The prefect explanation of book reading and reviewing – I think I paint my reviews with my own delight or lack of. How do you read/review your reads?
Image courtesy of Aerogramme Writers’ Studio
Review: Rudie Nudie Christmas – Emma Quay
Rudie Nudie Christmas
Emma Quay
Harper Collins Publishers
ABC Books
ISBN:9780733338342
RRP $24.99
Description:
A delightful Rudie Nudie celebration of the joy of Christmas from award-winning creator Emma Quay.
Yoo-hoo, Rudie Nudie.
Rudie Nudie, where are you?
It is very nearly Christmas Day
for Rudie one and two.
It’s Christmas Eve and two little rudie nudies are on the run again!
From bestselling author-illustrator Emma Quay comes the perfect book to share this holiday season.
My View:
This is another joy filled book of innocence from award winning writer and illustrator Emma Quay. If you are thinking of buying a child you know a book for Christmas (or even before then – it such a cute read), get yourself a copy of Rudie Nudie Christmas.
“Rudie Nudie up in lights,
Wishing Santa would appear
The sooner we’re asleep,
then the sooner he’ll be here.”
#FridayFreebie : Trust – Chris Hammer
Chris Hammer
Trust
Allen and Unwin
ISBN: 9781760877415
RRP $32.99
Thanks to Allen and Unwin I have one copy of the fantastic read to give away ( Australian residents only) Simply comment with the name of the first book that Chris Hammer had published *hint it was back in 2010 https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/books/fiction/crime-mystery/Trust-Chris-Hammer-9781760877415 winner will be randomly selected on the 30th of October 2020
#FridayFreebie: Howl Kat Patrick and Evie Barrow
Howl
Kat Patrick
Illustrated by Evie Barrow
Scribe UK
ISBN:9781912854905
Description:
When big feelings come, do you ever feel like howling at the moon? Maggie does. Howl is an empowering story of a young girl’s self-expression.
Maggie has had a very bad day.
First of all, the sun was the wrong shape, in a sky that was too blue. The spaghetti was too long, and her pyjamas were the wrong kind of pyjama.
Then Maggie begins to have wolfish thoughts …
***Howl is the perfect book to start discussions about big feelings, days when even the spaghetti is too long 🙂 Days of the full moon when all you want to do is howl (believe me that moon affects me the same way each month, perhaps I am a little bit wolf too) 🙂 Today I have one copy of this fantastic children’s book up for grabs. (Australian residents only)< in the comments list another character you associate with Kat Patrick – he is one of our favourites**
Entries close 23/10/020, a winner will be randomly selected. Good luck.
**Thanks to Scribe Publications for this giveaway.**
Review: Trust – Chris Hammer
Chris Hammer
Trust
Allen and Unwin
ISBN: 9781760877415
RRP $32.99
Description:
He violated her past and haunts her present.
Now he’s threatening their future.
She breathes deeply, trying to quell the rising sense of panic. A detective came to her home, drugged her and kidnapped her. She tries to make sense of it, to imagine alternatives, but only one conclusion is possible: it’s her past come to claim her.
Martin Scarsden’s new life seems perfect, right up until the moment it’s shattered by a voicemail: a single scream, abruptly cut off, from his partner Mandaly Blonde.
Racing home, he finds an unconscious man sprawled on the floor and Mandy gone. Someone has abducted her. But who, and why?
So starts a twisting tale of intrigue and danger, as Martin probes the past of the woman he loves, a woman who has buried her former life so deep she has never mentioned it.
And for the first time, Mandy finds denial impossible, now the body of a mystery man has been discovered, a man whose name she doesn’t know, a man she was engaged to marry when he died. It’s time to face her demons once and for all; it’s time she learned how to trust.
Set in a Sydney riven with corruption and nepotism, privilege and power, Trust is the third riveting novel from award-winning and internationally acclaimed writer Chris Hammer.
My View:
This is an exceptional read from Chris Hammer – in fact I think it is the best in the series. The words that springs to mind is “smooth, like a fine whiskey” does that sound corny? It’s what popped into my head after I finished reading this one – how this writer’s style has really grown, matured, developed, progressed…it has a complexity that engages and carries the read along for this exciting ride. The writing appears effortless, smooth, intense.
This is a fantastic end (?) to the original premise – we now have fully developed back stories and characters, mysteries, suspense, some sadness and a very satisfying resolution. What more could you want except another drop? Hope there is another in the pipe line Chris Hammer.
Review: The Perfect World of Miwako Sumida – Clarissa Goenawan
The Perfect World of Miwako Sumida
Clarissa Goenawan
Scribe Publications
ISBN: 9781922310286
Description:
A bewitching novel set in contemporary Japan about the mysterious suicide of a young woman.
Miwako Sumida is dead.
Now those closest to her try to piece together the fragments of her life. Ryusei, who has always loved her, follows Miwako’s trail to a remote Japanese village. Chie, Miwako’s best friend, was the only person to know her true identity — but is now the time to reveal it? Meanwhile, Fumi, Ryusei’s sister, is harbouring her own haunting secret.
Together, they realise that the young woman they thought they knew had more going on behind her seemingly perfect façade than they could ever have dreamed.
FROM THE AUTHOR
Hi, I’m Clarissa.
Thank you for picking up The Perfect World of Miwako Sumida.
I’m fascinated with the idea that often, we thought that we know a person really well, but actually, we don’t. How far would you go to uncover the truth? And what if the truth is more painful than the lies?
Those questions eventually led me to write The Perfect World of Miwako Sumida. It’s a story of how a young woman’s unexplained suicide shapes and transforms the lives of those she left behind. I usually describe the book as a literary mystery with elements of magical realism set in Japan, and a coming-of-age story masquerading as a murder mystery. The Perfect World of Miwako Sumida is my second novel. The book has been five years in the making and I couldn’t be more proud. Just like my debut novel, Rainbirds, this book features a collection of my favourite things. You’ll find a second-hand bookstore with no signage, beloved classic books, a whimsical cat that resembles maneki-neko, delicious Japanese comfort food, convenience stores, melancholic rainy days, and amidst them, small, everyday moments that dazzle me. In a way, I’m turning them into words with the hope of capturing these precious memories forever.
I hope you’ll enjoy reading The Perfect World of Miwako Sumida, as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it. And if you do, I’d be grateful if you could share it with others.
Warm regards,
Clarissa Goenawan.
My View:
A compelling read.
At the heart this is book about secrets and friendships. There is something about an unexpected death that leaves those in the circle of friends and relations seeking to understand, seeking answers, seeking clues as to the “why?”. Goenawan tackles this subject delicately and quietly – I like the voice in this narrative. It is a sad story yet not morose. The back story is one …well that’s another secret and I won’t reveal that😊 But I will say it is very contemporary social issue that is sensitively illuminated and discussed.
To me this is a book in two parts. The before the trip the friends take to the village and the after. The “after” is a little mystical, or perhaps spiritual…depending on your outlook. Traditions and culture form the strength of the second part of the narrative and help resolve some areas of the story arc.
There is something about the quiet voice in this narrative that is so powerful and compelling. I did enjoy this read and hope you will too.
#FridayFreebie : Max – Alex Miller
Max
Alex Miller
Allen & UNwin
ISBN: 9781760878160
RRP $29.99
Description:
An astonishing, moving tribute to Alex’s friend, Max Blatt, that is at once a meditation on memory itself, on friendship and a reminder to the reader that history belongs to humanity.
‘Max tells of Alex Miller’s search — in turns fearful and elated — for the elusive past of Max Blatt, a man he loves, who loved him and who taught him that he must write with love. Miller discovers that he is also searching for a defining part of himself, formed by his relation to Max Blatt, but whose significance will remain obscure until he finds Max, complete, in his history. With Max, Miller the novelist has written a wonderful work of non-fiction, as fine as the best of his novels. Always a truth-seeker, he has rendered himself vulnerable, unprotected by the liberties permitted to fiction. Max is perhaps his most moving book, a poignant expression of piety, true to his mentor’s injunction to write with love.’ Raimond Gaita, award-winning author of Romulus, My Father
I began to see that whatever I might write about Max, discover about him, piece together with those old shards of memory, it would be his influence on the friendships of the living that would frame his story in the present.
According to your 1939 Gestapo file, you adopted the cover names Landau and Maxim. The name your mother and father gave you was Moses. We knew you as Max. You had worked in secret. From an early age you concealed yourself – like the grey box beetle in the final country of your exile, maturing on its journey out of sight beneath the bark of the tree.
You risked death every day. And when at last the struggle became hopeless, you escaped the hell and found a haven in China first, and then Australia, where you became one of those refugees who, in their final place of exile, chose not death but silence and obscurity.
Alex Miller followed the faint trail of Max Blatt’s early life for five years. Max’s story unfolded, slowly at first, from the Melbourne Holocaust Centre’s records then to Berlin’s Federal Archives. From Berlin, Miller travelled to Max’s old home town of Wroclaw in Poland. And finally in Israel with Max’s niece, Liat Shoham, and her brother Yossi Blatt, at Liat’s home in the moshav Shadmot Dvora in the Lower Galilee, the circle of friendship was closed and the mystery of Max’s legendary silence was unmasked.
Max is an astonishing and moving tribute to friendship, a meditation on memory itself, and a reminder to the reader that history belongs to humanity.
** Today I have 3 copies of this moving tribute to friendship. If you would like a chance to read this book by the remarkable Alex Miller simple comment with a title of one of Alex Miler’s previous book. Australians residents only. I will randomly select winners on 10/10/020 https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/books/other-books/Max-Alex-Miller-9781760878160
Scribblers Festival – School Holiday Fun
Grab your FREE Scribblers Festival Fuelling Creativity Workbook brimming with inspiration and tips on how a healthy body can support your most creative mind! Hear from a lineup of creative stars that take you behind the scenes of their creative process in the corresponding Fuelling Creativity Video Series and get a free Reader’s Card which earns your family 10% at local book stores. Order your Workbook, check out the Videos, and learn how to win exciting prizes over at https://www.scribblersfestival.com.au/!
This is perfect holiday inspiration for the kids- we love the Lego challenge in our house 🙂 and there are great video’s by LEGO Masters Series 2 Winners – Jackson & Alex! on the website. Thanks Scribblers festival 2020.
@scribblersfest @healthwaywa
Review: Either Side of Midnight – Benjamin Stevenson
Either Side of Midnight
Benjamin Stevenson
Penguin Random House
ISBN: 9780143795643
RRP$32.99
Description:
An electrifying thriller with a mind-bending premise: One million viewers witness a popular TV presenter commit suicide live on air – yet his twin brother is convinced it was murder.
How can it be murder when the victim pulled the trigger?
At 9.01 pm, TV presenter Sam Midford delivers the monologue for his popular current affairs show Mr Midnight. He seems nervous and the crew are convinced he’s about to propose to his girlfriend live on air.
Instead, he pulls out a gun and shoots himself in the head.
Sam’s grief-stricken brother Harry is convinced his brother was murdered. But how can that be, when one million viewers witnessed Sam pull the trigger?
Only Jack Quick, a disgraced television producer in the last days of a prison sentence, is desperate enough to take Harry’s money to investigate.
But as Jack starts digging, he finds a mystery more complex than he first assumed. And if he’s not careful, he’ll find out first-hand that there’s more than one way to kill someone . . .
My View:
Brilliant!
Once more I am delighted by the back story – of the film making/tv making process – its so accurate 😊 But there is more to this read that the matter of how tv shows are made; there is a lot of depth to this narrative and the characters and surprising reveals that you will not so coming.
Bulimia takes a leading role in this edition; it was discussed in Greenlight but did not have a starring role as it does here. We really feel the daily struggles, the effect on daily life and on those around the afflicted. Its very eye opening.
This was a fast paced, compelling read. The characters, good and bad are really fleshed out – I particularly liked how all had some redeeming feature, something that showed their humanity, no black and whites here, lots of shades of grey, just like life. One paragraph really stood out for me, it is where a character gives some advice to Jack about dealing with loss, with grief and making peace …it really spoke to me. (no spoilers here).
There is a shout out to social media responsibility/laws etc that flows like a current underneath the main storyline. This too I thought was very enlightening and sad; how easily lives can be influenced and destroyed.
The overall message that I took from this – you don’t always know what is happening with someone from the surface, from the “face” they show to the world. Ask that question – “Are you Ok?”
This is a great crime fiction read, it has so much depth. I look forward to the next book by this author.
Review: Grumbelina – Esther Krogdahl and Aleksandra Szmidt (illustrator)
Grumbelina
Esther Krogdahl
Aleksandra Szmidt (illustrator)
Hachette Children’s’ Books
ISBN: 9781869714291
RRP $16.99
Description:
Hazel Spratt was an agreeable child. Never impatient, unruly or wild. But when Hazel turns three-and-a-half, her parents notice a change. She is no longer their polite and pleasant daughter, Hazel, she is now Grumbelina, ‘a grumpy child, so disgruntled yet small, with a list of complaints that could cover a wall.’ Settle down and relax for a moment, this humorous and delightfully illustrated picture book takes a tongue-in-cheek look at tantrums – perfect for every home.
My View:
Grumbelina is a book that anyone who cares for young children, actually let’s reframe that – anyone who cares for any child/toddler, pre-schooler/teen will relate to this book😊
This book is a tongue in cheek look at the multiple personalities that make a complete child; happy, sad, engaging, enchanting… grumbly. Those incredulous moments – when the peas touched the carrots on the plate, the cup was the wrong colour, you didn’t mind read the situation correctly, you should have known…you know the list 😊
Delightfully illustrated, a humorous exploration of childhood, this book is sure to put a smile on your and your toddlers face.
Thai Sweet Potato Soup with Roasted Cashews: Easy Gluten Free – Helen Tzouganatos
Easy Gluten Free by Helen Tzouganatos
Published by Plum
RRP $39.99,
Photography by Jeremy Simons
SERVES 4–6 DF, GF, VG
“Sweet potato is beautiful in soups because it has a thick, creamy texture when pureed and carries other
flavours well, particularly spices that balance its natural sweetness. If you love extra heat feel free to
increase the quantity of curry paste in this recipe; I keep mine fairly mild so it’s family friendly.” p 91
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon finely grated ginger
2 garlic cloves, finely grated
2 tablespoons gluten-free Thai red curry paste
1 kg sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into
3 cm cubes
1 tablespoon gluten-free tamari or coconut aminos
750 ml (3 cups) gluten-free vegetable stock
125 ml (1/2 cup) coconut milk
juice of 1 lime
sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper
handful of chopped roasted cashews,
to serve
handful of coriander leaves, to serve
Melt the coconut oil in a large saucepan over medium heat, add the onion and sauté for 5 minutes or until softened. Add the ginger, garlic and curry paste and sauté for another 2 minutes.
Add the sweet potato, tamari or coconut aminos and stock. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes or until the potato has softened. Take the soup off the heat and stir in the coconut milk and lime juice.
Blitz with a hand-held blender or in a food processor until smooth and creamy.
Adjust the seasoning to taste. Ladle the soup into bowls and top with cashews and coriander.
NOTE
• Sweet potatoes are a great source of fibre, vitamins and beta-carotene,
a powerful antioxidant that gives orange fruits and vegetables their colour.
