Author: 730bookclub

  Barb's been reading: Davies, Glyn & Kirstin Kennedy (2009) Medieval and Renaissance Art: People and Possessions. V&A Publishing.  This beautiful book accompanies the re-opening of the V&A's Medieval and Renaissance galleries. Presented thematically, it explores the social contexts responsible for some of the museum's most captivating objects, both commonplace and precious, to recover the… Continue reading September Picks →

        Debbie's been reading: McCullough, Colleen (2008)  The independence of Miss Mary Bennet. Harper Collins.  McCullough's sequel to Pride and Prejudice. Mary Bennet now thirty eight years old, unmarried, gets a makeover. Freed from her daughterly duties of caretaker to Mrs. Bennet, the new and improved Mary Bennet has independent plans for… Continue reading August Picks →

Raewyn and Lynne have been reading: Wood, Patricia (2007) Lottery. Penguin.  With an IQ of 76, Perry L. Crandall is often mistaken for retarded. But he knows the truth: “You have to have an IQ number less than 75 to be retarded. I read that in Reader’s Digest.” Abandoned by his mother at a young age,… Continue reading July Picks →

Alborn, Mitch (2004).  The 5 People You Meet in Heaven. Hyperion.   By the author of Tuesdays with Morrie this powerful novel recounts the life of a simple yet dignified old man Eddie.  After dying in a freak accident on his 83rd birthday, Eddie finds himself in heaven where he encounters five people who have… Continue reading We have been recommended to read… →

        Jan's been reading: Walker, Martin (2010) Bruno, Chief of Police. Vintage.   Bruno cooks, hunts, builds his own house, grows his own food and is a pillar of the local tennis and rugby clubs.  He is the town’s most eligible bachelor.  He organizes  parades, festivities and fireworks displays, registers births and deaths,… Continue reading June Picks →

Green, John, Levithan, David (2010). Will Grayson, Will Grayson.  Text Publishing. One cold night, in a most unlikely corner of Chicago, two teens—both named Will Grayson—are about to cross paths. As their worlds collide and intertwine, the Will Graysons find their lives going in new and unexpected directions.  Reviews are highly recommending.

Raewyn's been reading: Hoeg, Peter (2007) The Quiet Girl.  Farrar, Straus and Giroux.  Kasper Klone is an internationally acclaimed clown wanted in a dozen countries for financial irregularity. Kasper's astounding gift is "his ability to access people's acoustic essence, especially children's", and to listen well beyond the normal aural spectrum. He discovers that nine-year-old KlaraMaria has… Continue reading May Picks →

Rachman, Tom (2010)  The Imperfectionists. Text Publishers.  An English-language newspaper headquartered in Rome brings together a strongly imagined cast of characters. Rachman, a former editor for the International Herald Tribune, paints the characters’ small dramas and private disappointments with humanity and humor.  A first novel this book reads more like connected short stories than a novel.… Continue reading Barb Recommends (from London) →

Lynne's been reading: Faber, Tony (2008). Faberge's Eggs. Macmillan.    The story of the last Romanov Czars  told through Easter gifts.   The Fabergé eggs are a perfect symbol of the court's decadence. The "surprises" they contained, from family portraits to a miniature Trans-Siberian railway in gold, reflected events of the time. Agassi, Andre (2009).  Open.… Continue reading April Picks →

Jan recommends:  Silvey, Craig (2009).  Jasper Jones. Allen & Unwin (Aus).  Late on a hot summer night at the tail of 1965, 13 year old Charlie is started by an urgent knock on his window.  He follows Jasper Jones, he sees 'it' and everything changes.  Set against  the backdrop of an Australian mining town, where  fear,… Continue reading Jan’s Pick of the Month →