that “ Olivia said. “Daphne doesn’t like to be moved”.
“Too right,” Alex said. “I made that mistake once, you know. I made that mistake with a young lady. I moved her and I thought she was in the right spot, I thought she was happy, but no. She just couldn’t adjust to the new place. Roots just didn’t take.”
That’s the only time Alex spoke of his former wife, Rosemarie, the mother of his four children, who did the unspeakable and left them all… on Christmas Eve in 1967. Forty years later the children, all coping with her disappearance in different ways, are adults when they find out she is still alive.
Set in Australia, this novel explores families and their secrets, life’s challenges and the undeniable love that holds everything together.
I laughed, I cried, and being a child of this era, I understood. This is a great read.
Helen

Inkheart series by Cornelia Funke

Being a fantasy enthusiast, I saw this series, consisting of Inkheart, Inkspell and Inkdeath, and became impelled to delve into the lives of Meggie and her father Mo who have the extraordinary gift of being able to read characters and/or objects out of books, which is a gift some of us would love to have. But, it comes with a price, what comes out must go in. Unfortunately, this is what happened to Meggie’s mother, Resa, when Mo read Inkheart to her. She went into the story while the cruel and heartless villain, Capricorn, and the soft hearted fire-eater, Dustfinger, came out.
The series follows Meggie and Mo’s search to rescue Resa and their adventures in and out of the book. Along the way, they have the aide and support of The Black Prince, Farid (a character read from ‘One Thousand and One Nights), Fenoglio (author of Inkheart), Doria, Roxanne, Great-aunt Elinor and many more exciting characters within the Strolling Players. But, with every friend and ally, there are an equal number of unscrupulous and evil characters, such as Milksop, Adderhead, Orpheus, Mortola, The Piper, and Sootbird.
I thoroughly enjoyed these series of books. They captivated me with their story of mystery, fantasy and adventure, and found it hard to put them down. Although, I did find the final book of the series was quite drawn out as I was eager to find out the fate of the characters, but was pleasantly surprised by the end.
Amy

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

All together now by Monica McInerney

This is a collection of eight fictional short stories written by Monica McInerney. The titles of the stories are:
Hippy Hippy Shake
Spellbound
Just Desserts
Sweet Charity
The Long Way Home
The Role Model
Wedding Fever
Odd One Out
It is a very easy book to read and I would recommend it to Monica McInerney fans, although sometimes I felt a bit disappointed that the stories had ended so soon. The shortest of the stories is only four pages long and the longest story, Odd One Out, is 139 pages long. A good read if you don’t want to think too much before going to bed.
Cathy.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

The forgotten garden by Kate Morton. Allen & Unwin 2008

On the eve of the first world war, a little girl is found abandoned on a ship to Australia. A mysterious woman called the Authoress had promised to look after her but has disappeared. A kindly family adopt “Nell” and it is not until her twenty-first birthday that she learns the circumstances of her arrival in Australia. Decades later Nell embarks upon a search for the truth which leads her to Cornwell. On her death Nell’s granddaughter continues the search which will finally uncover the truth about the family and solve the mystery of the little girl lost.
Spanning several generations the author Kate Morton skillfully interweaves the different periods in which the novel is set.
The forgotten garden is an historical saga with mystery, passion and tragedy.
SC

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

My sister's keeper by Jodi Picoult

This book is about a young girl who was brought into this world for the purpose to help save the life of her terminally ill sister. This book raises many issues and certainly makes you think. It has everything a great book should have, drama, humour, despair, hope and tragedy. This book keeps you interested throughout and has a number of twists and turns.
Kim

Monday, March 23, 2009

The horse in Australia by Fiona Carruthers

This absolutely wonderful, informative book starts when the First Fleet arrived in 1788 with a collection of pony-sized horses and ends with the disastrous impact of Equine Influenza in late 2007. It covers such things as horse racing and turf legends, brumbies, Light Horse Brigade, Pony Clubs, bush polo, campdrafting, the evolution of the iconic Australian Stock Horse and even touches on Buz Luhrmanns film “Australia”.
As a matter of local interest – this brilliant book also mentions Bong Bong Races, Burradoo Polocrosse Club and of course, the legendary Throsby Family.
Every significant horsey name is covered, from John and Elizabeth Macarthur to Violet and William Murrell, the Roycroft family, Marjory and Edward Hirst, Banjo Paterson, General Sir Harry Chauvel, Bart Cummings, Gai Waterhouse, John Singleton, Brian Hancock, RM Williams, Kerry packer – just to name a few.
Every significant favourite horse from Phar Lap, Makybe Diva, Garryowen, Picasso, Our Solo, Peppermint Grove is covered as well.
Whether you have that “addiction” to horses and horse riding, or just have a quiet interest in the history and want to know more, then this book is for you. Included in this comprehensive coverage is trivia, websites, facts and statistics, which makes this a great read or just a beautiful book to have on the coffee table to pick up whenever you want to be transported into another world – that is, the world of “The Horse in Australia”.
Tracie

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Lucky for me by Frank Robson

At the tender age of 18 months a 5 kg little pocket rocket terrier who was to be named Lucky was abandoned at a Queensland vet clinic. He was suffering badly from tick paralysis and pneumonia. After lots of TLC and veterinary care he managed to pull through. Unable to be found a home he was to be put down within the week. Fortunately, into his life came a couple called Frank and Leisa who adopted him. From then on life would be one big adventure for the 3 of them. Frank and Leisa were both journalists, whose great passion in life was sailing. So Lucky learned to be a part time land lubber and a seadog in the literal sense. He also learned very quickly how to rule the roost and show that even if you don’t have a voice 12 distinctive snorts can still make your feelings very known to whomever you should meet – human, dog, puffer fish, parrot or cat.
The book is really funny and has lots of great stories about what it’s like to love a dog, and what sort of joy a dog can bring to your life. It also shows that sometimes being allowed to be an individual and a free spirit can make life a lot more fun, if you’re a dog or a human.
This was a great read full of laughs. Even if you’re not a dog person you can still appreciate the funny side of life which is talked about quite a lot in this book.
Chris

Monday, February 2, 2009

Dear Fatty by Dawn French

This autobiography by Dawn French is written in the form of a series of letters. The letters are mostly written to her family and friends. Many are addressed to her Dad, who died when she was 19, her Mum, her Brother, her Husband and Daughter, her B.F (Best Friend) and to Dear Fatty, who I think is Jennifer Saunders.
I say I think Dear Fatty is Jennifer Saunders because throughout the book I was confused a number of times as to whether Saunders was the B.F or Dear Fatty. At the end of the book Dawn French thanks a number of people, she includes the B.F but not Jennifer Saunders, who has been such a huge and substantial part of her life.
Anyway, I think true Dawn French fans will like this book, I had some laugh out loud moments, some teary moments and it provided a lot of insightful information about Dawn French that I did not know. I also found some of the book a bit silly, such as her letters to Madonna. All in all I can recommend it is a good read if you’re looking for something a bit different.
Cathy.

Friday, January 30, 2009

Misconceptions by Sophie Townsend

This is a story of two women Ruth and Mim who have been best friends since they were twelve years old. Mim lives with Ruth and her husband Simon at their home in Glebe. They have been through a lot together over the course of their twenty year friendship including the tragic death of Ruth’s mother.
Ruth and Simon have been trying for a baby for the two years that Mim has lived with them and when Ruth finally conceives, they ask Mim to move out. This causes Mim to feel unwanted and abandoned, and she moves in with the teenage brother of a work colleague out of feelings of desperation and loneliness. When things go wrong at Mim’s work she decides to relocate to Broken Hill where her mother grew up.
This story deals with the issues of loss and grief and how relationships can inevitably be saved or be broken beyond repair.

Cathy.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer

I first encountered this series when the movie was released and other library staff members had began to read the books. After hearing their praise for them, I became quite intrigued by the story.
The series consists of four books, Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn. It follows the story of Isabella Swan and her encounters with the mythical creatures – vampires and werewolves. She does the unthinkable and falls in love with a vampire and becomes the best friend of a werewolf which causes much upset between the worlds of the mortal and immortal. Her love for Edward is tested many times throughout the series and it must endure many trials and tribulation. Her friendship for Jacob also causes many problems between the eternal enemies. Can they all live harmoniously, or must she choose between her soul mate and best friend? Deeply romantic and extraordinarily suspenseful, Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn capture the struggle between defying our instincts and satisfying our desires.
What can I say about this series? It was unbelievably thrilling and captivating! It’s been awhile since I’ve picked up a book that I couldn’t put down let alone an entire series! I surprised myself by completing the entire collection in just 4 nights. They were all passionate, exciting, unpredictable, enticing, seductive and heartrending. Stephenie Meyer should be applauded for brilliant writing. The way in which the characters and events are described draws you into their remarkable world. I would highly recommend these books to people who like a beautiful romance, a bit of suspense, a little mystery and the chance to escape into another world.
Amy

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