Fairly entertaining and a good premise. This is book 1 in the series so I will go on to book 2 to see if it improves. I liked the mystery itself, but Fairly entertaining and a good premise. This is book 1 in the series so I will go on to book 2 to see if it improves. I liked the mystery itself, but found myself getting frustrated with the repetition of plot points, and the main character (who is supposed to be intelligent and is praised even by the criminal for being a good detective) being really fucking slow putting things together. The twists were ok but telegraphed far too early. ...more
The story of the Great Flood of Gundagai in 1852 told from the perspective of Aboriginal Wiradyuri girl Wagadhaany. This story paints a picture of herThe story of the Great Flood of Gundagai in 1852 told from the perspective of Aboriginal Wiradyuri girl Wagadhaany. This story paints a picture of her life before white people came and how her family attempted to warn the settlers that they shouldn't build houses on a flood plain. Sure enough a few years on and the white people have not listened, the town has expanded, and the rains come bringing the river up to the level of their roofs and trapping people. The townspeople were rescued by Yarri and Jacky Jacky, Wiradyuri men who risked their lives to ferry people onto higher ground.
This would be a brilliant book for classrooms as it is a wonderfully told story that features heroic indigenous people who acted with intelligence, knowledge and courage. The author is a Wiradyuri woman who wants to tell her peoples' story and I think she has chosen a great place to start with this slice of history. Too often in Australian literature Indigenous people are ignored, belittled, dis-empowered or treated as a curiosity. Finding children's literature that is written from an indigenous perspective, featuring real, historic figures, who are agents in their own story (not just tragic figures) is difficult. This story is great to see. There is a bibliography in the back to help understand the Wiradyuri words used in the text. (I would have also like a pronunciation guide on the words too, not being Indigenous, I want to be sure I am saying things correctly if I was to read this out loud).
Merged review:
The story of the Great Flood of Gundagai in 1852 told from the perspective of Aboriginal Wiradyuri girl Wagadhaany. This story paints a picture of her life before white people came and how her family attempted to warn the settlers that they shouldn't build houses on a flood plain. Sure enough a few years on and the white people have not listened, the town has expanded, and the rains come bringing the river up to the level of their roofs and trapping people. The townspeople were rescued by Yarri and Jacky Jacky, Wiradyuri men who risked their lives to ferry people onto higher ground.
This would be a brilliant book for classrooms as it is a wonderfully told story that features heroic indigenous people who acted with intelligence, knowledge and courage. The author is a Wiradyuri woman who wants to tell her peoples' story and I think she has chosen a great place to start with this slice of history. Too often in Australian literature Indigenous people are ignored, belittled, dis-empowered or treated as a curiosity. Finding children's literature that is written from an indigenous perspective, featuring real, historic figures, who are agents in their own story (not just tragic figures) is difficult. This story is great to see. There is a bibliography in the back to help understand the Wiradyuri words used in the text. (I would have also like a pronunciation guide on the words too, not being Indigenous, I want to be sure I am saying things correctly if I was to read this out loud)....more
It is 1889 and the political powers in Europe are stirring up talk of war but for Sherlock Holmes and his trusty companion Dr Watson of greater concerIt is 1889 and the political powers in Europe are stirring up talk of war but for Sherlock Holmes and his trusty companion Dr Watson of greater concern is the mysterious case brought to them by up-and-coming actor George Reynolds. George has a very queer situation indeed as he seems to have been hired to perform every night in front of the same audience who are all pretending to be different people. As Watson and Holmes get involved they discover a far greater conspiracy is at foot - nothing less than an attempt to replace Queen Victoria! But as they uncover part of this complex plot, Holmes and Watson are forced into the company Professor Moriarty and his second in command, Moran. It is only the co-operation of these two rivals that might be able to avert the coming war.
Told in turns by Watson and Moran, Gareth Rubin has captured the sound and feel of Arthur Conan Doyle with Holmes and Moriarty. With strange beginnings, strange people, and strange creatures Rubin manages to create an atmospheric who-dun-it with surprising but very Sherlockian twists. ...more
World war two intrigue and deceptions, political machinations and science come together in Wizards of Oz! Mark Oliphant and Howard Florey both grew upWorld war two intrigue and deceptions, political machinations and science come together in Wizards of Oz! Mark Oliphant and Howard Florey both grew up in Adelaide, attended university there, and each took scholarships that would take them to the heart of the academic world in Britain in the 1920's. Each man was a brilliant researcher at a time when incredible discoveries where being made in their respective fields. Oliphant pushed the boundaries of physics at a time when our modern ideas were beginning to emerge. Florey came to medical research to take part in the explosion of knowledge that would bring us numerous vaccines and antibiotics. Both men stood out for their knowledge but also for their ability to organise people and secure funding for the research they believed to be vital - skills that would change the course of the war and the world as we know it.
As Britain realised it would be standing alone against the onslaught of the German blitzkrieg the government took control of every aspect of civilian life and that included the work of its scientists. Every part of the nation was geared toward winning the war and personal projects were put aside for any potential weapon or defensive measure that could be created. For Mark Oliphant running his own department at a British university this mean putting his team onto the vital task of creating a radar system, initially for the country and then to miniaturise it so it could be fitted into fighter planes. Essentially to do the impossible as no-one considered it feasible to create the power needed at the size requested. Along the way Oliphant realised the dangers that the potential of nuclear weapons represented and began to push the British and American governments to be the first to create one - a task eventually picked up by the Manhattan project.
Florey had an equally impossible task. To isolate and produce at quantity the antibiotic first identified by Alexander Fleming: Penicillin. Fleming had realised its qualities but halted research when he realised how temperamental and expensive commercial quantities would be to produce. Florey and his team set to work. If they could work out how to extract, purify and produce penicillin on a commercial scale the lives of the hundreds of thousands of soldiers who usually died from infections in a war would be saved. For each of the men this would mean years of dedicated work that would take them across the Atlantic to the manufacturing behemoth of the United States and back. Today the names Fleming and Oppenheimer are most associated with these discoveries but without these two Australians these discoveries might never have occurred, and without radar the war would have been lost.
My issues with this book are not about the subject matter but about the structure and stylistic choices made by the author. The narrative is chronologically linear but swaps back and forth, sometimes multiple times, between Florey and Oliphant which for the first third of the book cause no little bit of confusion. ...more
Perfect for kinder or early primary classrooms This Old Thing shows the story of a child looking through their family's mementos of a grandfather's waPerfect for kinder or early primary classrooms This Old Thing shows the story of a child looking through their family's mementos of a grandfather's war kit - hat mug, photograph and more all tell a story of a long ago war. Some things tell a clear story and some are confusing but all represent the past. The author, Cassandra Webb, was inspired by a visit to the Australian War Memorial in Canberra and the simple text will encourage readers to think and discuss the significance of different objects and why they might hold stories. Tony Flowers has done a wonderful job of illustrating a difficult subject in a way that is both intriguing and suitable for little readers....more
First published in 2014, this edition comes with a CD of Paul McDermott singing this Australian classic song. The song written by Jack O'Hagan in 1922First published in 2014, this edition comes with a CD of Paul McDermott singing this Australian classic song. The song written by Jack O'Hagan in 1922 inspired Andrew McLean to write about the young men (including his own father) who went away to the first world war. Many didn't come back, and many of those who did were injured, often permanently. This picture storybook is an excellent classroom resource for primary teachers to open up discussion on WWI and the artwork evokes clear images of the past....more
I enjoy these books but they are just not that memorable and I probably wouldn't read / listen to them if they were not in my library. But they are fuI enjoy these books but they are just not that memorable and I probably wouldn't read / listen to them if they were not in my library. But they are fun and silly and escapist and that was what I was in the mood for - but I realised I had only the vaguest memory of the first 2 books in the series....more
Fun and funny historical romance in the wilds of 1880's Montana. Junebug McBride is sick of being the only girl in a family of annoying and bossy big Fun and funny historical romance in the wilds of 1880's Montana. Junebug McBride is sick of being the only girl in a family of annoying and bossy big brothers when she learns about a newspaper dedicated to Matrimonial matters she decides that it is the perfect way to get one of her brothers a wife. With honestly only little sisters can have her advertisement attracts the attention of fortune hunter Willabelle Lascalles who arrives in town with her maid Maddy Mooney in tow. Maddy has only followed Willabelle this far because she has been promised that back wages owed will be paid by Willabelle's new husband-to-be. A few misunderstandings later and Willabelle has found herself a better prospect - abandoning Maddy with some dirty dresses, a dog, and absolutely no money. Maddy feels she has no choice but to approach Willabelle's mail order husband to explain what happened and beg for enough money to get back to civilisation. An accident, a snowstorm and Junebug are all determined that one of her brothers is getting a wife and Maddy is going to stay!
I really enjoyed the language in this book, Junebug and her brothers seem to be the most literate frontier family in the west! This book has classic rom-com vibes and lots of romance without any spicy scenes. Fun characters and a good story will leave you wanting to know more and I will be reading the next book as soon as it comes out!...more
WTF have I just read?? This is a fever dream in which the author gushes of her crush and her crush's family in a satirical, overwrought "biography" ofWTF have I just read?? This is a fever dream in which the author gushes of her crush and her crush's family in a satirical, overwrought "biography" of the fictional protagonist "Orlando". This is a commentary on class and gender but I feel that time and space have caused something to be lost in translation between the contemporary audience and the original audience. For me this "classic" was so damn boring and the satirical commentary which were probably cutting and extremely witty in the 1920's are things we are still fighting for in the 2020s and it was not funny then and it is less funny now. Even historical elements / facts which would usually interest me in historical fiction are so exaggerated as to be inaccurate and therefore (in my mind) pointless information. If I wasn't leading a book club discussion on it this would be a DNF, as it was there was a lot of skim reading from chapter 4 to chapter 6. This one is going to go on the hate list right alongside Wuthering Heights....more
Actually listened to the audio edition of this one through my library. The quality of the production was good but 2 of the stories were repeated: GreeActually listened to the audio edition of this one through my library. The quality of the production was good but 2 of the stories were repeated: Greenshaw's Folly and Miss Marple tells a story both appeared twice which was extremely confusing. At first I thought I had somehow managed to skip backwards while not actually touching anything. Other than that, production values were high and I enjoyed the variety of narrators. All of Christie's best known characters make an appearance: Poirot, Marple and Tommy & Tuppence along with a few small stand alone stories. I think The Soul of a Croupier was my favourite out of all of them....more
On a bit of a Christie kick again and I borrowed this one from the library on audio. great production and narration and bonus of these short stories wOn a bit of a Christie kick again and I borrowed this one from the library on audio. great production and narration and bonus of these short stories were all new to me. Miss Marple often only takes a small role in these and in some she doesn't appear at all (The Dressmaker's Doll for one). Some are quite short, others are much longer, all are entertaining. ...more
The fifth book written by Sophie Hannah featuring Agatha Christie's most famous detective. It’s 19 December 1931. Hercule Poirot and his investigationThe fifth book written by Sophie Hannah featuring Agatha Christie's most famous detective. It’s 19 December 1931. Hercule Poirot and his investigation partner / best friend / infatuated sycophant Inspector Edward Catchpool are planning a Christmas party in Poirot's London flat until disturbed by none other than Catchpool's mum. She has an extraordinary mystery for them to solve and potentially a life for them to save. All they have to do is come to an ill-fated manner house to spend Christmas with a family at war with each other. How could they resist?
And so Poirot and Catchpool find themselves preparing for a very different Christmas. Can Poirot exercise if "little grey cells" fast enough to catch a killer? And above all, can they get this mystery squared away in time to prevent Catchpool having to spend Christmas with his well-intentioned but extremely overbearing mum?
Sophie Hannah captures Christie's style beautifully. I feel she has hit her stride now with the tone of these books (the first few were a little uneven as to the characteristics of Poirot). Hercule Poirot is as smug and frustrating as ever. Catchpool, in spite of being a police Inspector is pretty stupid, but that is okay because every police officer in a Christie novel has to be somewhat stupid in order to allow the main character to shine. He is Poirot's Watson, a figure to bounce ideas of and add exposition not a creature of original thought (I guess we will never know how he got to the rank of Inspector but it does not bode well for the intellect of the rest of Scotland Yard)....more
So firstly I should say I read this one the long and complicated way - skipping my way between chapters. I also needed a dictionary and google translaSo firstly I should say I read this one the long and complicated way - skipping my way between chapters. I also needed a dictionary and google translate right by my side pretty much the entire novel. I don't think I have ever read an Argentinian writer before and this one was a recommend a friend for the beautiful and complex writing and the language play.
I won't lie and say this book wowed me - there were times when I just wanted to get through a chapter. The author's tendency to make words up, along with their love of complex words and plenty of (now outdated) 1950-60's cultural references made this occasionally a frustrating read as there were times I would try to look up a word that was definitely not in any dictionary - English, French or Spanish. ...more
Sydney in 1965 and while the rest of the world is experiencing flower-children, sexual revolution and miniskirts, the gentlemen and ladies in charge oSydney in 1965 and while the rest of the world is experiencing flower-children, sexual revolution and miniskirts, the gentlemen and ladies in charge of fashion at Empire clothing are not interested in anything so salacious. For Hazel, the tea lady at Empire, this week starts out like any other. She takes pride in her job, keeps a neat kitchen, remembers how every person takes their tea and which biscuits they like and like all good tea ladies she is the absolute soul of discretion. She lunches with the other tea ladies whose fashion warehouses back onto Zigzag Lane in Sydney's garment district. When she glimpses a young woman in what should be an empty building it is certainly strange but she doesn't worry too much, beyond making a police report in case of vandalism. Happily heading off for the weekend Hazel is excited her travelling salesman husband is home, and blissfully unaware that her life is a bout to get a lot more exciting!
A phone call from one of the other tea ladies has Hazel racing back to Zigzag Lane in the small hours: The empty warehouse is on fire! Concerned Hazel takes a look at her own employer's building and discovers the doors unlocked. Checking inside in case someone is trapped or confused by the smoke she discovers Empire's new, and not very competent, bookkeeper dead in his office and it is very clearly not natural causes. Hazel realises that the police are not looking too hard for the culprit, nor taking her concerns for the woman she saw in the burned-down building seriously. She recruits her tea-lady friends and starts doing what tea-ladies to best: Discretely gathering information, not realising that she is about to run head-on into corrupt cops, organised crime in King's cross and a very personal mystery close to home!
I really got into the story. I loved the historical details and Hazel's motley bunch of tea-lady friends. The action ramps up as the story progresses and I hope that Amanda Hampson has a few more adventures for the ladies in the future. This one is good for lovers of cosy crime like Richard Osman's Thursday Murder Club, Agatha Christie or Alexander McCall Smith's Number 1 Ladies Detective Agency. ...more
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