The book provides an interesting overview of the development of England from multiple regions into one kingdom and the attempt to protect the country from Viking invasion. In some sections it also discusses relationships between leaders in England with leaders in parts of Europe. The Kings & Queens of Anglo-Saxon England is an interesting study of part of English history compiled from the fragments of the limited resources, reliable and otherwise, that remain from that time.
When Lola Quinlan, now eighty-six, was told that she was losing her eyesight, she decided that she needed to make the most of what was left of her life. This included travelling from South Australia to Melbourne to attend a concert of old time music and also visit sights that she and Alex had visited fifty years previously.
When in Melbourne, Lola met Sullivan, a twelve year old boy who was spending most of his holidays at the hotel where Lola was staying. It was not long before they became good friends with Sullivan helping Lola when she undertook her expeditions. However both Lola and Sullivan had challenges at home that concerned them while Sullivan was also learning how to cope with bullying from some of the boys at school. During their time together both Lola and Sullivan came to better understand the importance of family as well as how to deal with challenges in the future.
When Sullivan Met Lola by Monica McInerney is the fourth book in the Lola Quinlan series. The other titles are Lola's Secret, The Alphabet Sisters and Trip of a Lifetime.
Throughout the book the author includes examples from his own books, particularly The Rosie Result and The Best of Adam Sharp. The result is a useful, informative work on the craft of writing a novel that people would want to read.
Graeme Simsion is particularly well known for his three book series, starting with The Rosie Project, centered around Don Tillman, a person who often thinks differently from others. Autism is not mentioned in the first book but by the third book it has become part of the discussion. Graeme Simsion is therefore able to also provide guidance on incorporating a range of themes into a book as well as just a good plot and characters.
The creation and eventual removal of the White Australia Policy obviously forms much of the story as does the effects of world events impacting on additional people coming to Australia. The shape of the economy at a particular time is another factor affecting views on immigration and causing changes to immigration policy.
Immigration has once again become a political issue largely promoted by political parties such as One Nation. Immigration is a topic prominent in other countries as well. The author provides information as to how immigration has assisted the growth of the Australian economy over the years and helped make Australia the country that it is today. By concentrating on immigration, Mark Cully in Waves of Plenty provides another work that should be read when looking at the history and development of Australia.
Arlo Hackett has spent twelve years in gaol after being found guilty by association when his brother, Luke, was charged with murder. Arlo returns home to a town full of hatred but initially he has nowhere else to go. His mother is in a nursing home so he decides to prepare the family home for sale in order to pay the fees required for keeping his mother in the home.
Eventually Arlo realises that he needs to investigate what really happened when his friend Saxon was murdered. Chapters in the book reveal the story as Arlo carries out his search while other chapters provide an account of life in the town twelve years earlier. Eventually Arlo and his few friends realise that the true story about Saxon's death are very different from what what was revealed by the police at the time.
Tell Me Something True by Michael Robotham is a gripping crime novel which I read in two days. The title refers to a fun game that Saxon liked to play by asking "Tell me something true."
This book was the October 2026 book selected in in Dervla McTiernan's The Bookclub that isn't a Bookclub.
Members of the public were asked to vote for ten of their favourite Australian books. A compilation was made of the 100 most popular books - novels, non-fiction and children's books. The results were published on the weekend17-18 October.
Today the list of the next fifty books (101-150) that did not make the list was released. Many favourites appear on the supplementary lists.
Always Home, Always Homesick by Hannah Kent
The Sound of One Hand Clapping by Richard Flanagan
A Room Made of Leaves by Kate Grenville
* PB The Eleventh Hour by Graeme Base
Bruny by Heather Rose
* PB Who Sank the Boat? by Pamela Allen
The Bridge of Clay by Markus Zusak
On the Beach by Neville Shute
* JF The Complete Adventures of Blinky Bill
The Fortunes of Richard Mahony by Henry Handle Richardson
All Our Shimmering Skies by Trent Dalton [on my top 10]
* JF Mary Poppins by P L Travers
The Ruin by Dervla McTiernan
* YA Hating Alison Ashley by Robin Klein
* PB Wilfred Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox & Julie Vivas
Dusk by Robbie Arnott
The Drovers Wife by Henry Lawson
* PB Grug by Ted Prior
Books marked with * are children's books. (Also YA - Young Adult; JF - Junior Fiction; PB - Picture Book CB - Cookery Books)
Titles of books with posts in this blog have hyperlinks to the post.
Many of the titles in the list are for books that I read long before I began this blog.
Members of the public were asked to vote for ten of their favourite Australian books. A compilation was made of the 100 most popular books - novels, non-fiction and children's books. The results were published on the weekend17-18 October. 100 - 61 are listed in this post.
*JF Round the Twist by Paul Jennings
*JF The 13-Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffith and Terry Denton
CB Recipe Tin Eats:Dinner by Nagi Maehashi
*JF Where the Forest Meets the Sea by Jeannie Baker
Puberty Blues by Kathy Lette and Gabrielle Carey
Juice by Tim Winton
The Lost Man by Jane Harper
The Dressmaker by Rosalie Ham
*PB Wombat Stew by Marcia K Vaughan and Pamela Lofts
We of the Never-Never by Mrs Aeneas Gunn
Power Without Glory by Frank Hardy
The Broken Shore by Peter Temple
The Bookbinder of Jericho by Pip Williams
The Fatal Shore by Robert Hughes
Scrublands by Chris Hammer
The Tree of Man by Patrick White
A Town Like Alice by Neville Shute
Unreliable Memoirs by Clive James
Voss by Patrick White
Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens by Shankari Chandran
Damned Whores and God's Police by Anne Summers
Question 7 by Richard Flanagan
*PB Are We There Yet? by Alison Lester
Books marked with * are children's books. (Also YA - Young Adult; JF - Junior Fiction; PB - Picture Book CB - Cookery Books)
Titles of books with posts in this blog have hyperlinks to the post.
Many of the titles in the list are for books that I read long before I began this blog.
