Reviewed by Wendy Lipke Susan Duncan’s latest novel is called Finding Joy in Oyster Bay. The first chapter spoke of nothing like “joy” as it is about a young woman who chooses to abandon her child. However, she knows that the baby will be cared for by others. As I continued to read on, I
Reviewed by Patricia Simms-Reeve Both The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald publish ‘Explainers’, a series which began in 2018 and regularly touches on a range of topics, as this book illustrates. It contains short chapters written by journalists who do research and interview the relevant experts. The section on the waggling, or dance, of
Reviewed by Wendy Lipke The Big Book of Australian Yarns is compiled by Jim Haynes, recipient of an OAM in 2016 for services to the performing arts as an entertainer, author, broadcaster and historian. He has published other works as the result of decades of research into popular culture and history from around Australia. The
Reviewed by Norrie Sanders Prior to reading Mean Streak, if anyone had told me that 500 pages about the inner workings of the public service would be riveting reading, I would have laughed. Having read this book, I am not laughing. It is a mesmerising account of one of the most iniquitous government failures in
Reviewed by Richard Tutin Australian Football (AFL) or Australian Rules as it has often been called is not as well known in Queensland as it is in the southern states particularly Victoria. The recent Grand Final win by the Brisbane Lions men’s team has though spurred many Queenslanders to look more seriously at the game.
Reviewed by Norrie Sanders China and Russia are two countries with very different trajectories. The former is a resurgent superpower, an economic miracle in just 40 years. By contrast, the once mighty Russian empire is now labelled a “regional power” and can only dream of reclaiming its “lost” territories. As a long time China watcher,
Reviewed by Patricia Simms-Reeves This hardback and weighty volume is an addition to the ever-increasing mountain of books, toys, even Lego that features the staggering success of the Potter phenomenon. The eight films of the much-loved books have been an unparalleled success, and it is the production values of the movies that made this such
Reviewed by Wendy Lipke The author of Marigold’s Magic Stars is Samantha Wills who is described as a multidisciplinary creative. She is a writer, creator, educator, speaker and feminist. She says of herself, “I’ve never done things the way you’re ‘meant’ to do them. That approach saw me get really terrible grades in high school
Reviewed by Wendy Lipke The story in this bright, square, hard covered children’s book follows four bunnies as they set off on a trip around Australia. They do this using various modes of transport. They arrive in Sydney in a sea plane then take a jeep to more outback areas before boarding a hot air
Reviewed by Patricia Simms-Reeve A significant factor that changed our pandemic-gripped lives was, for many lonely or perhaps childless people, the owning of a pet. The most popular was the dog because it, like its owner, needed to go out for daily exercise. Therefore, the leading ‘character’ in My Name is Gucci, a large spotted
Reviewed by Patricia Simms-Reeve A combination of factors contributes to the excellence of a crime/mystery novel. Michael Connelly’s thirty-ninth is a splendid example of this in that The Waiting has a clever plot, convincing and authentic details, and a variety of Californian characters. Together they make this book one that a reader will find impossible
Reviewed by Rod McLary In February 1685, the Catholic James II succeeded his brother Charles II as King of England. A group of dissident Protestants attempted to depose James II and in his stead place Charles’ illegitimate son James Duke of Monmouth on the throne. This ill-considered rebellion ended with the defeat of the Duke
Reviewed by Norrie Sanders Nicole Arthur of the Washington Post once wrote that there are two types of people. “Those who have never heard of the Wiggles and those who know all the words to “Fruit Salad”. There’s a word for those in the latter group: parents” [p151]. For those of us who have reared
Reviewed by Richard Tutin I had a couple of questions as I approached this offering from Glen Humphries. The first was when does a good rock song become a rock anthem? The second question was how do the forty top songs that he has chosen from the Australian songbook became acknowledged as rock anthems when
Reviewed by Rod McLary Dead Happy is the sequel to HappyHead which told the tale of Sebastian Seaton [Seb] who, along with ninety-nine other teenagers, was sent to a new and radical program to solve ‘the national crisis of teenage unhappiness’. Through a course of gruelling challenges, Seb discovers that he has qualities which up