2010....

2010 promises to be a massive year. Tomorrow I go back to work full time whilst my little boy stays at home with his dad for the next 6 months. On top of that my husband and I are both going back to Uni, he will work part-time too. I will also look after my friend's child for one day on the weekend. Then, there are the usual activities of life. Catching up with family, friends etc. Playing sport, taking Adam to Mother's Group, Storytime, Swim lessons etc. And that is just the beginning!! So I am sure 2010 will be fantastic and more. Stay tuned!

Uni: Organisational Behaviour

The 2nd semester of 2009 also saw me back at Uni doing my MBA. Just one subject though. Organisational behaviour. And I passed with flying colours. A Distinction. Yeah for me! 5 subjects down, 7 to go...

Books 2009, a year in review

WOW! I read 52 books. I am so proud of myself. Didn't think I'd get there in the end but good on me! I can't say 2010 will be the same. I think I will be lucky to read half that amount. Anyway, a quick overview of what I read:

Teenage, 7 books
Chick Lit, 14 books (4 of which were Aussie outback ones)
Crime, 6 books
General Fiction, 11 books
Non-fiction, 14 books

Hmm, any surprises? Not really. However one current disappointment. Bookgroup consists of 11 books for the year of which I only read 10. I have the December book to read still. Here's hoping I'll get there....

Books: Gossip Girl (books 5,6,7,8,9)

My final book bender of the year. Books 5 -9 of the Gossip Girl series. Complete and utter teenage trash which I just love! GG follows the lives of the teen elite in New York's upper east side as the finish the last year of school before heading off to college. I just love them. I read the first four years ago and now only two more to go.... bliss!

Book: Perfect Match

It was time for another Jodi Picoult and this one did not disappoint. Brilliant ending which I did not see coming! Perfect Match is the sad story about a young boy who was sexually abused. His mother, a District Attorney, shot the alleged killer in court. However, a bizarre DNA thing discovered that the Priest she killed wasn't actually the murderer. Anyway, it is quite complex but like all her books there is a major ethical dilemma, and the court case behind it. I just loved this one. Really recommend it!

Victorian Library Tech Group Xmas Dinner

Staying on the dinner theme, I headed down by myself a week later for the LT Dinner in Chapel St at the Temperence Hotel. I couldn't get Kim to come as she had to work so this time it was just me. Once again, lovely to chat to everyone as it was about 18 months since my last LT event appearance. Hopefully I will be back to some more events in 2010!

Health Libraries Inc Dinner

In late Novemeber I headed to Melbourne for the annual HLI Dinner, this time with Michelle. It is great to have another library person up here just to travel up and down that highway with. Plus I was a passenger this time which I love (nice car too!) Anyway, this year Stephen Due of Geelong was awarded the Life Membership and he has done so much for the Health Library Industry since I started that it was most deserving. Again it was also just great to catch up with everyone from the health library world (especially the lovely Laura) (you too Margaret but I saw you not too long ago). I will be back in the loop next year but it was just nice to touch base considering I hadn't seen the majority of them in over a year! Nice food too!!

Ballarat Library Industry dinner

In early November the library folk of Ballarat gathered once again for dinner. This time it was at the University of Ballarat Tafe restaurant called Prospects (I think). The food was amazing. What a brilliant 3 course meal for only $30. I never thought it would be so good but it was by far one of the best meals I have had in town (service a bit rusty though). Anyway, the food was not only good but so was the company. As I have been out of the loop for the majority of the year it was awesome just to catch up with everyone (mainly from my own work) just to see how everything and everyone was going!

Books: The Shopaholic Series (all 5 of them)!

Save Karyn reminded me of the Shopaholic books which I had yet to read. So I picked up the first one and couldn't put them down. I had number 2 also so read that, then texted my book nerd friends to see if they had number 3. I managed to get book 5 from Michelle (cheers babe) but was forced to go out and buy books 3 and 4 (Bookmooch would have been too slow). I raced through them loving them to bits!

The main character Becky Bloomwood is a financial journalist who is absolutely crap with her money and has massive amounts of debt (which no one knows about). All she does is shop - for clothes, shoes, handbags, makeup etc. Anyway, the first book sees her become a TV Financial journalist and she ends up with handsome PR mogul Luke Brandon. The second book sees her follow Luke to New York but the TV shows find out about all her debts and she loses her job but ends up as a personal shopper at Barneys. The third book sees her get married to Luke (twice - long story), the fourth sees her reunited with a sister she didn't know existed (but one who hates shops, consumerism etc.) and the fifth sees her pregnant and shopping for baby things. Apparently there is a sixth book underway.

I mean these are not the best written book ever, but they were awesome for escapism. Chick lit at its best. I love Becky even though at times I loathed her! Loved them. A great book bender!!

Book: Save Karyn

I really enjoyed reading this book and it actually sent me on a book bender (see next post). Anyway, true story, she had $25,000 in credit card debt and set up a website asking for donations. She details the bumpy road that got here there in the first place and how she got out of it. Just a great little read. Highly recommend it!

Book: Lucy Zeezou's Goal

Synopsis: Lucy's family is famous for two things in Italy: soccer and fashion. Her pushy mother wants her to model for the family's fashion label. Even worse, Lucy's father - captain of Milan's premier soccer team - agrees. But Lucy has been leading a double life, playing soccer on the side when she isn't modeling. When she and her mother move from Milan to Sydney to be closer to her grandparents, Lucy has the chance to come clean about who she really is and what she really wants to do with her life.

A teenage novel about a girl playing soccer. Loved it, although it was fairly simple and the team always won and outcomes were always in Lucy's favour. The author probably tried to pack to much in but it was a lovely easy read. Good for teenage girls.

Book: Cattleman's Daughter

Ah, my favourite Aussie author is back. I loved this book. Raced through it so quickly. Synopsis:

Born on the rugged Dargo High Plains and raised by her cattleman father, Emily Flanaghan has lost her way in life. Locked in an unhappy marriage in the suburbs, Emily misses the high country with a fierce ache. To make matters worse, her heritage is under threat. A government bill to evict the mountain cattlemen is about to be passed, and the Flanaghans could be banned from the mountains their family has looked after for generations.
When a terrible accident brings Emily to the brink of death, she realises she must return to the high country to seek a way forward in life; healing herself, her daughters and her land. Along the way, she finds herself falling in love with a man who works for the government - the traditional opposition of the cattlemen - new Parks ranger, Luke Bradshaw. But just as she sees that the land and Luke are the keys to regaining her life, Emily faces losing them both in the greatest challenge of all . . .
Set in the beautiful snowgum country of the Victorian Alps, The Cattleman's Daughter is a haunting and unforgettable tale of love, self-discovery and forgiveness.

LOVED IT!!! HURRY UP AND RELEASE THE NEXT ONE!

Book & Bookgroup: In my Skin

I really enjoyed this book for a few reasons. Firstly, it discussed a heroin addict and as I know one personally, it helped me understand them more. Secondly, the fact that she turned to prostitution was interesting as I had never really read a first hand account about it. It would be interesting to read an account from one who chose to sell themselves for other reasons, not just in order to get the money for the drugs. Thirdly, I enjoyed this because it was based in Melbourne, a place I grew up in. I always find that better as when they discuss areas you can really picture them. So all in all I enjoyed the book. HOWEVER, the ending was crap! This book was written not long after she got over her addiction but as we all know, the addiction will last a life time. I would love to see what she is up to now. It just all ended a little to nicely for me - worth the read though! We are yet to have bookgroup to discuss the book yet so not sure how the others will feel...

Book & Bookgroup: The Secret River

This is a wonderful book about a family transported from England to the new colony of New South Wales in the early 1800's. It is brilliantly written by Kate Grenville based on research into her own family history. Well worth reading to get an insight in early Australian history and the relationships between the new settlers and the indigenous population. Everyone at bookgroup loved it too. As my Australian history is a bit rusty it just really helped me think about what it would have been like, way back then. Though Grenville doesn't necessarily take sides, before even beginning the book the dedication reads "to the aboriginal people - past, present and future" which did make me feel that I had been preached to even though she gave both sides of the story. All in all though, it was just brilliant! A top read.

Book & Bookgroup: Notes from a Small Island

I have read other works of Bill Bryson and whilst I enjoyed this one, it wasn't one of his best. Bookgroup also had a split reaction. As someone else said: Bryson has a keen eye for the amusing and unusual details of British life and culture and he writes some very witty and memorable lines. I enjoyed much of this but at times it seemed he was stretching his idea a bit and the book became repetitive.

Book: Irish Girls are Back in Town

Generally speaking I don't do short stories, but the Irish and chick lit are awesome! There were some fantastic little stories in here but also some pretty crap ones. And, those crap ones tended to be by the better known authors! But, I still enjoyed it as I could pick this book up on and off without having to remember what I had already read.

Book: Change of Heart

June Nealon’s daughter needs a heart transplant, and the man on death row for killing the rest of her family wants to donate his. Can June accept his heart?

Had to go back for another Picoult! And again she didn't disappoint. I mean you now what you are going to get but I just love them. Nice easy, thought provoking reads.

Book & Bookgroup: People of the Book

People of the Book is based on a true story of a real book known as the Sarajevo Haggadah. This Hebrew prayer book was discovered in Sarajevo and probably was created in the 15th century. The author did amazingly scrupulous research, learning the tools of the trade of book restoration as well as the history of the Jews through the centuries. Through the first person narrative of an Australian book restorer, Hanna Heath, we get to learn about the city of Sarajevo and its recent violent history as well as the fascinating story of the book through the ages. These stories, of course, are fictional. Each one is complete in itself as the book passes from hand to hand through the centuries. I learned more than I ever thought was possible for me to know about the art of book restoring. And, there is also the story of Hanna Heath herself, as she comes to terms with her own personal history.

This was just such a wonderful book. It was a dedicated read though (ie. not 5 minutes here and there but chunks of time). I loved it as did my bookgroup. Just so fascinating and it reminds me that I know so little about world history and that sometimes I just feel so uneducated. Well worth the effort!

Book: Family Farm

I loved this book. Similar to Rachael Treasure and the newly published Fleur McDonald.

Summary: Isabelle Simpson longs to take over the family farm, but her ailing father is locked in a tragedy of the past and won't give her the chance she deserves. The stand-off between them threatens to tear the family apart.Izzy decides to break free and make a new start for herself – even though that means leaving the handsome Will Timmins and all her mixed emotions about him behind.But when hardship falls on the farm again, Izzy returns with an even greater determination to resolve the family feud. As she gathers with her friends in the close community under the shade of the gum-tree tavern, confessions are made, long-held secrets are revealed and hearts are set free.

Just a great current day country Aussie love story. Such an easy read (still not quite as good as Rachael Treasure though!)

Book: Me and Mr Darcy

Summary: After a string of disastrous dates, Emily Albright decides she's had it with modern-day love and would much rather curl up with Pride and Prejudice and spend her time with Mr. Darcy, the dashing, honorable, and passionate hero of Jane Austen's classic. So when her best friend suggests a wild week of margaritas and men in Mexico with the girls, Emily abruptly flees to England on a guided tour of Jane Austen country instead. Far from inspiring romance, the company aboard the bus consists of a gaggle of little old ladies and one single man, Spike Hargreaves, a foul-tempered journalist writing an article on why the fictional Mr. Darcy has earned the title of Man Most Women Would Love to Date.

This was only ok. The main character was kind of an ditz for a 29-year old. The story was cute, but I thought the Mr. Darcy fantasy appearances were a little far-fetched. I didn't feel the connection between Emily and Spike, but it was a cute affair. This would be a good beach read I suppose. I didn't think all the curse words were consistent with the type of character Emily was supposed to be, and the author slipped a couple of times with the accent making Emily sound more British than American like she was supposed to be...oh well. I might give the author another try.

Book & Bookgroup: Midwives

From Amazon:

Sibyl Danforth, a Vermont lay-midwife, attends a home birth that goes horribly wrong when the laboring mother apparently dies. Sibyl makes a hard decision and performs a C-section on the apparently dead woman to save her baby. The story is based upon the ramifications of this decision - because Sibyl's apprentice and the laboring woman's husband claim that the woman wasn't dead when Sibyl performs the C-section. Thus Sibyl ends up being charged by the state with involuntary manslaughter, under the claim that the C-section Sibyl performed to save the baby's life killed it's mother. Midwives is told from the point of view of Sibyl's daughter, Connie, who is fourteen at the time of the tragedy. As a grown woman and ob/gyn, Connie is still trying to come to terms with what happened to her family in the months after the 'bad birth'.

The ending is very unexpected and it's just an amazing book. Loved this book and so did all at book group. Well worth the read (only point is that if I was pregnant maybe not the best book to read!)

Book: Passion

Bagshawe back to her best. I loved this book. Such a great easy read. James Bond style but chic lit!

A failed marriage between Melissa Elmett and Will Hyde did a lot of damage. She was too young, he was hurt when she left him. Years later, Melissa becomes the target for a kidnap plot, a consequence of her father’s ground-breaking energy-saving invention, and Will is the only man who can protect her. Now they’re on the run, thrown together again by the pursuit of vengeance, will their passion for each other reignite...

Book: If You Could See Me Now

Only ok; a sweet little book, not too taxing with an unusual `make believe' theme. For me it had no sparkle and just not enough substance to really grab my attention. Don't get me wrong, there were certainly serious and touching moments, but these were, on the whole, underdeveloped with many questions left unanswered. Also, apart from Elizabeth, none of the others characters were fleshed out enough to make this more memorable. Could have done better but I will try this author again.

Book: My Best Friend's Girl

I really loved this book! It was so good! I was actually quite shocked by just how engrossing the story really was - not to mention how surprisingly sad it was for such a cheerful cover. Really, it was just so riveting. While reading it, I didn't know how I wanted it to end... nor was I able to really predict the ending, either. I just loved reading this and I am anxious to read her other books!

Summary: Best friends Kamryn and Adele thought nothing could come between them - until Adele did the unthinkable and slept with Kamryn's fiance, Nate. Worse still, she got pregnant and had his child. When Kamryn discovered the truth about their betrayal she vowed never to see any of them again. Two years later, Kamryn receives a letter from Adele asking her to visit her in hospital. Adele is dying and begs Kamryn to adopt her daughter, Tegan. With a great job and a hectic social life, the last thing Kamryn needs is a five-year-old to disrupt things. Especially not one who reminds her of Nate. But with no one else to take care of Tegan and Adele fading fast, does she have any other choice?