fairywhispers's "2008 Bookshelf"

Letter to D is a touching look at a couple’s life together, spanning half a century. The love Andre feels for his beloved wife Dorine comes through, loud and clear, in every word he has written. Even people who don’t usually enjoy romance novels (and I count myself amongst this number) cannot help but be captivated by the depth of feeling contained in this open letter from a man to his dying wife. This novel is all the more poignant for the events which followed. Letter to D is a definite must-read.

This wasn’t as funny as I expected, though there were some interesting terms. Some of my favourites were:

• al desko : eating at one’s workstation
• blook: a book derived from a blog
• the pig in the python : baby-boomers
• 1661 : a reminder that looks can be deceptive (refers to woman who look 16 from the back and 61 from the front)
• BOBFOC : Body off Baywatch, Face off Crimewatch
• Smirting : flirting while smoking

Most of the extended explanations are boring, but some are worth reading. Shoot the Puppy is more a coffee-table flick-through kind of book, than something to read cover to cover.

I was unable to finish this book. The writing style was not engaging and the plot was a little boring. I found it hard to swallow that a simple spider bite (even if it was a redback) turned our narrator from a CIA/ASIO agant to a radical revolutionary. The main story seems to consist of a series of observances about Australia and Australians that, I suspect, are intended to be funny. Instead, they come across as corny and cliched. Someone with a different sense of humour may enjoy this, but I certainly didn’t.

This book was pretty average, really. The conspiracies were overdone and cliched and the characters weren’t really believable. Having said that, I certainly wouldn’t put it past our governments to do these kinds of things. The most worrying thing for me, though, is that, while most of my being cries out in outrage at the thought of carrying out such a monstrous act, a small part of me can see the logic behind it. Does this make me a monster? Who knows?

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is a unique glimpse into the mind of an autistic child. His single-minded attempt to ‘detect’ who killed his neighbour’s beloved dog is both logical and inspiring. Some parts of the story are very sad, others are amusing, and little pictures throughout the book give a small insight into how this boys mind works. This is one book that ought to be on everyone’s reading list.

Ash Road is a thrilling story about a group of kids stuck in a huge bushfire without any adults. This book was published in 1965, so things like currency and slang are not current, but it doesn’t affect the understanding (or enjoyment) of the story. Although this book was written for kids, I would also recommend it for adults. I have read it many times over the years, and it still makes my heart race and gives me butterflies in my tummy.

The quality of writing in Ash Road is outstanding. The descriptions of a hot day in the Aussie bush are such that one can smell the Eucalypts, and the description of the fire is thrilling. This is a great read for child and adult alike.

This is a minute by minute account of the terrible fire in the Worcester Cold Storage facility that killed six fireman, and changed the lives of many more. Despite knowing the outcome from the beginning, this book is an exciting, edge-of-the-seat read. I found my heart pounding during the account of the fire and I cried as I read of the families being informed. One cannot help but admire the courage of these men, who willingly put their lives on the line to save lives and protect property as a matter of course. Most of the time the gamble pays off, but rare as it is, sometimes the fire wins. This account of one of those times is a definite must-read.