Book Beginnings on Friday & The Friday 56

Rose City Reader hosts this meme every week for those of us too tired by Friday night to write a lengthy review!

In honour of one of my dear colleagues who has left us for new and exciting opportunities, this weekend I will read 'Young Hearts Crying' by Richard Yates.

I miss her dearly already.

She has been telling me for nearly 3 years how much she loves Richard Yates and how much she thinks I will love him too.


So here goes..."By the time he was twenty-three, Michael Davenport had learned to trust his own skepticism."



Freda's Voice hosts The Friday 56 meme.

Friday 56 goes with Book Beginnings like cheese and crackers, ice-cream and milo or tequila and lime!

Simply go to page 56 of the book you are reading and give us a taster.


"Larchmont would never be Cambridge, but the smell of this girl's hair and the taste of her mouth, the sounds of her voice and her impassioned breathing, hadn't changed at all from the times under the Army blankets on Ware Street, years ago."

What Were They Thinking #1

With all due respect to Elise Hurst, the cover artist, this would have to be the worse cover imaginable for this book.

Shadowfell is a wonderful fantasy novel aimed at YA readers with high hopes for a cross-over adult readership.

Not any more!

In real life the jacket is a virulent green and the young girl looks 11 years of age. No sign of mature 15 year old Neryn anywhere.

The cover of this book caused my colleagues to assume that Shadowfell was headed for the junior fiction section of the shop. If I hadn't already read and enjoyed this book, I would never have picked up this cover from the teen shelves to read.

It is such a pity because Marillier's adult Australian covers are often the glamorous, mysterious John Waterhouse girls such as the Heart's Blood cover.

Hero On A Bicycle by Shirley Hughes

Most of you will be familiar with Shirley Hughes because of her wonderful picture books including Dogger and the Alfie series.

After all these years, Hero on a Bicycle is her first novel for children.

The story is set in Florence at the end of WW2. 

Paulo's father is fighting with the Partisans but hasn't been heard from for a long time. 
The Germans are watching everyone closely as the Allied front draws closer and closer to Florence. 

Paulo and his mother and sister are drawn into the war effort when they're asked to hide Allied soldiers from the Germans.

Hughes has written an old-fashioned style story about the dangers of war, the everyday heroes, of fears and courage. Although the story has action and adventure, I fear the 'grandmotherly' writing style may put off many young modern readers.

Which is a shame, because this is a wonderful tale for mature 10+ readers.

Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas

On Saturday night I went to the Opera House to watch the STC's production of Under Milk Wood.

I confess I knew nothing about Milk Wood at all.

My husband had studied and loved this book at school and still raves about the Richard Burton version over 25 years later. He suggested that I go in cold, so I restrained myself from all google searches and arrived at the theatre with absolutely no idea what I was going to see.

Although that is not completely true.

I knew that Dylan Thomas was Welsh, so I assumed the play would be set in a Welsh village. I knew that Dylan liked his liquor and assumed there would be references to drinking and I knew that Jack Thompson was the narrator for this particular production.

I also thought that I knew that this being a STC production it would be played at Pier 4 Wharf Theatre. On presenting our tickets at the door at Pier 4 we were told we were at the wrong venue. It did say this very clearly on the ticket, I just didn't read it because I assumed!

A quick dash around the Quay saw us arrive at the Opera House only 5 minutes late.

A very kind, understanding usher allowed us in the back way (and the other couple who also went to the wrong venue). The back way actually took us through one of the prop storage areas not normally viewed by the public. It was fascinating in a rushed kind of way.

And suddenly we were in a darkened room hearing the iconic, laconic tones of Jack Thompson as day broke on Llareggub and the townsfolk awoke.
I quickly realised that we were following the lives of various characters through one day.

I loved the multi-roles the actors played - how they embodied each one subtly by changing one article of clothing, one prop or one physical characteristic.

I loved the roll and the rhythm and the play of the language. I loved the ordinary dramas of everyday life. I loved the humour and the sympathy with which Thomas drew his characters.

I am now a Dylan Thomas convert and I would like to listen to the Richard Burton narrated audio & I would like to read a copy of the play...if only I could find one still in print! And I would love to see other productions of this wonderful play.

Pennies for Hitler by Jackie French

Although I have enjoyed a number of Jackie French books over the years, I haven't thought of her writing as being particularly elegant or sparkling. I usually consider her writing to be more prosaic and deliberate than beautiful.

She writes marvelous historical fiction for children, but there are times when you can see her formula at work.

However, Pennies for Hitler has proven to be a cut above the rest so far.

The story of young Georg fleeing Germany alone, in fear of his life just as WW2 is about to start, is engrossing and at times, almost poetic.

I give you pg 110 "Crashes shook the air - different crashes now, not the dull roar of bombs but long slow crumbles as buildings stopped trying to stand up." 

and pg 147 "and that too high, too blue sky was new as well. A tiny cloud was creeping into it now, looking timid against all that blue."

pg 252 "The war dragged on, dragging the year with it".

Pennies for Hitler is a fine example of Jackie French at her best.
This is not a sequel to Hitler's Daughter. The only link is WW2 and the themes of identity, war and loss.

Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick by Joe Schreiber

For some reason I was confused about this book at the start.

I thought it was chick lit and for the first couple of chapters I thought the protagonist was a chick too.
Maybe it was the yellow cover, the silhouette of the chick or the set-up...talking school, friends, family life, foreign exchange students.

I was so wrong.

This was an action-packed, explosive, assassin fuelled romp through the streets of New York. Perry (the protagonist) quickly discovers that the family exchange student is more than she first appears.

There is absolutely nothing believable or plausible about the story. I can't even tell you if it's well written as I raced through it so quickly. But it was fun in a short attention span kind of way.

I've now handed it over to my 15 year old stepson to see if it's the boys own adventure that I think it really is.

P.S. I often get caught up in the different covers that appear for certain books and what it might say about the various countries concerned. The UK and Australian cover is the yellow one. The NY cityscape is the American cover and the German cover is red.

Book Blogger Confessions

This is a fairly new meme hosted by For What It's Worth and Tiger's All Consuming Media.

Book Blogger Confessions is a meme that posts the 1st and 3rd Monday of every month, where book bloggers "confess" and vent about topics that are unique to us. Feel free to share, vent and offer solutions. Just keep it respectful - no bashing authors or other bloggers!


This weeks question is:

We have created a blogging time machine! Pretend you can start over. Knowing what you know now about blogging – what do you wish you did differently when it comes to creating/running your blog?

Honestly, I'm not sure I would change anything.

I started my blog for fun.
I had started a new job in an Independent bookshop and for the first time since my Uni days, I suddenly had time to read a lot of books.

(I've always made time to read, but working full-time for 18 years in a fairly stressful and demanding job meant that most weekends and nights I was too tired to do more than read a couple of chapters before dozing off!)

So, a new job, time and the right environment to access lots and lots of books - heaven!

But how to get started?

I began by reading other people's blogs. I built up a personal list of things I liked and didn't like about designs, styles and posts. One of my colleagues already had a blog, so I asked her advice.
And then I started with what I knew.

I knew children's books. And I knew teaching.

So my blog began as a teacher/parent guide to books - was the book good or not, any dubious content or controversial issues, age group that it would suit the best etc.

My blog and my approach to blogging has changed over the 3 years. And I'm sure it will continue to change and evolve as the years go by.

Now my blog is more personal.

I now include adult books. I write the occasional negative review, so my readers can get a fuller picture of my reading habits.

This year I wanted my blog to be more interactive and I set out to learn how.
There were oodles of posts on ways of doing this.
The main thing I got out of it was 'communicate'. If I wanted readers that left thoughtful comments, then I had to go out and find like-minded bloggers and leave thoughtful messages on their blogs!

The same rule applied to blog hops and memes. Find the memes that appeal to you, use them sparingly, then take the time to comment thoughtfully and follow-up with the other participants.

I also joined a couple of blogging groups like Book Blogs and Linky.

As a result I now feel a part of a book blogging community. I love the comments and interest from my readers and I enjoy seeing what other bloggers are reading.

I've learnt html, how to schedule, link, use badges and create templates.

I'm sure this level of enthusiasm and dedication will wane at times, but that's life. It will just be another phase, another evolution in the history of Brona's Books!

Happy Reading xo

P.S. My motto, that has saved my butt several times on this blogger journey, is Keep It Simple & Be Authentic.

Pop by Catherine Bruton

Mmmmmm what did I think about Pop?

It was quite appealing in a light-hearted way even as it dealt with some pretty heavy issues.

Three Merseyside teens (Elfie, Jimmy & Agnes) - dealing with their tough lives - lives they try to lighten by entering a TV Talent show.
Through their eyes we see bad parenting, good parenting, family breakdowns, bullying, unemployment, strikers, scabs and immigrants. 

Elfie, the main character, was pretty hard to like, even though you could empathise with her plight.

The light touch used by Bruton to deal with such heavy topics meant that I never really felt inside the skin of any of the characters and therefore didn't really care that much about any of them - it was a bit like watching Big Brother!

The humour was in Bruton's analyse of reality TV - who enters, who plays to win, who actually wins and how the media manipulates all concerned.

There was nothing really wrong with this story but there was also nothing magical, amazing or life-changing about it either.

Shadowfell by Juliet Marillier

This was my first encounter with Juliet Marillier. I suspect it won't be my last.

My fantasy reading is pretty mainstream and commercial but this is the kind of fantasy writing that Marillier excels at and that I enjoy. Her writing falls into the historic or swords and sandals fantasy genre.

Shadowfell is YA fantasy but very accessible to anyone who enjoys an absorbing, escapist, well-written story.
It almost feels like a Scottish fairytale with it's bleak, harsh landscape and uncanny folk.

Fifteen year old Neryn has fled her homeland in fear of her life. She is hiding from the King's henchmen and hiding her special powers. She has heard about a safe haven - a place for rebels and those fleeing the King's destructive forces called Shadowfell. A mysterious stranger, Flint comes to her aid...but can she trust him?

Suspense, danger and romance all wrapped up nicely in a road trip with fey folk. Perfect rainy weekend reading!

Shadowfell is a July release from Pan Macmillan.

P.S. Marillier is now an Australian, living in WA, hence the Australian tag. But she was actually born & raised in NZ.

F is for Fantasy

Over the years I have seen some curious books sitting in the fantasy section of bookshops which has prompted me to think about the literary definition of fantasy.

I've always thought of fantasy as involving elements of magic, supernatural powers, invented worlds, mythical creatures like dragons, vampires and elves combined with a sense of history (usually medieval) and otherworldliness. Do fairytales fit into this genre? Or are they a separate genre in their own right?

When I googled fantasy I quickly found that there was no straight answer.

The first confusion was between fantasy and high fantasy.

High fantasy is usually described as one consisting of a made-up, parallel world. I associate this type of fantasy with special languages, intricate maps and fantastical characters. Think Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien and Narnia by CS Lewis.

Sword and Sorcery fantasy is another sub-genre that pops up regularly. Lord of the Rings fits into this category as well as Harry Potter.

Wikipedia has really thrown me though.
Here is a list of possible fantasy sub-genres...
comic, dark, contemporary, heroic, magical, mythic, paranormal, superhero, fantasy of manners, low, hard, historical, wuxia and urban!!

High fantasy is then further divided into Primary world, Portal or World-within-a-World. Primary worlds do not really exist (Discworld), Portals take the characters from the real world into the fantasy world (Narnia, The Dark Tower, Alice in Wonderland) while worlds within exist in a real world but are somehow separated from them (like Hogwarts and His Dark Materials).

Wuxia? Really?
Ahhhhh, this is sword and sorcery fantasy Chinese style - martial arts, chilvary, retribution and righteousness!

Fairytales and fables are on their own under 'non-fiction'. Although a lot of fantasy writers claim fairytales as early inspirations...closely followed by Tolkien.

Below are some examples of what you can find in the various sub-genres...

Comic Fantasy: Discworld
Dark: Anne Rice
Contemporary: Neil Gaiman, The Master and Margarita, Artemis Fowl, Percy Jackson
Heroic: Star Wars
Fantasy of Manners: Mervyn Peake 
Paranormal: Twilight
Hard: George R R Martin
Low: The Indian in the Cupboard, The Borrowers
Historical: (also known as sword and sandal) Juliet Marillier, Naomi Novik
Urban: Gone by Michael Grant, Anita Blake series, Evernight

And just for fun, I've included several covers of Lord of the Rings.

A-Z Blog Hop

Book Beginnings on Friday #2

Book Beginnings on Fridays is hosted by Rose City Reader.

This is a wonderful Friday meme for me. I'm often dead tired by Friday evening, but looking forward to a weekend of reading.

Too tired to write a proper review of a book, but feeling the urge to write something.

So this is the beginning of 'Broken' by Elizabeth Pulford.

"My head is full of bubbles. Strange floating words, bits of conversations, bits of people. Some I know. Some I don't. Hundreds of coloured dots. I can't see straight. Can't think straight. I seem to be nowhere. I seem to be everywhere. If only the wretched thumping in my head would stop."

My first thought is, "oh no - another memory loss story!"

Although, strictly speaking, this is not the beginning of the book. 
On the adjoining page is a scrap of newsprint from 'The Daily Times'. The headline screams 'Courageous Action Saves the Life of Toddler But With Devastating Results'. The story mentions Jem Wilson who is killed when his motorbike swerves to avoid hitting a toddler that ran out onto the road. His sister Zara was taken to hospital with extensive injuries. The toddlers family claim Jem is a hero. Investigations continue....

A quick google found this little snippet at Walker Books which also gives you an idea of the artwork throughout the book.

Whether I finish this book or not will ultimately depend on the weather this weekend. It could go either way!

Becoming George Sand by Rosalind Brackenbury

Unconditional love.

Maria - selfish, expecting unconditional love from her husband and children even though she's having an affair that will tear their family apart.

She justifies her behaviour at every turn but struggles to be responsible for the way things turn out.

She hopes that future generations will understand and accept that it's possible to love 2 men and for these 2 men to have no "connection" (and therefore no reason to feel hurt) because the love she has for them is so different!

I'm not sure that future generations will understand betrayal, dishonesty, unfaithfulness and irresponsibility any differently that we do now! I'm not sure why Maria thinks this kind of behaviour will ever be considered okay. We might understand Maria's particular motivations, but I doubt that we can ever admire her or like her.

Even in George Sands' time this type of behaviour was not considered honorable (even though Maria believes it was more accepted as a common practice and therefore okay).

Sands' life reads as being very unhappy and difficult.

She had a desperate need to be needed. As a result, Sand got entangled in inappropriate relationships with the predictable results of alienating the ones she wanted to love her.

I felt very annoyed with this book (although not enough to stop reading) and was taking a dislike against the author as well, until page 221.

Maria complains to her friend, "And what I long for - this may sound stupid - is for someone to just be there. To love me whatever I do."

Her friend responds firmly, "Love like that is for babies. You can't be loved whatever you do. You have to be someone good, to be loved. People can't just love you for existing."

"Hmmm. Well maybe. You don't believe in unconditional love?"

"Yes I do, but it's for babies. You have to be worthy of love"

Thank god! Someone finally gets it!

I was curious about my strong reaction to this book and Maria in particluar. Loyalty, honesty and faithfulness are very important character traits to me so Maria was never going to be a kindred spirit. But I was disappointed with George Sand as portayed in this book. I enjoy her writing and have always wanted to know more...now I'm not so sure.

Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel

From what I have read, we know a lot about Thomas Cromwell's deeds but not a lot about his motivations, feelings or thoughts.

But this is what Hilary Mantel gives us with Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies.

Mantel gives Cromwell flesh, heart and thoughts. Via these two novels we see Cromwell's desires, his disappointments and doubts. We gain insights into his childhood and his family life. We feel empathy for his losses and fears. Mantel's intimate portrayal of Cromwell shows us a man full of contradictions.

Mantel helps us to understand how it might have been to live under the reign of Henry and how events might have evolved into the facts that we know. We see personalities clash amd listen in on key conversations.
Mantel gives cause and effect a voice. She shows us the consequences of betrayal, lies and outrage.

Changing loyalties, personal safety, fear, loneliness, revenge all have their roles. Through Cromwell's eyes we see the dangers of the Tudor court, a King declining into despotism, not afraid to kill to get his way. And what the people around him have to do to keep their heads and the peace!

Such big themes rich in drama and complexity.

How extraordinary to feel love and sympathy for a man reviled in the history books.

Bring Up the Bodies is a wonderous read.

I can't wait for the final instalment.

WWW Wednesday

What are you currently reading?

Becoming George Sand by Rosaline Brackenbury. I love the look and feel of this book. Rough cut pages and an old fashioned style. But Maria (the modern day protagonist) and George Sand are driving me crazy with their selfishness and neediness.



What did you recently finish reading?

Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel.
Love, love, love.
Rave review pending - when I can think of something more profound to say than "love, love, love"!



What did you think you will read next?

Shadowfell by Juliet Marillier.
I've now had 3 positive recommendations for Juliet Marillier in the past 2 weeks. I cannot ignore such obvious signs any longer!


Hosted by MizB @ Should be Reading.

E is for E-Reader

It seems appropriate that my first post written on my new Asus Transformer Prime tablet is about e-readers.

Obviously the Asus tablet is more than an e-reader, although it's e-reader function was one of the major factors in buying a tablet in the first place. I also wanted to be able to blog anywhere, anytime (which is why I chose the Asus tablet - it has the best little clip-on keyboard that also acts as a protective cover for the screen.)

I'm still not convinced about e-readers, but some of my reps have their advance reading copies as ebooks only.

So far I've read a couple of chapters of Everneath (which I suspect I will add to my Right not to Finish list!) and Alice in Wonderland.

I enjoy playing with the font size and it's nice lying in front of the fire with the tablet on the floor in front of me, but it's not a book. I look at screens all day at work and blog. My down time needs to be something different.

Somehow curling up in bed with an e-reader doesn't sound as cosy as a book.

I can't cuddle an e-reader to my chest during a particularly poignant passage and I suspect it wouldn't be happy having a bubblebath with me either!
Even though I love my new tablet, it doesn't smell bookish. It smells slick and metallic which is fine for an appliance, but not for a book.

Next week I will be away for 5 days. The tablet is coming with me...as well as a couple of books! I wonder which one will win out?

A-Z Blog Hop

The Terrible Thing that Happened to Barnaby Brocket by John Boyne

From the Irish author of 'The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas' comes a new novel for children set in Sydney.

Barnaby Brocket is born into a very normal family. Mr & Mrs Brocket pride themselves on how normal they are...in fact, you could say, that they are desperate and obsessed with being normal.

I have edited this post several times because I don't want to give away any of the details about why Barnaby is not normal.

The tone of this book is light-hearted and full of humour, but it is also rather awful. Awful because of the parents - they're ghastly.

Although Boyne has exaggerated the 'bad parent' type, it is sadly a type you can recognise. The parent whose love is conditional on how well the child does at school, the parent who is so absorbed in their own life and their own needs that the children always come in second best, the ignored child, the guilted child, the child who is judged by their looks, their sexuality, their ability to please the parent and the children forced to parent themselves - just to name a few.

Sadly, Barnaby's adventures show him a lot of these dysfunctional families.

The joy and hope comes from how all the people Barnaby meets cope and rise above their various situations. How they all embrace their differences and take pride in themselves for who they are and what they can do.

Initially I felt this book was light-weight and had little emotional impact. But I read this book over 2 weeks ago and I'm still mulling over it.
I found it impossible to emulate Boyne's light & easy writing style to review this. He obviously has a talent for writing about pretty heavy issues in a way that is completely accessible with humour and grace.

The story is aimed at younger readers so some of the observations and morals are fairly clearly spelled out for an older reader, but I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well-told story about courage, resilience and human nature.

Published by Random House in August.

The Right Not To Finish a Book

This is a list of all the YA and teen books that I started reading but decided not to finish.
I usually made this decision by page 5.

Sometimes the writing was not grabbing my attention, sometimes the story was just not my thing, sometimes I simply wasn't in the mood.

And sometimes it was because the writing was truly awful, the story line simplistic, contrived and obvious with ghastly characters that I couldn't give a damn about!

Maybe you have a different experience with one of these books?

I'd be happy to hear about it.

Leave a comment or a link to your review to let us know what you think.

So without any further ado...ta da!
Here's is my list of unfinished reads....

The Catastrophic History of You and Me by Jess Rothenberg
Silhouette by Thalia Kalkipsakis
Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
Three Summers by Judith Clarke
How to Keep a Boy as a Pet by Diane Messidoro (in this particular case, I was philosophically opposed to the title!)
When You Were Mine by Rebecca Serle
Holier Than Thou by Laura Buzo

The Rights of the Reader by Daniel Pennac

The Women in Black by Madeleine St John

Delightful, funny, charming!

I could gush on and on and on about this gorgeous little story about a group of women who worked at Goode's Department Store in Sydney in the 1950's.
Of course, Goode's was based on David Jones and the staff still wear black to this day.

During the 70's, as a child, I was a regular visitor to DJ's. After our family orthodontic trips to Macquarie Street specialists we would sometimes walk around Hyde Park to DJ's or we would walk in the other direction and stroll down Martin Place before catching the train home again. I remember saving up my birthday money to buy something special from DJ's when I was 11 - my first copy of Jane Eyre!

St John's descriptions of the departments, the weather and the busy hustle of the sales evoked so many childhood memories that I felt a little overwhelmed. Even Mr Ryder's solitary stroll down Martin Place on Christmas Eve felt like a personal experience.

St John so captures the mood & character of this time that you feel transported back there in an instance - I could feel the summer heat - all gritty and sweaty & I could smell the trains & the dust and I knew that feeling of relief when you  were ushered into DJ's by the doorman- into a place of cool tiles & marble, with polished wooden bannisters and perfumed scents trailing after the immaculately dressed women. It was another world.

So many authors from this time seem embarrassed by our innocent post-war history. It was not a cosmopolitan time. We were not trendy, worldly or sophisticated. So many people of St John's era, including St John herself, left Australia for the Continent.

I was expecting this book, therefore, to be cynical and disparaging. It was not.

Thank you to Text Classics for making this book readily available again.