Month: May 2023

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Review: Etta and the Octopus – Zana Fraillon & Andrew Joyner

Etta and the Octopus

Zana Fraillon

Andrew Joyner – Illustrator

Hachette Aus

Lothain Chidren’s Books

ISBN:9780734421685

RRP $14.99

Description:

A hilarious, fully illustrated tale about an unlikely friendship between a girl and an octopus that is perfect for newly independent readers, from one of Australia’s most respected writers for children and an award-winning illustrator.

FOUND!

One octopus!

Likes to eat tuna sandwiches.

Goes by the name of ‘Oswald’.

It all began when Etta decided to take a bath . . . And realised she wasn’t alone. In the bath sat Oswald. Etta had never had an octopus in her bath before.

At first, Etta thinks it might be fun to have Oswald around. But she soon learns that octopuses are not very good at being tidy . . . or cooking . . . or sharing . . . or even playing nicely.

Just as Etta has almost had enough, someone comes to claim Oswald. Oswald isn’t perfect, but does Etta
really want to send him away?

My View:

A delightful, smelly, fishy, read for you to share with your new reader – and don’t all 5 year + enjoy a bit of smelly, fishy, type jokes? A narrative about friendship, kindness and fishy odours:) I think this is the prefect story, characters and design for animation.

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Review: Naked Ambition – Robert Gott

Naked Ambition

Robert Gott

Scribe

ISBN:9781922585967

RRP $29.99

Description:

You’re a politician, a public figure. What on earth were you thinking?’

Up-and-coming junior minister Gregory Buchanan has had a portrait painted of himself by the acclaimed artist Sophie White — a painting she intends to enter in this year’s Archibald Prize. Until then, Gregory has hung it in pride of place on his dining-room wall. It’s a life-sized standing portrait, practically photographic in nature. And it’s a nude.

His wife will be home soon and he thinks the painting will be a pleasant surprise. Even more surprising will be an unexpected accumulation of guests: his sardonic mother, his fundamentalist mother-in-law, his lycra-clad cycling-enthusiast sister, and the state premier, Louisa Wetherly — a senior minister has just resigned in scandalous circumstances, and she needs Gregory to step into the spotlight ahead of the coming election.

It’s going to be a wild afternoon, and an even wilder campaign — to do something about Gregory’s naked ambition.

My View:

Clever, wicked, intelligent and so funny. A great read.

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Review: What Makes Us Human? – Iain S Thomas, GPT-3, Jasmine Wang

Iain S. Thomas, GPT-3, Jasmine Wang

Sounds True

Boulder, Colorado USA

ISBN:9781649630179

Description:

A groundbreaking endeavor to explore human spirituality through the evolving technology of artificial intelligence

Why are we here? What does it mean to love? How do we overcome suffering? Is happiness truly possible?

For thousands of years, we have turned to the same beloved texts to explore these universal questions—from the Bible and the Tao Te Ching, to the poetry of Rumi and Sappho, to the words of modern-day mystics.

What if you could take all of the wisdom contained in these collective pages and, using the world’s most advanced artificial intelligence, receive the answers?

To create What Makes Us Human?, internationally bestselling poet Iain S. Thomas and globally recognized prodigious researcher and innovator Jasmine Wang prompted the world’s most advanced AI, GPT-3, with a wealth of humanity’s most cherished works. Then they asked GPT-3 our most pressing questions about life.

Contained in this book are the conversations and exchanges that followed.

A bold and daring experiment, What Makes Us Human? is a contemporary exploration of spirituality that will inspire you, move you, and give you a new understanding of what makes us humans, humans.

My View:

A really interesting experiment that is a joy to read. Mediative. Mindful. Touching

Iain S Thomas interprets, “informs” /edits the final results you see on the page. A beautiful read.

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Review: Home Before Night – J.P. Pomare

Home Before Night

J P Pomare

Hachette Australia

ISBN:9780733649547

RRP $32.99

Description:

As the third wave of the virus hits, all inhabitants of Melbourne are given until 8 pm to get to their homes. Wherever they are when the curfew begins, they must live for four weeks and stay within five kilometres of. When Lou’s son, Samuel, doesn’t arrive home by nightfall, she begins to panic.

He doesn’t answer his phone. He doesn’t message. His social media channels are inactive. Lou is out of her mind with worry, but she can’t go to the police, because she has secrets of her own. Secrets that Samuel just can’t find out about. Lou must find her son herself and bring him home.

My View:

I felt this was a book of two parts- the first – I just could not work out what was going on…the unreliable narrator worked exceptionally well but I was confused as to the point. The suddenly the pointy bits struck me! The later part of the book was masterful and made sense of everything else…A quick read…See if you can work it out before the end.