Book Chat - another enjoyable meeting - now every third Wednesday of the month - next date 16th July. Talk about a book (or two ) that you have read or just come for a cuppa and a listen ! June Book Chat discussion The Dalai Lama’s cat and the art of purring – David Michie Sequel to The Dalai Lama’s cat His Holinesss cat is back-older, a bit wiser, and as curious as ever. In this book, the Dalai Lama sets for his lovable feline companion the task of investigating The Art of Purring. Whether its the humorous insights gained from a visiting Ivy League Psychology Professor, the extraordinary research of a world-famous biologist, or the life-changing revelations of a mystical yogi, His Holinesss Cat encounters a wealth of wisdom about happiness. The cat tells the story. “An enjoyable read with nuggets of wisdom. An interesting look at life in the Dalai Lama’s residence.” After the bombing – Claire Morrall - also available as audio On the night of May 3rd, 1942, fifteen-year-old Alma Braithwaite and her fellow boarders at Goldwyns school huddle in an air-raid shelter as bombs rain down on Exeter in one of the Baedeker raids. Twenty-one years on, Alma lives alone in the family house and teaches music at her old school. Shes moderately content, until the death of the long-serving headmistress brings a new broom in the form of the steely, modernizing Miss Yates. A new student starts too - the daughter of a man Alma hasnt seen since 1942, when he played a pivotal role in her life. Suddenly, Alma is taken back to the summer that followed the raids, a summer of numbing loss yet also of youthful exuberance, friendship and dancing. In this enthralling novel, Clare Morrall captures the impact of the Second World War on those at home, particularly the ones too young to take part, and poignantly conveys the long shadow it cast for a generation of women. The garden of evening mists – Tan Twan Eng - also available as ebook, Large Print, eaudio and audioCD “amazing language that draws you in’ “brutal” Malaya, 1951. Yun Ling Teoh, the scarred lone survivor of a brutal Japanese wartime camp, seeks solace among the jungle-fringed tea plantations of Cameron Highlands. There she discovers Yugiri, the only Japanese garden in Malaya, and its owner and creator, the enigmatic Aritomo, exiled former gardener of the emperor of Japan. Despite her hatred of the Japanese, Yun Ling seeks to engage Aritomo to create a garden in memory of her sister, who died in the camp. Aritomo refuses but agrees to accept Yun Ling as his apprentice until the monsoon comes. Then she can design a garden for herself. As the months pass, Yun Ling finds herself intimately drawn to the gardener and his art, while all around them a communist guerilla war rages. But the Garden of Evening Mists remains a place of mystery. Who is Aritomo and how did he come to leave Japan? And is the real story of how Yun Ling managed to survive the war perhaps the darkest secret of all?— The Face – Dean Koontz When a Hollywood star becomes the target of a twisted killer, ex-cop Ethan Truman confronts the secrets of his tragic past and premonitions of his own impending violent death as he struggles to solve the macabre riddles of a killer. “intriguing characters” Bellagrand – Paulina Simons prequel to the Bronze Horseman Italian immigrant Gina, independent, compassionate and strong, desperately wants a family. Boston blue-blood Harry, idealistic and political, wants to create a better world. Bound together by tormented passion, they rail, rage, and break each others hearts, only to come face to face with a stark final choice that will forever determine their destiny. Their journey takes them through four decades and two continents, through triumph and turmoil, from the wooden planks of the troubled immigrant town of Lawrence, Massachusetts, to the marble halls and secret doors of a mystical place called ...Bellagrand. “did not enjoy – too long” “disappointing as enjoyed the Bronze Horseman” The Skin Collector – Jeffery Deaver In his classic thriller The Bone Collector, Jeffery Deaver introduced readers to Lincoln Rhyme-the nations most renowned investigator and forensic detective. Now, a new killer is on the loose: a criminal inspired by the Bone Collector. And Rhyme must untangle the twisted web of clues before the killer targets more victims-or Rhyme himself. “I get irritated with the repetition of the forensics - having read all the Lincoln Rhyme series I am familiar with the methods – I guess the author has to treat you as a first time reader. Not his best but another good read if you skip some of the details” The Invisible Worm – Jennifer Johnston (not available from library but considering for purchase) “This book is an example of why I keep reading Johnston. I don’t love her without reservation, but I love her more often than I do not. The Invisible Worm is an examination of secrets, of patient and enduring love, of compromise, of betrayal, of memory, of loss, of healing. There is a sinister revelation coming, we know it’s coming, we don’t want to be right, but we just know we are” “highly recommended’ The steady running of the hour – Justin Go In this mesmerizing debut, a young American discovers he may be heir to the unclaimed estate of an English World War I officer, which launches him on a quest across Europe to uncover the elusive truth. He has a set amount of time to prove that he is indeed the rightful heir.” “OK but not brilliant” Also mentioned – three Jack Reacher items only available on eBook (not from the library) Here’s the list of Lee Child’s ebooks re the origins and development of his Jack Reacher character: Second Son. 2011. Reacher at the age of 13 years growing up in his military family in Okinawa. Deep down. A short story. High Heat. A novella - 2013 NON FICTION Tracks – Robyn Davidson (now a movie) This book is about one womans solo trek across 1,700 miles of Australian Outback. A camel-trek from the heart of Australia, across 17,000 miles of hostile desert, to the sea - with only a dog and four camels for company. Robyns story beats a track across bush, rock, sand and dust, across magnificent landscapes and through ancient sacred land, through frustrations, triumphs, joy and despair. And as she treks further and further away from civilisation, and ever closer to the burning heart of the world, she realises that this desert will either make her, or break her--Publishers description. “amazing piece of writing”, “descriptive – brilliant” Paris Letters – Janice MacLeod - also available a eBook Finding love and freedom in a pen, a paintbrush...and Paris How much money does it take to quit your job? Exhausted and on the verge of burnout, Janice poses this questions to herself as she doodles on a notepad at her desk. Surprisingly, the answer isnt as daunting as she expected. With a little math and a lot of determination, Janice cuts back, saves up, and buys herself two years of freedom in Europe. A few days into her stop in Paris, Janice meets Christophe, the cute butcher down the street--who doesnt speak English. Through a combination of sign language and franglais, they embark on a whirlwind Paris romance. She soon realizes that she can never return to the world of twelve-hour workdays and greasy corporate lingo. But her dwindling savings force her to find a way to fund her dreams again. So Janice turns to her three loves--words, art, and Christophe -- to figure out a way to make her happily-ever-after in Paris last forever “a really enjoyable read” Shakespeare – Bill Bryson also available in Large Print and audio William Shakespeare left behind nearly a million words of text, but his biography has long been a thicket of wild supposition arranged around scant facts. Bill Bryson sorts through this colourful muddle to reveal the man himself. He reveals the efforts of earlier scholars, like Delia Bacon, who developed a conviction that her namesake Francis Bacon was the true author of Shakespeares plays. Bryson celebrates Shakespeare as a writer of unimaginable talent and enormous inventiveness, a coiner of phrases - vanish into thin air, foregone conclusion, one fell swoop - that even today have a home at the tips of our tongues. His Shakespeare is like no one elses - the beneficiary of Brysons genial nature, his engaging scepticism, and a gift for storytelling unrivalled in our time. –Publisher “delightful read” “full of facts” “minimal facts on Shakespeare but much about the 17th century” Flaws in the Ice: in search of Douglas Mawson – David Day - also available as eBook In Flaws in the Ice, prize-winning historian David Day searches for the real Douglas Mawson. After travelling south on his own six-week odyssey to the Antarctic, the author answers the difficult questions about Mawson that have hitherto lain buried - from questions about his intimate relationship with Lady Scott, and his leadership of the ill-fated Australasian Antarctic Expedition of 1911-14, to his conduct during the legendary trek that led to the death of his two companions. He also explores how Mawson subsequently concealed his failures and deficiencies as an expedition leader, and created for himself a heroic image that has persisted for a century. The Dennis Doherty story: the inspiration for the sound and light show of Norfolk Island – June Allen Dennis Doherty is the real name of a convict who was incarcerated on Norfolk Island during the Second Settlement. He is the narrator for a series of stories from both the First and Second Settlements which were woven together to form the attraction which is the Sound and Light Show--Back cover. “Interesting”
Posted on: Mon, 23 Jun 2014 00:33:33 +0000
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