The Sunken Road by Gary Disher

Although I abandoned this book before I finished it, I still enjoyed it and intend to revisit at another time. I picked it up because I intended to go and see a Sydney Writers Festival event at which he was speaking (just as an aside, I was so busy at work that I actually forgot that I had rsvp’d to attend until the following day, so in the end I never made it to the event).

When I first started reading it, I was thoroughly impressed. This is not your average novel. The writing is perfect. It captured the feeling of the Australian farming countryside so well you feel as though you are there, on the land, in the heat, with the characters.

What I found most amazing about the book was the way in which it was written – not chronologically – but in topics like “The Beach” or “Moving House” (this was a library book which I no longer have with me so don’t hold me to the accuracy of those examples).

What then unfolds are glimpses of the life of the main character, Anna Tolley. We see her progress through each stage of her life in each of the chapters, each time gaining a new insight into her life. No doubt that by the end of these books, the glimpses we see throughout the book come together to form a full impression of the character of Anna Tolley.

This is one of the most unique books I have read in terms of its structure, and I admired Disher’s obvious talent.

Why did I abandon it? I think for two reasons.

The first was that I was beginning to find it a little bit repetitive. Not in the sense that the same material was repeated over and over again (it isn’t). Only in the sense that I felt as though I was seeing her entire development over and over again. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing at all – and leads me to the second, and purely personal, reason I abandoned it. At the time I commenced the book I was extremely overworked and dealing with some very difficult situations at work. A literary novel just wasn’t what I needed at the time. I needed a book that required no thought, that wasn’t challenging but was fun and easy to read and escape into so escape my own miserable existence (ok, I’m exaggerating for effect there, but I was overworked). So, I got stuck into the Northern Lights Trilogy (Phillip Pullman) instead.

Although I abandoned it, it was beautifully written and felt very unique and is definitely a book that I will revisit in the future.

Originally posted Page Turners 5 July 2011

The Land of Painted Caves by Jean M Auel

I hate to say this. I really really do. So perhaps first I will say that if you are an Earth's Children fan who hasn't read The Land of Painted Caves yet, do not read on. I should also add from the outset (because I know that some people like a whole lot of analysis in their reviews, supported by excerpts from the text blah blah blah) but this is going to be much more like a rant than a review. So here we go.

This was bad. I know that the last few in the series were pretty bad too, but I really thought that Auel would have pulled something really good out the hat for the final book in the series, especially after having had decades to write it.

Instead, the story drags. On. And. On. Seriously, too many long journeys. Too many caves. Too long becoming a Zelandonii. Too much repetition. I mean, we get it. There is a family in the cave that does not look after their children. Zelandonii (Zolena) is fat and has trouble moving around. Jondalar is a jealous bloke with a bad temper. Ayla can't sing. The special Clan root she chews for the important ceremony is very dangerous. Ayla believes that babies come from men and women having sex and this is a revolutionary thought that will change history.

I had heard most of this in previous books, and those things that I hadn't, I heard in this book way too many times.

My bigger problem was that I felt as though the Ayla in this book was almost a different Ayla to the one in the previous books. I'm sorry, but there is no way on earth that Ayla would ever agree to kill someone, no matter what the circumstances. And Ayla as a mother in this book just didn't feel right. It felt right with Durc, but not with Jondayla. Maybe it was just the stupid name, but there was no connection between them. It felt like Jondayla was a plot device rather than a real person. I want my characters to feel like real people.

Honestly, towards the end I was skimming the book, not reading it.

I'm glad that I read the book, and somehow I think that I could still recommend the series to people, because the first book connects with you so much (and the second and third books in my view) that it is worth reading the rest of the series just to experience how wonderful the story of Ayla and Jondalar can be.

I just wish that Auel had written a shorter and more concise series (and final book) that did her otherwise wonderful characters justice.

(I know this becoming a habit now, but again, this book won't get a star rating. If you read this series, you will eventually read this book, so there's little point trying to capture my feelings in a rating system.)

What did you think of this final book in the series? Were you as disappointed as me? What do you think happened? How is possible to start off a series so well and finish so badly?

Originally posted 26 June 2011 Page Turners

Today is Page Turners second birthday!!

abc.net.au

Today is Page Turners 2nd Birthday!

It is hard to believe that I have been blogging for two years now. Page Turners has a changed a lot over time. The design of Page Turners has experienced some upgrades, and the quality of my reviews have definitely improved.

The content of my blog has changed over time as well. When I first began blogging in earnest, I was very keen to build a following. This meant that a lot of my time was spent posting as part of memes, starting up my own memes and participating in challenges. As time has gone by and my community has slowly built up around me, I prioritised book reviews and discussions more and more. Now I no longer participate in any challenges or memes - it's just about the books I read and some areas of literary interest I post about.

What this year has really impressed upon me as a book blogger is how wonderful it is to feel part of a community. 

For the first time ever, I finally met some of my fellow bloggers this year and a Sydney meet up event. Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader did a great job organising it and I couldn't have enjoyed myself more.

Then more recently, Bernadette from Reactions to Reading and Fair Dinkum Crime sent me a really fun book (The Black Russian by Lenny Bartulin) all because I left a comment on her blog saying that I wanted to read it.

It's people like Bernadette and Marg and the fun of blogging get togethers and the like that has really made blogging worthwhile for me.

I have been blogging for 2 years now, and I can't wait for the many more to come. Thanks for your support and I hope I get to know even more of you in the future. Have a glass of champagne on me.

Originally posted 22 June 2011 Page Turners

I just purchased by 500th book

I can't believe it, but this morning I purchased my 500th book (and my 501st). 

Seems excessive I know, but you would be surprised at how compact 500 books can actually be. I have two full book cases (the tall kind), one large 1.5m x 1m chest full of books and I am just starting to fill a shelf on our DVD book case.

They are probably 70% second hand books and 30% new. I sill have quite a few I have saved from my childhood, including Freddie and The Enormouse by Hugh Scott (primary school) and The Clouded Hills by Brenda Jagger (high school). 

I can hear you asking what book has the honour of being my 500th - so I won't keep you in suspense any longer! It was..... (drum roll please):

The Lord of the Rings: The Complete Bestselling Classic

That's right, all 6 books in 1. Although I own the 'trilogy' in individual books, I thought that this would be the perfect book to take on holidays. Its a story I know and love well and because its so long it will keep me occupied for a good period of time. 

A perfect addition to my personal library and a perfect book for my 500th book. 

My 501st book was Shirley by Charlotte Bronte. I am not familiar with the story but I loved Jane Eyre so much that I couldn't pass it by.

That's enough from me. If you are interested in doing any more reading (blog reading that is), feel free to check out my latest posts:

• The Big Reading - let me introduce you to some international authors;
• The Child's Book of True Crime by Chloe Hooper (Australian literary fiction); and
• What motivates an author?

Originally posted 20 June 2011 Page Turners

Sydney Writers' Festival: Part 3 The Big Reading

The Big Reading

"The Big Reading" is one of the events that I most look forward to every year of the Sydney Writers Festival because it gives me an opportunity to discover new authors.

Each year 5 international authors are given the opportunity to give a reading and to discuss their latest work with the audience. This year those authors were Kei Miller, Tea Obreht, David Mitchell, Kader Abdolah and Michael Cunningham.

Kei Miller was my favourite I have to admit. Miller is a Jamaican author and poet. His first fiction book (a collection of short stories) was shortlisted for the Best First Book Award in the Commonwealth Writers Prize in 2007 and his poetry has been well received throughout the world. He gave his reading from his first novel, The Same Earth, and it was absolutely 'laugh out loud' funny. After the event I purchased his latest novel The Last Warner Woman and got him to sign it. It's always a little thrill when you meet an author and have the chance to say hello to them. I am definitely looking forward to this book.

Tea Obreht also spoke about and read from The Tiger's Wife, a book which seems to be the talk of the town at the moment because it is responsible for her being named one of the 20 best American authors under the age of 40 by the New Yorker. Everywhere I went at the festival people were talking about her and queuing up to have her sign their books. I enjoyed her reading very much, although she seemed a little bit bland compared to Kei Miller, and I will be looking forward to reading this book.

David Mitchell is a very well known author but one that I don't have any particular relationship with. I have tried to read Cloud Atlas but have to admit that I found the story quite inaccessible through the beautiful but challenging language. Mitchell read from an unpublished book. In fact, he read from his current work in progress. He seemed a very intelligent, polite and interesting sort of man, but I have to admit that his reading did nothing to spark any interest to attempt to read any more of his books in the near future. It was just too complicated, I wasn't quite sure what was going on in the excerpt he read and what I did understand just didn't seem compelling enough to motivate me to try.

Kader Abdolah absolutely commanded the stage, and not necessarily for all the right reasons. He just had Presence. You know that kind of person who walks into a room and everyone turns to look at them and can't keep their eyes off them for the rest of the evening? Kader Abdolah (pseudonym) is a Persian-Dutch writer. He left Iran as a political refugee in 1988 and found himself starting a new life in The Netherlands and came to fame with his book The House of the Mosque which has been voted the second best Dutch book ever. His reading was funny and poignant and received the biggest cheer of the event, for good reason. He told us about his journey from Iran to the Netherlands, his failed attempts to come to America and his dream to become the greatest ever Persian writer (which turned into his dream to become a great Dutch writer). I loved listening to his story, but I did not appreciate his behaviour on stage. I found him arrogant and disrespectful. He was clearly not paying any attention to the other authors as they did their readings, instead he spent the time looking around, playing with his papers and his pens and doing anything but what he should have been doing – showing respect by listening to the other authors. At one point, it even seemed as though he was trying to get the stage crew to hurry along another author whose reading was going a bit over time. If I hadn't have witnessed this behaviour I would have been very impressed with him.

Finally, Michael Cunningham finished up the readings. Although he is very famous for his Pulitzer Prize winning novel The Hours, I had never really payed much attention to Cunningham as an author I might enjoy and certainly hadn't ever read any of his books. What I loved about the reading that Michael Cunningham gave was that he was so emotive. As he told the story his entire moved with him and his face and voice were both so expressive that it was hard to look away. Having said that, much like Mitchell's reading, I didn't really connect with the story at all. Again like Mitchell, Cunningham read from a work in progress and I had a lot of trouble following the story with him. Having seen his passion though, I will definitely visit The Hours at some point in the future.

So that was The Big Reading for 2011. It is always a rewarding event to attend and one that I hope will introduce me to many more authors in the future.

Sydney Morning Herald's Best Young Author Award

I do want to add that this session began with the awarding of the Sydney Morning Herald's Best Young Author Prize, and I have to admit that I was surprised how minimal the award giving ceremony was.

I know that there was an event the following day where the authors had the opportunity to discuss their works in greater detail (more on that later), but other than that the ceremony was very basic. Their names were read out, they crossed the stage, collected a bottle of wine and left again. It probably took less than 4 minutes altogether. I am not sure why they don't combine these two events (the ceremony and their opportunity to discuss their books). It seems that if they did it would make the award ceremony a bit more meaningful – to both the authors and the audience.

Up Next

"The Commonwealth Writers Prize" – I feel very lucky to have attended the 2011 award ceremony for the Commonwealth Writers Prize. The next post will be musings on the award and the fabulous author's who were in the running.

Post I: "The good and bad of writers festivals"
Post II: "What motivates an author"

Originally posted 19 June 2011 Page Turners

A Child's Book of True Crime by Chloe Hooper

I really don't know what to make of Chloe Hooper's A Child's Book of True Crime.

It came to me as a recommendation from someone that I really trust but this book was really quite dark and creepy, which stopped me from really enjoying the story.

The plot is centred on Kate Byrne, a young primary school teacher who commences an affair with a parent of one her favourite students. Her lover's wife, Veronica, has just written a true crime novel about the murder of a young girl, Ellie Siddell, who was murdered by her own lover's wife when she discovered their affair.

The novel is written from the perspective of Kate, who appears to become increasingly caught up in some paranoid delusion in which she believes that she will share the same fate as Ellie Siddell. In fact, some of the book is Kate's own reimagining of Ellie Siddell's murder in the form of a children's book, with the story presented through the eyes of a community of native animals. Even this story differs from what we learn are the real facts known about the murder, and it differs in a way that suits what Kate would have us believe about the murdered girl.

Kate is an unlikeable character and an untrustworthy narrator. Is her life in danger or is it in her head? I still don't feel as though I know the answer.

Hooper herself is clearly an extremely talented writer. There are so many themes that are cleverly woven in amongst Kate paranoid musings. She provides us with some really interesting, and no doubt well-researched, insights into the minds of children. She also explores the dynamics of a relationship between an older married man and a young female. She also gives us an insight into the mind of someone who is arguably mentally ill.

It was undoubtedly a unique novel. I don't feel as though I have read anything like it before, and I doubt that I will ever read anything like it again.

But A Child's Book of True Crime didn't achieve anything in particular. I was left wanting, thinking to myself "yeah, and….." Hooper delved so deep into the character that there was not sufficient plot to balance with the intense characterisation.

I was left feeling unsatisfied and disturbed at the end of this book. If this is what Hooper was setting out to achieve, then she did it successfully. If there was some deeper purpose to this book (and it reads as though there should be), then it was lost on me.

This book will not receive a rating because I can't quite place my feelings about it.

Please let me know what you thought of this book if you have read it. Did you get it? Was there something more that I am missing or is this simply the musings of a woman slowly losing her mind? If it is, why is that so unsatisfying? 

Originally posted 14 June 2011 Page Turners

Sydney Writers' Festival 2011: Part 2

 

I know that a lot of people may be surprised to hear this, but before this Sydney Writers' Festival session entitled "Cassandra Clare's Underworld" I had never heard of Cassandra Clare or the Mortal Instruments series.

The truth is that I only went to this session of the Sydney Writers' Festival because I slept in and by the time I got to the festival the event that I wanted to see had sold out and the queues to the other events were too long.

In short, "Cassandra Clare's Underworld" was the only event left that I could be certain of getting a seat at.

Although it wasn't something that I intended to see, I really enjoyed it. The books themselves, I have to admit, still don't appeal to me. YA vampire books just aren't my thing (ok ok, unless its Twilight and then I'm guilty as charged).

What did I enjoy about the discussion if the books don't appeal to me (I hear you ask)? There were two things:

The first is that I gained a real insight into an author's motivation for writing their book. Cassandra Clare was a really interesting lady. She explained how her idea for writing the Mortal Instruments series arose from two of her interests. The first was her interest in mythology and how it can be used in modern writing to create story. The second was her interest in 'urban exploration'. Urban exploration is the practice of exploring unknown parts of cities, like underground tunnels and abandoned buildings. Cassandra explained how she became very passionate about this past time and has travelled around different areas of the world practising it. She went on to explain how she conceived the idea of a group of people living in the underworld of a city, that is, in those areas that are not known to the vast majority of a city's inhabitants. Cassandra then used her interest in mythology to conceive of a certain group of people who became the characters that lived in this underworld.

No doubt I am simplifying her creative process, but I hope that you understand where I am coming from.

I don't think that I am a particularly creative person, and so I was fascinated with this insight into the creative process behind a book. Imagination is a powerful tool and one that many adults lack. I can't help but admire someone who can use their own passions and interests to activate their imagination and create a story that thousands of people can come to love and appreciate.

The second aspect of this session that I enjoyed seeing was the number of teenagers who were there and were actively participating in the discussion by asking Cassandra Clare questions and talking amoungst themselves about the various things that she said.

In my line of work, I am constantly amazed by the number of adults who can complete their education with minimal literacy skills. 

I believe that reading for leisure (as well as for educational purposes) significantly contributes to literacy skills, especially during childhood, and so it was very encouraging to see younger people really engaging with a story and wanting to see and talk to the author. 

Up Next

"The Big Reading" – A group of 5 international authors (Kei Miller, Michael Cunningham, David Mitchell, Téa Obreht and Kader Abdolah) reading from their works and the award ceremony for the Sydney Morning Herald's Best Young Author Prize.

Post I: "The good and the bad of writers festivals"

Do you give much consideration to the author's motivation before, after or while you are reading your book? Do you think that giving the author's motivation some consideration can give you a better understanding of the book itself? Or even make a book you didn't connect with more interesting?

Originally posted 9 June 2011 Page Turners

Document Z by Andrew Croome

I have never imagined Australia having much of a political underbelly. I know from my own professional experience that there is often more going on underground in society than we imagine, but political espionage and spying isn't something that I immediately associate with Australia. Who could possibly be that interested in a country like ours.

Andrew Croome's Vogel Prize winning (2008) novel, Document Z, certainly gave me some insight into this question. It is centred around the Petrov Affair, an incident in Australian history that took place in 1953, deep into the Cold War era. Vladimir and Evdokia Petrov were Russian diplomats, who came to work at the Russian Embassy in Canberra in 1951 and both of whom were functioning as spies for their motherland, albeit in different capacities. When Stalin passes away in 1953, Vladimir defects from Russia to Australia without his wife's knowledge – leaving her to make an almost impossible decision about what step she should take in response to her husband's actions.

My knowledge of the Petrov Affair was shamefully limited. Non-existent in fact. Although Document Z was a fictionalised account of their story, I learnt a lot about a rather dramatic and important incident in Australia's political history.

I saw Andrew Croome speak about this book at a Sydney Writers Festival event a year of two ago and at the time I greatly admired his enthusiasm for his subject and the lengths that he had gone to research the Petrovs, including listening to secret recordings made of the couple which are still available to be listened to in the National Library (from memory). His enthusiasm was infectious at the time and so I was very much looking forward to reading the book.

Document Z attempts to create detailed portraits of the players in the Petrov Affair. We learn a lot about Vladimir (or 'Volodya' as he is referred to throughout most of the book) and Evdokia and about their relationship. There is Michael Biogulski, a Polish emigrant doctor who spies for both sides of the political fence according to whatever suits him best, and to whom Vladimir eventually shares his intention to defect. We see ASIO's spy network in action through Michael Howley, who assists in the defection.

Whilst I appreciated what Croome was trying to achieve in writing this book, and whilst I feel as though I learnt a lot in a short period of time about a point in Australia's political history I previously knew nothing about, I never really connected with this book.

The plot was rather too slow for my taste. In my view, it was the death of Stalin that really instigated the political events that ultimately lead to Vladimir Petrov seeking political asylum in Australia, and until this event occurs in the book, little else happened. Although Croome spends a long time really trying to get inside the various players in the Petrov Affair, I didn't identify with any of the characters. Their experience was so far from my own that, whilst I could appreciate what life must have been like for them on an intellectual level, my emotions were left unaffected. This, combined with the lack of action until towards the end of the book, meant that although I enjoyed reading the book, it never really drew me in.

Image from Wikipedia

For me, the book didn't have sufficient drama for a political thriller. Croome produced a well written book, but also a book that didn't go out on any limbs. I think that it would have been a better book if Croome had taken more risks somehow or been a bit edgier.

The one aspect of this entire Petrov Affair that I was fascinated by was the experience of Evdokia Petrov. You will see that in the body of this post I have inserted an image of Evdokia Petrov being escorted to a plane by armed Soviet Guards following the defection of her husband. Evdokia Petrov was being forcibly removed from Australia, to return to Russia to face punishment for her husband's actions – an event which sparked anti-Communist demonstrations throughout Australia I believe, and certainly at the airport from which she was leaving. In her final moments in Australia, she was then forcibly removed from the Soviet Guards by ASIO and made the agonising decision to defect alongside her husband.

It is her story that I find the most fascinating element of the entire Petrov Affair, purely on a personal, rather than political, level. What was she thinking? How did she feel? What thoughts were going through her mind? In the image you can see how close to collapse she seems – with her hand on her heart, one shoe missing and an agonised expression on her face. If Document Z had been solely from her perspective I think I may have had a stronger emotional response to the story, but then it would have been a completely different story altogether.

5.5 / 8 Enjoyable and well written. Worth reading if you have the opportunity but there's no need to prioritise it unless you have a particular interest in learning about an important incident in Australian political history.  

I would love to know what you thought of this book if you have read it. Were you able to identify with any of the characters? How much do you rely on the truth of the history contained in books that fictionalise true historial events like this one?

Originally posted 7 June 2011 Page Turners

Sydney Writers' Festival 2011: Part 1

 

A couple of weekends ago now was the annual Sydney Writers Festival, which is now one of top 5 writer's festivals in the world. I am not sure if this is being judged on quantity, quality or some other measure, but however it was decided, I was pleased to hear it.

I went to quite a few events across the weekend. I learnt some interesting things and heard some interesting people speak.

Last year I did one big post summarising my Writers Festival experience, but this year I want to do it a bit differently.

I intend to have a series of posts, each one dedicated to a specific event I attended. Some of these will be quite long, and others will be quite short – but what I hope to achieve at the end is a collection of posts in which I have really made an effort to think about what I heard and learned and share some of that with you.

The good and the bad

In this first post I thought I would just muse a little bit about why I like the Sydney Writers' Festival so much. I'm not going to talk about why they important to literary culture or anything quite so deep. Just what I like about the festival, what attracts me to it and why I return every year.

I love the feeling of camaraderie you get at the Sydney Writers' Festival. Everyone there shares your interest. You might not like the same genre; you might not have the same political beliefs (and a lot of the festival is quite political) and you might not appreciate the same authors – but you do all appreciate literature in the many forms that it comes. You are all also interested in seeing and learning something new.

People are friendly (apart from the uptight lady in the queue to "My Own Book Review", but that's a whole other story). While queuing for "Cassanda Clare's Underworld" I met two lovely people, both of whom shared their enthusiasm for their favourite genres (crime and science fiction respectively) and authors with me and told me all about who they had seen and what they were looking forward to seeing in the future. I met another lady in the queue to see "A Tribute to Ruth Park" who told me that she rarely reads a book from beginning to end, instead she just dips in and out, reading little bits and pieces in a random order until she feel satisfied enough to move onto the next book.

It's these little insights into other people who share your passion that make me really appreciate how special the Sydney Writers' Festival, and other festivals like it, are.

Finally, what I love about it is that I feel as though I am learning. I love reading. I love getting lost in story and language and I appreciate the break it gives me from everyday reality. But the writer's festival takes me one step further. I can appreciate what I enjoy on a more intellectual level. I can go behind the story and the language to discover so many different things, like the author, the political message, the publishing journey, the research and whatever else there is to discover. I feel as though I come out of the weekend with so many different thoughts running through my head that I appreciate my passion on a whole new level. Although this feeling fades pretty quickly (things enter and exit my head rather quickly unfortunately), I always have the memory of all the things that I learnt over the weekend to remind me that there is so much to reading a good book than there seems.

Image from telegraph.co.uk

What I like a little less is that generally I find that I end up spending most of the weekend on my own. Although solitude is often welcome, when I am listening to so many interesting discussions, it would be nice to have someone there with me so that I can carry on the discussion beyond the actual event with someone else who was actually there listening. Instead, what happens is that I go home to my wonderful boyfriend and talk for an hour straight about my day, which he is kind enough to listen to.

 

I am also noticing a trend for more and more of the events to be ticketed rather than free. I know this limits how many events I go to, and I am on a decent income. It worries me a little that the more ticketed events the Sydney Writers' Festival has, the less people will be likely to attend.

Finally, this probably goes without saying, but I very much dislike queuing. I know that this is an unavoidable part of the festival. It is, however, particularly annoying when you have been queuing for over 30mins only to be turned away at the door because the event is full. I think the organisers really need to develop a new system.

Up next

So, that's my general musings over what the Sydney Writers Festival means to me over. The next post will be about "Cassandra Clare's Underworld" so if you interested in the Mortal Instruments series (or just interested in learning about what motivates an author) keep an eye out for that post.

What is the good and the bad of writers festivals to you?

Originally posted Page Turners 6 June 2011

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

When I finished Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, the first thought that came to my mind was: "the moral of this story is...."

Contrary to most people no doubt, I didn't really know what the story of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde was. I knew that Dr Jekyll created a monster, but I didn't realise that the monster was himself. I expected Dr Jekyll's creation to be more monster-like and more sinister than he was, and I expected a full-length novel rather than a novella.

Despite my expectations not being met, I was more than satisfied with this book.
I think that ultimately, this book is Stevenson's meditation on the opposing forces in man's human nature: good and evil.

At first, Dr Jekyll thinks that he has found the perfect way to exist: he is able to live the blameless and useful life of Dr Jekyll during the day whilst giving reign to the sinister side of his nature during the evening. He soon discovers, however, that by giving the evil side of his nature too much reign, he is losing control over his own true self, and he is soon horrified to discover that he no longer has control over his own transformations. He realises that his evil side is taking over.

Stevenson is giving us a warning. It is easy sometimes to say and do those things that we know that we shouldn't and to live a carefree life in which we only satisfy our own needs and wants. Yet, our sense of self is also defined by our sense of place within a community and in our relationships with the people and the world around us. To live our lives acting on our darker impulses is to lose our own sense of self and self-worth.

Sorry to get so deep, but that is the moral of the story that I took away from The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. 

6 / 8: Really enjoyable and well written. I would recommend it.

What do you think the moral of this story is?

Originally posted Page Turners 30 May 2011

The life and times of an experienced book-a-holic and where she buys her books for cheap

I know that this may a rather boring and well covered topic amongst book bloggers - despite that, I am going to throw my hat in the ring with my own post on the topic because well, sometimes I just like the sound of my own voice.

Truthfully though, I started thinking about this yesterday when I went to the library to borrow The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht. I love the title; I love the cover, and I have heard great reviews of it.

This combined with the fact that I am seeing her read from this book at the Sydney Writers Festival coming up in a few weeks, meant that I wanted to read it as soon as possible.

So, I toddled on down to the library to borrow it, only to find that about a million other people (ok, maybe a bit less than that, but not by much) had had the same great idea as me. Now on a waitlist as long as my arm to read the book.

Why don't I just buy it new?

Because I can't afford it. Or perhaps it's more accurate to say that whilst I probably could afford it, I have more important things I need to save my money for (like a Mother's Day present for example).

The reality is, I can't afford to buy new books very often because there is always something more important to spend money on.

The new books that I do buy are probably 50% from here in Australia and 50% from overseas. I know that makes me an evil reader guilty of destroying the Australian publishing industry, but hey - if the publishing industry wants to see me the book for $12.50 instead of $32.95 (like the last book I purchased from The Book Depository), then I would be happy to buy it here.

I could go to the library a lot more often I do, but I am also the sort of person who likes to keep a copy of the books that she reads. A lot of people would say, and probably correctly, that this is wasteful. It is owning things for the sake of owning things. That I am being too materialistic in prioritising owning the actual book instead of solely concentrating on the story themselves.

They may be right, but it doesn't change how I feel about it and at the moment I don't feel like changing how I feel about it... if that makes sense.

So - this leads me to the final result. I buy 80% or more of my books second hand. In fact, I love second-hand books.

I love them because they are affordable. I can buy books, read them and keep them without feeling too guilty. Instead of paying $30/book, I can pay $30 and get 10 books (depending on where you go of course).

Second hand also means pre-loved. The books have had their own story that I know nothing about. They may have been overseas. They may have never left the house before. Who knows! I love the mystery and the feeling that comes with knowing that you are reading something that has had a life before it reached you. 

So, where's the best place to buy second hand books?

Well, in my humble opinion (and perhaps strangely enough) I think that it is not at second hand book shops. They are still a bit expensive in most Sydney second hand book shops, ranging around the $9 - $13 mark in my experience.

A better place is to go to Vinnies shops, or any of their ilk. Books are more like $3 each and the money goes to a good cause.

Cheaper yet, is the book fair. I once went to the last day of a book fair at the University of New South Wales, and the average price that I paid per book was 33c. No, I am not exaggerating. You bought a box for $15 and then filled it with as many books as you could. The last book fair I went to was in Balmain, and I think I paid about $5 per book on average from memory.

Plus, you get to wander up and down all the rows of books for as long as you like. Brilliant way to start the day.

That's my two cents worth. Your turn. Ever think about where you mainly buy your books from and why? Do you value the cool, clean and crisp feel and smell of a brand-new book enough to spend the money? Do you like the well-worn and slightly yellowed pages of a pre-loved book? Or do you think that the library is the place for you? 

Do you think that your choice reflects what you value in a book - or is it all about the money?

Originally posted on Page Turners 5 May 2011

Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon is a beautifully written, magical story about life, love and the reader's relationship with story. 

It begins in 1945, post-Spanish civil war, with the protagonist Daniel Sempere being taken by his father to the Cemetery of Lost Books where he is told to choose a book in order to keep its spirit alive forever. Daniel chooses a book entitled The Shadow of the Wind by Julian Carax and in doing so he unknowingly and irrevocably ties his own life to Julian's.

I know this seems to be a common refrain in my reviews of late, but I hardly feel capable of doing this book any justice.

Zafon creates these most perfect characters. He goes so deep into their inner most thoughts and intricacies that it is hard to believe that the characters are just that; characters in the story. Not only were the characters so whole, the setting was so vivid that at times I felt as though I was lost in the rambling misty streets of Barcelona with the characters.

Without getting too sappy, I think that The Shadow of the Wind is in some ways a metaphor for the ability that some stories have to touch something inside us so much that the story itself becomes a little part of ourselves.

Despite how much I enjoyed almost every aspect of this book, there were two weaknesses for me. The first is that Zafon sometimes seemed a little too pompous in the way that he put forward his own social commentary. I am thinking particularly of Fermin's comments on television, where I felt as though I was reading the author's opinion rather than the characters. Fermin predicts that in the future people won't be able to fart for themselves because of the prevalence of television, and that we (people) won't die of the bomb but of banality. This felt to me to be a lot more of the author's opinion rather than the character's.

The second weakness for me was that towards the middle of the book I felt as though it was moving too slowly and I really needed something to happen soon, or I would lose interest in the story. Fortunately, as soon as I has that thought, the story really picked up and I was swept away all over again.

Zafon breathes a vividness and life into the his characters and setting in a way that I don't often come across. In his writing you can really sense his passion for the time honoured art of reading, and that passion is catching.

7 / 8: Brilliant, couldn't put it down. Everyone should read it. Recommend that you buy it.

What did you think of The Shadow of the Wind? Did you love it, or did you find that Zafon was a little too self-indulgent for your tastes?

Reading List: 2024

Books Read in 2024 

Click here to read my recap post: 2024 The Year in Books

Quick Stats

Total books read	41
Re-reads	7
Non-Fiction	4
Australian	17

Books read

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie (audiobook)
We Should all be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
A Routine Infidelity by Elizabeth Coleman
The Prodigal Son by Sulari Gentill
A Testament of Character by Sulari Gentill
All the Tears in China by Sulari Gentill
Stasiland by Anna Funder
Curds and Whey Mystery by Bob Burke
A Good Girls Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson
We Solve Murders by Richard Oseman
Scrublands by Chris Hammer
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
Butter by Azako Yuzuki
The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver
March by Geraldine Brooks
Trumps Australia by Bruce Walpole
A Dangerous Language by Sulari Gentill
Devotion by Hannah Kent
The Exilesby Jane Harper
Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
Prophet Song by Paul Lynch
The Murder Rule by Dervla Tiernan
At Bertrams Hotel by Agatha Christie
Everyone in my Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson
The Survivors by Jane Harper
Give the Devil His Due by Sulari Gentill
Flint and Roses by Brenda Jagger
Yellowface by Rebecca Huang
Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell (audiobook)
A Murder Unmentioned by Sulari Gentill
Gentleman Formerly Dressed by Sulari Gentill
The Anniversary by Stephanie Bishop
Paving the New Road by Sulari Gentill
The Mammoth Hunters by Jeam M Auel
Force of Nature by Jane Harper
Miles Off Course by Sulari Gentill
Valley of the Horses by Jean M Auel
Search History by Amy Taylor
Counting the Cost by Jill Duggar
A Decline in Profits by Sulari Gentill
Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M Auel