The older I get the more I find myself looking back to the great memories from the past. These books were important to me when I read them in the 1980s. Luckily my partner is a hoarder/ collector of books and these were still on her shelf. I think the reread was every thing and more than the first was. Definitely two books that define an important moment in my life.

Xmas haul. Some are brand new and some are from our op shop Xmas giving. All will be added to my huge TBR book case. The one I had hoped to read through this past year. 🤷🏻‍♂️. Instead it‘s just grown bigger than ever.

A soft pick. I enjoyed the descriptions of the Orient Express and discovered in the acknowledgments that the author had travelled on it. Also unknown to me ,she has been battling cancer. One of her characters has also survived cancer. Hopefully the author will stay well and go on to write many other books. Another Aussie author with a widening audience.

Not my favourite. A bit long . Didn‘t get me in like the others so took me a while to get through.

Well that was a crime novel like no other I have ever read. I almost gave up about 3/4 through it. So glad I didn‘t . Even teared up near the end. 🥲 Was a bit of a challenge but worth it in the end. Very clever.

Finally got to read this. Recommended by so many people. I loved it. Agree with Ann Patchett that everyone in the US should read it. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
My best read for this year I'm thinking.

Nearly a Pan. Seemed very long to me , wasn‘t sure where it was going so I kept going, seems it was going nowhere. The narrator was a female but I had to keep reminding myself as the voice felt like male to me.
Picked up because it had a rainbow sticker and the author is Aussie.

Picked this because it had a rainbow sticker and it‘s Pride Month here. I‘ve never been able to read a romcom so decided to give it a go. Delightful. Even shed a few happy tears at the end. Lovely letter to reader at the end. Bonus book club questions too. I did it @CarolynM

I read his latest book so I searched out this one published in 2017. Probably written before the present regime in the US. A dystopian novel some of which could be possible and feels often a bit like today. Note to self, No more dystopian novels for a while. 😏.

What can I say, I‘ve had a bad month with my reading. I‘ve started so many books and given up. So many I couldn‘t put them all on here. Started this one with high expectations . Instead of a page turner it read like a TV script and was way too long. I had to force myself to finish it. There is a twist in the end but 🤷🏻‍♂️ .
Won‘t be long and it will be on the screen.
A disappointment.

Heard a lot about how good this was. Long wait from library. Had to give it up. Just not my thing. Recommended it to-my daughter and she loved it. So there you go.

Divided into two parts, I found the second part the easiest to read. Story is set 100+ years in the future. Researchers looking back at now. Trying in the main to find a lost poem. The first part certainly gave me pause for thought. If I had done this review just after I read it I might have said so so .Time to think and ponder gave me a very different view.

Delightful. Not to be read at one sitting. Instead of scrolling on your phone , pick this up and scroll through it. Her voice is very clear. Wise, funny and sometimes a bit rude. I love her. ❤️.

Delightful especially the illustrations. We are all different but together we make a rainbow. 🌈

Almost a bail. Disappointing. Too long. Too much conversation and descriptions. Read like he was writing it for a TV series. I skimmed a lot of it just to get it finished.

I kept thinking people will either love or hate this book. I was really liking it , so very Aussie ( “ a saga short of a picnic”) . Towards the end it slowed up and the ending was way too long for me and felt like it was written for a movie. Very much his style of writing. Mixed feelings about this book from me.

Jimmy is back. And he has mellowed. Love the descriptions of Orkney and the other islands. We nearly got there just before Covid. Don‘t think we will make it now so will have to just read about it. A good story. Kept me reading. Got me thinking at the end.

Perhaps not a book I would usually read . I often read the books the book club I used to belong to read. This was one of them. It took me a while to get into it but at some point I began to really enjoy it. The history , the concept of time travel and perhaps changing history though don‘t think you have to time travel to do that ,just be a dictator and rewrite it. 😏 Loved Graham. Twists and turns. Crime. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

My latest Little Golden Book rescued from an Op shop.

When I first read this in 1985 it had a big impact on me and it‘s one book that stayed with me. I‘ve not watched the series and probably won‘t. This reread allowed me to see how much is actually happening now. Loved the authors introduction written in 2017. Who would have thought back in 1985 that some of this could be a possibility.

Lent to me by a friend I can‘t help thinking “ what‘s in a name” . 3 story lines. 3 different names. One boy. We follow each name and story through the years. 3 very different stories but all with a domestic violence theme.
I enjoyed it but it fell a bit flat at the end for me. A commendable first novel.

Seems I requested this and couldn‘t remember why. Looked back and saw that in June @CarolynM had mentioned it was her best read for June. So I requested it from library. A great read. Reminded me of Ben Elton‘s books. Taking events of the day and weaving them into a story. This is set in Britain and includes the politics during covid and beyond. Mysterious deaths . Crime , my favourite genre. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Went shopping for jeans and came home with these. So much for reading my way through my TBR shelf this year. All I‘ve done is read and add to it. It‘s bigger than ever. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Another Aussie author that I love reading. This did not disappoint and in fact was a bonus read , the first time she has written a mystery ,my favourite genre. She did it well. Such superb writing. She no longer lives in Western Australia but I still count her as one of our West Aussie authors. She lives In Sydney.

I enjoyed that it was set where I live and I recognised places. The general story covered important issues but not sure why it just missed the mark for me. Thanks @CarolynM for altering me to this book. Not something I would usually pick up . Got me thinking of situations in my past. I understood what she was saying about attitudes to sexual assaults, rape etc over time. Lived through a lot of it.

Heard the author on the radio and requested from the library. Took a while to get as I guess it‘s a popular read. A great insight into the workings of a social media company. I particularly liked the end chapters which comment on very recent times. Another book people should/ could read. I can now understand more the push back from theses companies with Australia bringing in ban on social media for kids. $$ Learnt they don‘t let their kids on it.

I just finished reading this book a moment ago. I have a lot of thinking to do . I have marked bits do I can talk them through with my partner. This would be the best book I‘ve read this year so far. My immediate thought was that everyone should have a go at reading this book. Right I‘m away to have a big think!

You were right @BarbaraBB I did start to remember it and this time I read it very slowly. Loved it just as much as before. Going to keep it and the note. Wonder how long until I read it again. So much in this well written novel.
A great read. ( again) 😊❤️

I‘ve been having a bit of a reading slump. I‘ve been going through my TBR shelf and visiting the library and have bailed on so many books I haven‘t bothered to record them. Yesterday I found this with the note I had written to myself. 😊. So I‘m reading it again. So far no memory. 🤷🏻‍♂️ . At least I don‘t think I‘ll be bailing. Just going to see if I can find when I did read it.

I‘m enjoying the Spring sunshine . Finished this book over the weekend. A gift . It was underwhelming. I enjoyed watching Jeremy on the telly when we visited mother in law in Scotland. Think that‘s where his talent lies.

An Op shop find. I knew of Elliot/ Ellen from the movie Juno so I jumped right into this book. As he says in the author‘s note “There are an infinite number of ways to be queer and trans ,and my story speaks to only one.”:
I‘m now going down a rabbit hole of finding his past movies etc. Right now watching The Umbrella Academy filmed during the time he made his transition. A book I might keep and read again sometime.

Surprised that I am the first to write a review of this book. I enjoyed it and read it in a day. Still thinking about it especially the way she ended it.
Her relationship with her mum , her love life ( some surprises there ) , loyalty , trust and betrayal.

I‘m fairly sure this is a reread for me. It would have been maybe 8 years ago that I read it so any memory of it long gone except the feeling that I had read it and enjoyed it. Main character is dead , all about her life , her family . Celeste Ng is great at writing about relationships. I had just watched the series of her other book Little fires Everywhere.

I got this because 7 or 8 years ago I read and loved her first book. This one , not at all. Bailed half way through.
Aussie boy gets dumped by girlfriend , flees to America with very little money. He has a visa for 90 days. I could not warm to young white boy, sniffing drugs and getting high and drunk. Slow moving story with lots of descriptions and long words I had to look up. Couldn‘t finish it.

A friend late for coffee. Held up by neighbour with all the news of our street. I call the woman The Newspaper of Egina St. Which lead me to thinking of above book. Thought I‘d read it again. It‘s a delight. Published in 1981 by our local press . This copy given to me in 1987 by partner at the start of our relationship. So has special place in my heart for many reasons. An Aussie classic for sure. ❤️

Lent to me by a friend , I finished this a few days ago. Needed time to think about it. It‘s set on an island and it lead me along and kept me reading with clues to something that had happened. A cast of characters , a family of dad and 3 kids and a mysterious young woman washed up. In the end I had to speed read , the suspense was getting at me and I needed to know the end. Her previous book recommended many time by friends , might give it a go.

A story of 3 generations and the gold mining town of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia. I had to concentrate as it moves back and forth through times. Also the descriptions and language used are wonderful. Winding through the main story is the story of Paddy Hannon, the Irish immigrant who first discovered the gold where the town was formed.

An entertaining read. I‘m enjoying the main character Philomena , a police constable. Second in the series featuring her. Think I might be hooked.
Hope he writes more in his Evie Cormac series. I‘ve really enjoyed those too.

Bailed.

Just recently I‘ve been learning a lot about the Mitford family, the girls especially. What interesting entitled people. Decided to try one of Nancy‘s books. I enjoyed this light romantic story published first in 1945. She has written loosely about her own family and friends. Going to watch the series. Also I see her sequel to this book is also a tv series. I‘ll watch rather than read.

A gift. I picked this to read next as I needed a break from what I had been reading. Not a light read like I thought it would be. I love Poe and Tilly and this is only the 2nd in the series I have read. It is very dark and has more twists and turns than a mountain road. I only saw one coming and the end was for me ,a step too far, but I guess it was clever.🤷🏻‍♂️.

My second book by Elizabeth. This one I thought a lot about. She withdrew it from publishing in the 1970s when she also stopped writing then was persuaded to publish it in 2014 . She maintained she couldn‘t remember why .
I think she is very much in this book and that there was a Stephen in her life at the time. It‘s one of those books so well written that I had to concentrate and not read too fast.

Read an article in a weekend paper about her. Never heard of her before. Requested books from library and got two. This one was a bit of a tough read. Dysfunctional relationships. Excellent writing. First published in 1966. Long out of print until Text reprinted all her work in 2012 . Still being printed . An Australian author who should be remembered and read.

This is a book that I think is best read not knowing anything about the plot. However it did take me a while to get into it. Could see why someone would give up. Don‘t. Keep going. It may make you feel uncomfortable, keep going. For me it was well worth it. ❤️

When all your library holds come at once! Now to get started .

Published after her death this has a lovely Forward by her friend Charlotte Wood which I read before and after I had read the short stories. Insightful stories so very well written. Easy to see reflections of her own life in many of them. So sad that she didn‘t get to write more and enjoy a long life. ❤️

First book for August. Delightful. I‘ve always enjoyed her stories. It was perfect for this stormy weekend. An older woman finding herself and realising she has choices and it‘s never too late. ❤️❤️

This is a reprint of the 50th year . I rescued it from an op shop. When I was teaching I read these stories to my Year 1s. Rereading it now I think it would still appeal to young ones. I‘m going to try in on step granddaughter who is a little older but has a naughty little sister.

Lent to me by a friend. Delightful. A well written , eloquent love story. Actually a few love stories or maybe better , stories of love. Set in France and England. Took me a while to read but I did enjoy it.

Heard these two young women on the radio. One dealing with a physical “ broken” brain the other a mental “ broken “ brain. Chronicles their different experiences with lots of commentary on our medical system and how each is dealt with. Also how each is perceived by friends and family. The two women are friends and the book is illuminating and their friendship shines through.