Adventures in literature
18. The Thursday Murder Club - The man who died twice (2021) by Richard Osman
Sequel to our no.10 review, the same lovable septuagenarians are back, and as a reader you get the opportunity to delve deeper into each character while they also discover richer connections within their friendship. Chiefly a book about friendship, while the backstory of an aged spy investigating the disappearance of 20 million pounds worth of diamonds and the murder of an ex-husband is diverting. The humour and humanity with which the writer describes the bonds and loving tolerance between the characters is where the real story lies. "Small dogs are like small men: always got a point to prove. Yapping it up, barking at cars."
Kerstin's wine & book matching recommendation = House of Cards, The Ace, Cabernet Blend
17. Big Little Lies (2014) by Liane Moriarty
A book exchange freebie from the Kingaroy Caravan Park. If you needed more evidence that the book is always better than the the tv show, then this is it. A quintessentially modern Australian inner suburban tale. (I just cannot believe that the author let the TV series be set in California!) A scarily understandable telling of a riot at a primary school trivia night fund-raiser, and the death that results. You do not have to have children to laugh, empathise and be appalled by the behaviour of the collection of parents central to the story. Well worth reading, highly recommended.
Kerstin's wine & book matching recommendation = Ox Hardy McLaren Vale Grenache
16. A Lady for a Duke (2022) by Alexis Hall
A new release from an author I always enjoy. The writing is englishly witty, while remaining subversive and devastatingly human. This book is a queer historical romance based upon the story of a trans person who takes the opportunity of being presumed dead on the field in Waterloo to start life again as herself. Real queer histories are so often lost, Hall has imagined a history that is both believable and romantic.
Kerstin's wine and book matching recommendation = Veuve Clicquot Vintage Rose 2012
15. The Library of Lost and Found (2019) by Phaedra Patrick
We selected this book to read aloud after the drama, suspense and human foibles of Troubled Blood. It seemed a good idea at the time. But it turned into one of those book experiences where you finish it purely out of a sense of duty, rather than enjoyment. The story was far too predictable, removing any sense of tension. The villain was monophasic, and the inevitable outcomes too sickly sweet. It read like a book that the author wrote for herself, rather than an audience. As if the author needed some proof to exist in the world that despite the calamities and grey areas of real life that disney style fairytale endings are still possible. She would have been better off sticking with the Grimm brothers, at least their stories had a purpose.
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| Needs a quaffing Rose |
Kerstin's wine & book matching recommendation = grab a bottle of Rose from Aldi (any!)
14. Troubled Blood (2020) by Robert Galbraith (aka J.K. Rowling)
Not sure if it is a good idea for me to write this book review, but Louise is busy... reading, in good company.
The book is the fifth in the Cormoran Strike series. We have read the preceding books and were clapping our hands in delight that this newest release was available for our virus-related and self-imposed break from riding around the country. Being unfamiliar with J.K. Rowling's writing qualities through the Harry Potter series, my fascination for her writing has grown through this series. It is a hell of a storytelling joyride through 944 pages, spanning a universe of characters, from medical practitioners to bunny girls, from an astrology obsessed inspector to a psychopathic serial killer. We read the entire book aloud to each other, with our croaking voices being a matching fit to the locations in the novel. Louise says that the book has a lot of "moving parts". It's true, as a reader, I hardly ever thought I was standing still.
I definitely think this is the best book of the series. Do you need to read the others before this one? I think it does enhance the engagement with the main protagonists but at the same time Troubled Blood is so loaded with a wide array of themes and areas of interest, that there is plenty to get stuck into.
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| Needs a wine with a long finish |
Kerstin's wine & book matching recommendation = a French Bordeaux from Saint-Emilion
13. The Scholar (2019) by Dervla McTiernan
Another freebie, from the Texas caravan park book exchange, The Scholar provided Kerstin and I hours of reading aloud entertainment. A significant step up in both writing and storytelling from the previous book. Classic cop, murder mystery drama, with main characters you can believe in and one particular PITA colleague that regardless of what industry you work in is instantly recognisable and despisable. My only issue was with the over use of the word grimace, which was irritating and better editing would have eliminated. Set in Galway, I just wish I had the skill to read in an Irish accent.
Kerstin's wine/spirit and book matching recommendation = Writer's Tears Irish Pot Still Whiskey
12. Don't let Go. Harlan Coben
This book was a freebie we picked up at the library in Wee Waa. It was good enough for some read aloud entertainment (while one is doing the cooking) but not exciting enough to recommend it any further. While we had never heard of this author before, his writing has been the basis of many TV shows and films. He is an American writer of mystery novels and thrillers. The plots of his novels often involve the resurfacing of unresolved or misinterpreted events in the past, murders, or fatal accidents and have multiple twists. We both really liked the storyline, but felt that the strength of the characters weren't living up to it.
Kerstin's wine and book matching recommendation = 19 Crimes, Argentina Malbec
11. White Nights. Ann Cleeves, 2008.
If you've ever sat down to watch Shetland, then you will be familiar with the characters. Or if you are a Vera fan then this is from the same writer. White Nights is the second book in the Shetland series, it follows detective Jimmy Perez in both his work and life on the Shetland isles. This one is set during midsummer, with the nights never getting truly dark, the isles are so far north. The murder mystery is well written but, and I don't think I've ever said this before, the TV series is better. Because, unless you've been to Shetland, I'm not sure the book really portrays the sheer magnificent isolation of the isles the way the cinematography does on the television.
Kerstin's wine and book matching recommendation = Scotch Whiskey, Single malt, Talisker.
10. The Thursday Murder Club. Richard Osman, 2020.
Recommended reading from two disparate people in our lives. It certainly lived up to expectations. I read the book aloud to Kerstin, it's style and characters certainly lend themselves to this style of story telling. Set in an upmarket retirement village in Kent, four residents of dramatically different backgrounds and life experiences set themselves the challenge of solving the murder of the owner of the village. What happens when four determined septuagenarians meet with the local police inspector and organised crime? I can only recommend you read it.
Kerstin's wine and book matching recommendation = Chandon Cuvee Riche (many bottles)
9. The Dictionary of Lost Words. Pip Williams, 2020.
Winner of multiple awards and a bestseller this Australian writer blends truth and fiction to tell the stories of those so often erased by history, and their words, women. "In 1901 the word bondmaid was discovered missing from the Oxford English Dictionary (true story). This is the story of the girl who stole it" (fiction). Spanning the years 1886-1928, this excellently crafted storytelling covers issues of class and gender, as well as the world altering Suffrage movement and WW1, through the eyes and experience of an intelligent, thoughtful, quiet woman. A eye opening insight into the lost histories of women, thought provoking and relevant.
Kerstin's wine and book matching recommendation = Baileys of Glenrowan, Rare Old Muscat
8. Any Old Diamonds. K. J. Charles, 2019.
Historical, Queer, crime/romance fiction, set in Victorian England, and based on a real crime. Fantastically fun writing style with enough emotional tone to still feel engaged and sympathetic to the characters. With music halls, revenge and a twist you won't see coming, a read to distract you from the news.
7. Cracking the Menopause, whilst keeping yourself together. Mariella Frostrup and Alice Smellie, 2021.
A book about menopause that is positive, pragmatic, personal and full of the stories of women. Instead of being overly medicalised, it is designed to give you knowledge and power, not fear. A great way to open a conversation that I am constantly surprised isn't happening. Half of the world will experience menopause but the research is thin, knowledge is poor but ignornace, shame and ridicule are high. It will reshape your approach to The Change. I quite like the definition as translated from 'the Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine written approx 2600BC. "At seven times seven a woman's heavenly dew wanes; the pulse of her conception channel decreases. The Qi that dwelt in the baby's palace moves upward into her heart, and her wisdom is deepened." And to our good friend Rebecca, with whom we discussed needing a word to define a female version of Mid Life Crisis. I found it in this book, 'climacteric'!
6. Pressure is a Privilege. Lessons I've learnt from life and the battle of the sexes. Billie Jean King, 2008.
Less than 200 pages by a woman who even if you aren't a tennis fan, you have to admire for her integrity, leadership, feminism and gratitude. Deceptively simple, if you could teach your mind to take on the approach and attitude that Billie Jean lays out, life would be maybe not easier but definitely more positive.
Kerstin's wine and book matching recommendation = Pimm's No. 15. The Last Explorer, Australia's unknown hero. Simon Nasht, 2005
While at the Submarine museum in Holbrook we read a little about this bloke named Hubert Wilkins, and I couldn't believe I'd never heard of this guy, he lived a truly amazing life. I said to Kerstin, "I have to read his biography". A used bookstore in Newtown delivered the opportunity. After consuming the contents of the book voraciously, I still cannot believe that we don't celebrate this amazing Australian. In the early 20th century he was quite famous, was knighted by both the UK and Italy and had two ticket tape parades in New York. The story of Wilkins' life is so astonishing as to be almost unbelievable. If you are curious about the first man to fly across the Artic and Antartic, and the first to take a Submarine under the artic. Who worked as a film maker, journalist, pilot, war photographer, spy, navigator, explorer and scientist. This is the book for you, I promise you will be amazed.
I advance ordered this 800 page sequel to House of Earth and Blood back in May last year, and was super excited when it automatically arrived on my Kindle app on its release. I love this author, and have read everything she has written. It's like J. R. R. Tolkin was reincarnated as a woman of the modern age. All of the world building, the layers of storytelling, the drama, the epic fantasy style and then add quality female leading characters. OMG!!! I cannot recommend this writer enough. Except to say if you have a YA person in your life who loves to read then start them on her Throne of Glass series. But if you are a grown up skip straight to the Court of Thorns and Roses series. If you have read the first book in this Crescent City series already I won't give anything away accept to say that you will both love and hate Sarah for the ending to this one.
3. B for Burglar by Sue Grafton (published 1986)
A author before her time! I am so surprised how much I enjoyed this little 50 cent treasure. It passes the Bechdel test with flying colours. (The Bechdel test is a measure of the representation of women in fiction. It asks whether a work features at least two women who talk to each other about something other than a man.) Brilliantly described, and the story will keep you guessing. How can you pass up an author who introduces herself with the line "For months I lay in bed and plotted how to kill my ex-husband. But I knew I'd bungle it and get caught, so I wrote it in a book instead."
2. The Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews. (10 books)
I have finished working my way through this series, 10/10 books read with relish. A wife/husband writing team who met in English Composition at college. The series is a science fiction/fantasy series where the world has suffered a magical apocalypse, and Kate Daniels who likes her sword and talks fearlessly is finding her way. A fun, action packed story with a brilliant heroine. Both the authors and the characters developed as the books build the long arch of the major storyline. Full of excellent one liners to make you laugh, and world building to get immersed in.
1. The Nature Fix, why nature makes us happier, healthier and more creative. By Florence Williams
Perhaps preaching to the converted, but the research is in depth and solid. The chapter on kids and ADHD is tragically captivating. In the end, we all can point to experiences outside, big and small awes that have changed us, even if it's just a reprieve. Nature is essential to us humans.
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