Tin Tin’s cousins Quick and Flupke will hit the streets in November…

one hundred years after the birth of the author. India will act as a testing ground for the twelve volume series. Check out The Age’s full story here.

Melbourne Writer’s Festival

The Melbourne Writer’s Festival runs from August 24 to September 2. Stellar sessions include Dave Eggers on the opening night. Book tickets via the website.

Today I met one of my favourite authors – Martine Murray

And I asked her to sign my copies of How to Make a Bird and The Slightly Bruised Glory of Cedar B Hartley. It was very exciting and great to meet someone who is so modest about her success as an author.

Check out what The Australian had to say about Children’s Literature

Here

The Slightly True Story of Cedar B. Hartley – Martine Murray

The Slightly True Story Of Cedar B. Hartley by Martine Murray introduces us to almost thriteen year old Cedar who is facing all of the troubles of pre-teen life. She is too old for some of the kids in her street, too young for others, she has never been kissed, lives with her mum and doesn’t quite know where her older brother has taken off to. Cedar faces life in inner Melbourne the only way she knows how – by getting on with things.

This is a great story of a young girl’s struggle to fit into her surroundings. The story is told with a child’s innocence that will provide page turning reading for the young and young at heart.

The Secret River – Kate Grenville

The Secret River is an engaging book written by Kate Grenville where history and fiction meld to form an amazing story of the challenges faced by the early British settlers to Australia.

Kate’s story tracks William Thornhill and his family through his pardon from the executioner’s noose to his voyage to Australia with his heavily pregnant wife and young son. The Thornhill’s story is one of making the most of opportunities, seeking challanges and having faith in their convictions.

The story is so well narrated it is difficult to put down, but that doesn’t mean that readers will love every chapter of the Thornhill’s life. There are certainly some events which are difficult to swallow, especially for those Australian’s whose herritage can be traced back to those early settlers upon which the live of William Thornhill is based.

A truly memorable read. It is easy to see why this book of historical fiction was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize.

For those who are interested, Kate Grenville has also written a memoir Searching for the Secret River.

Larry’s Party – Carol Shields

Larry’s Party is a series of essay-like stories begining with Larry as an unmarried twenty-seven year old and ending with middle-aged Larry dining with his friends surrounding him.

Shields provide a very relaxed voice throughout the stories and describes Larry’s life in great detail. Larry is very uncomplicated and leads his life as such. Throughout marriage, becoming a father and his career, Larry’s human side shows through. The best part about the writing is its stand-alone nature, each story can be read independently of the others, whilst providing enough background to paint a complete picture of Larry and his reaction to the present events.

This is an excellent read and I will be seeking more Carol Shields’s books.

The Memory Keeper’s Daughter – Kim Edwards

Kim Edwards transports readers back to a winter’s night in 1960 in The Memory Keeper’s Daughter. The story beings in a shocking fashion with Dr David Henry being forced to deliver his own baby after the weather prevents the arrival of of his wife’s obstatrician.

Dr Henry is surprised to find that his wife is delivering twins, and stunned to find that his daughter is born with Downs Syndrome. In a panicked moment, Dr Henry draws his assistant into a secret world and makes a decision that will alter not only his life, but that of his wife, son, daughter and assistant.

The book follows the stories of Dr Henry’s family and his secret daughter. It is an emotional journey through the next twenty years, as Dr Henry learns split second decision can cost.

The novel has deservedly reached number 1 on the New York bestseller. This story can not be the only one of its kind in the world, and as harrowing as the tale may be, it is definately worth a read.

Fishpond.com.au – A Review

I discovered on-line booksellers fishpond.com.au (Fishpond) about six months ago and was quite initially impressed by the prices offered on new books, but also by the free postage on orders over $50.00.

Previously, I had bought most of my books from Amazon.com, but due to the expense of shipping, I usually waited until I had a bulk order. Another problem of ordering at Amazon.com was the excessive shipping time.

I saw Fishpond as a new way of buying lower cost books and having them delivered quickly, as Fishpond have a Tullamarine warehouse. However, although Fishpond claims that most of the items will be delivered within 3 to 5 days of ordering, in my experience, I have found their shipping to be excessively slow. In some cases, books that were to be delivered within a week have taken eight weeks to arrive. It is true that Fishpond emailed me to let me know of the delay, but their new time estimates were as wildly inaccurate as the original time estimates.

The best aspect of Fishpond is buying second hand books. Fishpond allows users to list their used books for sale to other Fishpond users. The service is allows users to purchase used books through their existing Fishpond account and therefore simplifying the payment process. I have found the service to be prompt, and so far each of the books I have order has arrived in the condition described by the seller.

However, I have sold several books via this method, and have not found the process as easy for seller of used books. Once the order has been placed, the seller has two days to post the book to the buyer. Selling second hand books on Fishpond allows sellers to ask a higher price than at conventional second hand bookstores, but payment is not immediate. Fishpond collects the sellers asking price, plus $4.95 postage, but then keeps 10% of the total price. In most cases, postage on novels is $5.00, but for hardcover and heavier books is usually $9.00. Potential sellers should factor this into their asking price

Under the standard conditions, Fishpond agrees to make payment to the seller within 7 to 14 days of the order being placed. However, in my experience, Fishpond’s payment schedule is as unreliable as there delivery. If, as a seller, you can afford to wait for payment, it is possible to recover a little more for used books than selling them to second hand book dealers.

In short, Fishpond sells a wide range of books generally at better prices than can be found in traditional stores. A further benefit is that Fishpond offers a service to buy and sell second hand items. However, if your purchase is time-sensitive, I would steer clear of Fishpond, unless purchasing second hand books which arrive within one week of purchasing. When considering selling, it is worth weighing up the time spent packaging the items and the time between the sale and payment being received. It may be easier to simply take your books to a second hand dealer.

The Talented Mr Ripley – Patricia Highsmith

Well, I must be one of only a few on the planet who have not seen the movie ‘The Talented Mr.Ripley’, so, before watching it I decided that I would read the book. Yes, I am one of those book-people as the blog might suggest.

Anyway, on with the show. The blurb for this book states (and I am quoting the Daily Telegraph here) “It is hard to imagine anyone interested in modern fiction who has not read the Ripley novels.” Well, I consider myself as an interested party in modern fiction, therefore, no need to image Mr/Ms Daily Telegraph; there are plenty of us out there (I checked).

Having such a big rap like that from the Daily Telegraph, the Ripley novel might be feeling some anxiety as to its ability to meet the required level to attain the realms of classic modern fiction. However, it should fear not as I concur completely with the Daily Telegraph.

In this, Patricia Highsmith’s first novel in the Mr Ripley series, we meet Tom Ripley who has been hired by Herbert Greenleaf, father of Tom’s acquaintance Dickie, to travel to Italy to convince Dickie to give up the artists’ life he is leading and return to the United States.

In the first half of the book, Tom travels to Italy and befriends Dickie. Sensing that Dickie is tiring of him, Tom makes elaborate plans to spend time alone with Dickie in an effort to convince Dickie to allow Tom to live with him.

As Tom discovers that Dickie is unwilling to change his opinion, Tom kills Dickie to allow Tom to lead the life he thinks he has earned. With Dickie dead, Tom assumes Dickie’s identity and fraudulently obtains the monthly cheque that is forwarded to Dickie from his father’s company. In order to cover up the murder of Dickie, Tom also murders a close friend Freddie.

Whilst all this may sound gruesome and horrible, it really doesn’t read that way. The murder scenes are dealt with swiftly and are very understated. There is very little description of the murder scene and I certainly wouldn’t describe this as stomach churning. Highsmith has almost slowed down the events surrounding the murder, and whilst I thoroughly enjoyed the read, I was not racing through the text.

This is a chilling novel, but not so that it is off the bedtime reading list. Tom is indeed a very complex and confident character whose mindset will shock you. His intelligence puts him in the category of genius, but his execution ‘friendship’ makes him one of the most frightening people on earth.

The book was filled with a number of twist and turns, which kept me gripped until the very end. The plot is well constructed and each chapter skillfully written. There is a beauty in crime stories of the 1950s and a sense that other crime fiction is now filled with DNA samples and scientific jargon. In my opinion, I much prefer this style of writing and will be reaching for the next in the Mr. Ripley series. (Once I have gotten through my existing list of must-reads).