Card Swap 1 2014

I've been slack with uploading all our card swap cards so this is the first batch from 2014

Book: Scottish girls about town

Summary:This anthology presents a collection of new stories from bestselling Scottish writers.


What I thought: I don't normally read short stories but this collection was perfect for my occasional lunch time read. Like all short stories some were hit and miss but these were more hit than miss. Hmm, maybe Irish girls next!

Book: Ugly

Summary: Constance's mother systematically abused her daughter throughout her childhood. Regularly beaten and starved, she tried to get herself taken into care without success and even drank bleach. When she was 13, her mother left her to fend for herself but Constance found the courage to survive and this is her story.

What I thought: Great read - yet very sad. Would be interesting to hear what her sisters say of their upbringing too.

Book: Farmer's Wife

Summary: She got her fairytale ending - but life had other plans ... The Deniliquin Ute Muster had always been on Rebecca's wish list, but with the farm and babies, she'd never managed to make it. Tonight, she decided to reclaim herself. After ten years being married to larrikin Charlie Lewis and living on her beloved property, Waters Meeting, Rebecca is confronted by a wife's biggest fear, a mother's worst nightmare and a farm business that's bleeding to death. Can Rebecca find the inner strength she once had as a young jillaroo, to save everything she cherishes? Or is life about to teach her the hardest lesson: that sometimes you simply have to let go.

What I thought:  Hmm. I was very skeptical about reading this which is why it took me so long to finally getting around to it. I loved Jillaroo and wasn't keen on a sequel and that was the book that started it all for me and my love affair with rural chick lit romances. I knew she broke up the main characters and made Charlie out to be a bastard but she could have simply changed the names and made it a separate book. I know she got divorced in real life and I felt (hope) that this is here release book from her marriage. Her first 4 books were awesome then there was a couple of short story books then this. Her new book is out in a month or so and I am praying that it is back to the Rachael of old... In saying that this book was ok. There were some really good bits and some really bad bits. But overall I did enjoy it.

Book: Billabong Bend

Summary: For Nina Moore, the rare marshland flanking the beautiful Bunyip River is the most precious place on earth. Her dream is to buy Billabong Bend and protect it forever, but she's not the only one with designs on the land. When her childhood sweetheart Ric returns home, old feelings are rekindled, and Nina dares to dream of a future for both of them on the river. But a tragic death divides loyalties and threatens to tear apart their fledgling romance.

This star-crossed rural romance sets Nina, a floodplains grazier, and Ric, a traditional cotton farmer, on a heart-rending collision course, amid the beauty of northern New South Wales.

What I thought: A good read - very evocative images come to mind when reading. typical rural chick lit storyline. 

Book: Charlotte's Creek

Summary: After a couple of years working in a privileged private school, Lucy Francis yearns for adventure. So when she hears about a job teaching four children on a massive cattle property in North Queensland, she decides to throw caution - and her teaching job - to the winds.

When Lucy arrives at Charlotte's Creek Station she finds a family in crisis. To make matters worse, the four children she's been charged with educating are very spirited, not always cooperative, and dismally behind in their schooling.

To Lucy, the only person who seems to be keeping Charlotte's Creek afloat is the family's gruff stockman, Ted. With his support and encouragement Lucy throws herself into the day-to-day activities of the station and makes excellent progress with the children.

Though Lucy and Ted's feelings for each other grow, Ted can't see any future for them because of his lack of prospects. As the family divisions at Charlotte's Creek prove insurmountable and the property looks set to be put on the market, Lucy faces returning to the city and leaving Ted behind. . .

What I thought: LOVED IT! This one had me hooked from the start. A great rural romance read. 

Book: Northanger Abbey

Summary: The story’s unlikely heroine is Catherine Morland, a remarkably innocent seventeen-year-old woman from a country parsonage. While spending a few weeks in Bath with a family friend, Catherine meets and falls in love with Henry Tilney, who invites her to visit his family estate, Northanger Abbey. Once there, Catherine, a great reader of Gothic thrillers, lets the shadowy atmosphere of the old mansion fill her mind with terrible suspicions. What is the mystery surrounding the death of Henry’s mother? Is the family concealing a terrible secret within the elegant rooms of the Abbey? Can she trust Henry, or is he part of an evil conspiracy? Catherine finds dreadful portents in the most prosaic events, until Henry persuades her to see the peril in confusing life with art.

What I thought: I have been trying to be better from a literary viewpoint and read more classics. I picked this as I have only read Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen before and this was the skinniest! I did enjoy it but it wasn't even close to Mr Darcy and co.! It was still good but the characters lacked depth or something.... not sure. Hmm - which one to read next?

Book: Mountain Ash

Summary: After years of struggling as a single mother, Jodie Ashton has given up on love and passion. What she craves now is security for herself and her beloved daughter Milly. And marriage to widower Alex McGregor, the owner of the prosperous Glenevelyn cattle station in East Gippsland, will certainly offer that. If only he wasn't so much older and so controlling.

Needing space to decide her future, Jodie reluctantly agrees to a girls-only weekend at the Riverton rodeo …

Meanwhile, cowboy Nate McGregor vows off women, after his latest one-night stand costs him his job in the Northern Territory. Perhaps it's time to head back to his family home, Glenevelyn, to check out for himself the ‘gold-digger' his father seems determined to marry.

But first, on his way through Riverton, he plans to stop off at a rodeo.

Two lives are about to collide in one passionate moment - with devastating results...

What I thought: Loved it! Sure it was all a bit unbelievable towards the end but it is fiction after all!

Book: Love in the Outback

Summary: The year before she turned fifty, Deb Hunt stopped dating. She was done with love and sick of chasing men who didn't return her affections. When her most recent flame announced he was marrying someone else, Deb knew it was time to make a change.

She landed a job as a marketing assistant with the Royal Flying Doctor Service and left London for the sunshine of Sydney on a mission to find happiness without a mate. But then on a trip to the red-dust town of Broken Hill, she encountered a man unlike any other. A legend of the RFDS, he was practical, steady, financially responsible and conservative - everything Deb was not. He wanted a relationship. She wanted to flee.



What I thought: This was ok. Wouldn't be recommending to others though.

Book: Lone Wolf

Summary: Edward Warren, 23, has been living in Thailand for five years, a prodigal son who left his family after an irreparable fight with his father, Luke. But he gets a frantic phone call: His dad lies comatose in a NH hospital, gravely injured in the same accident that has also injured his younger sister Cara.

Cara, 17, still holds a grudge against her brother, since his departure led to her parents’ divorce. In the aftermath, she’s lived with her father – an animal conservationist who became famous after living with a wild wolf pack in the Canadian wild. It is impossible for her to reconcile the still, broken man in the hospital bed with her vibrant, dynamic father.

With Luke’s chances for recovery dwindling, Cara wants to wait for a miracle. But Edward wants to terminate life support and donate his father’s organs. Is he motivated by altruism, or revenge? And to what lengths will his sister go to stop him from making an irrevocable decision?

Lone Wolf looks at the intersection between medical science and moral choices. If we can keep people who have no hope for recovery alive artificially, should they also be allowed to die artificially? Does the potential to save someone else’s life with a donated organ balance the act of hastening another’s death? And finally, when a father’s life hangs in the balance, which sibling should get to decide his fate?

What I thought: I had been told by someone before I read this that it wasn't very good - but I actually really liked it! I wasn't too interested in the habitats about wolves etc. but overall I did enjoy this - tough decision to make...

Book: Fighting Ruben Wolfe

Summary: It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. In Fighting Ruben Wolfe, Markus Zusak brings us into a world of dogfights and illegal boxing matches. Enter Ruben and Cameron, two young punks hungry for money and a lot more dignity. Downtrodden and poverty stricken, the brothers Wolfe are living on the edge of Sydney's blue collar world, a world where the working poor try to increase their meager earnings by betting on dog races and boxing matches. When the boys get the opportunity to fight for a sleazy fight promoter bent on exploiting their inexperience and vulnerability, they jump at the chance to pick up a few bucks and help out their unemployed father. But really, the stakes are much higher. Cameron is younger, more sensitive and not much of a fighter. Rube, as he's called, is harder, more streetwise and a natural fighter. Together, they fight for identity, pride and each other.

What I thought: Loved it! So different to his renowned Book Thief novel. This was a great gritty teen novel. Looking forward to reading others in this series.

Book: Zelah Green

Summary: My name is Zelah Green and I am a Cleanaholic. I spend most of my life on Germ Alert. Or Dirt Alert. It's a miracle I ever get to school.My life was going OK despite that - you know, school, best friend, bad hair days - until four weeks ago. That's when Dad vanished.Now my stepmother has packed me off to a place with some crazy people. So I'm stuck with the Doc and Alice, Lib, Caro and Sol.Sol, who doesn't speak. Sol, who has brown eyes and olive skin. Sol, who I actually want to touch. Now I'm on Flirt Alert!Maybe, just maybe, something good could happen...


What I thought: LOVEDit! Great teen book about mental health issues etc. Sure not necessarily reality but still a great read. And there is a sequel!

Book: Missus

Summary: Park, author of The Harp of the South and Poor Man's Orange (1948, 1949), here creates the early lives of Hugh Darcy and other familiar characters from those novels. First published in Australia in 1985, this book brings to life such vivid individuals as Hugh, the brawling, charming working man who is always putting off his marriage to Margaret Kilker just a little longer; Jer, his brother, the introspective and calculating cripple who manipulates everyone to protect his own interests; Margaret, the long-suffering sweetheart who will have Hugh and no one else though she doesn't know quite why. These turbulent children of Irish immigrants to Australia interact passionately in a novel that will please new readers as much as those already interested in the Darcy saga.

What I thought: really enjoyed. Please to be reading them in order. Now off to find Harp in the South :)

Book : Iron Junction

Summary: Overwhelmed by her family's expectations, Dr Beth Harding leaves Sydney behind and takes a locum job in the mining town of Iron Junction. With tensions in the mine running high, and feeling like an outsider, Beth is soon convinced the move was a huge mistake. That is, until she meets Will, who could make the difference between her leaving or staying.

For Will Walker, working on his father's cattle farm was never the life he wanted. Instead, he s traded a broad-brim for a hard hat and headed out to the mines. Iron Junction seems like just another gig in the long road that s taking him further from home. But in the independent, fly-in, fly-out life, he hadn't counted on meeting Beth on an isolated Pilbara road.

Finding each other forces Will to face his past, just as Beth confronts her future. With so much at stake, will they be brave enough to love each other despite everything that stands in their way?


What I thought: Thoroughly enjoyed. I think I like this autohor becuase she writes about medicine and I work in the health field. Who knows - just a good rural romance!

Bookgroup: The Help

Summary: Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.
Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.
Minny, Aibileen’s best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody’s business, but she can’t mind her tongue, so she’s lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own.
Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed.

What I thought: I loved it! Sure it was stereotypical but it was a beautiful book. Highly recommend.  

Book: Goodnight Beautiful

Summary: Nova Kumalisi would do anything for her closest friend, Mal Wacken. She owes him her life. So, when he asked her to be the surrogate mother for him and his wife, in spite of her fears about how it would alter their friendship, Nova agreed. Eight years later, Nova is bringing up their son alone, and she and Mal don't speak. Months into the pregnancy, Mal's wife changed her mind about the surrogacy agreement. Already suspicious of how close Nova and Mal were, Stephanie realised her strained marriage was in serious trouble when she found a text from her husband to Nova, saying, 'Goodnight, Beautiful'. She asked Mal to cut all ties with his closest friend and unborn child. Now, seven-year-old Leo is critically ill and Nova, despite her anger and hurt, wants Mal to have the chance to know his son before it's too late. Will it take a tragedy to remind them how much they mean to each other?

What I thought: Brilliant yet so sad ( I was bawling)! Such a fantastic writer - highly recommend her.

Book: Rocking Horse Hill

Summary: Ever since she was a little girl, Emily Wallace-Jones has loved Rocking Horse Hill. The beautiful family property is steeped in history. Everything important in Em’s life has happened there. And even though Em’s brother Digby has inherited the property, he has promised Em it will be her home for as long as she wishes.
When Digby falls in love with sweet Felicity Townsend, a girl from the wrong side of the tracks, Em worries about the future. But she is determined not to treat Felicity with the same teenage snobbery that tore apart her relationship with her first love, Josh Sinclair. A man who has now sauntered sexily back into Em’s life and given her a chance for redemption.
But as Felicity settles in, the once tightly knitted Wallace-Jones family begins to fray. Suspicions are raised, Josh voices his distrust, and even Em’s closest friends question where Felicity’s motives lie. Conflicted but determined to make up for the damage caused by her past prejudices, Em sides with her brother and his fiancée until a near tragedy sets in motion a chain of events that will change the family forever.

What I thought: A lovely easy read. Still cant decide if I like how the Felicity story ended though...

Book: Animal Farm

Summary: It is about a group of animals who rebel against the humans from the farm they live on and run it themselves with hopes of being equal, free, and happy. In the end, however, the new rule becomes a cruel tyranny of its own led by the pigs.

What I thought: Bloody brilliant! I loved it but not for the political (Stalin) story behind it just for the story itself. 

Book: Handle with Care

Summary: Charlotte and Sean O'Keefe's daughter, Willow, was born with brittle bone disease, a condition that requires Charlotte to act as full-time caregiver and has strained their emotional and financial limits. Willow's teenaged half-sister, Amelia, suffers as well, overshadowed by Willow's needs and lost in her own adolescent turmoil. When Charlotte decides to sue for wrongful birth in order to obtain a settlement to ensure Willow's future, the already strained family begins to implode. Not only is the defendant Charlotte's longtime friend, but the case requires Charlotte and Sean to claim that had they known of Willow's condition, they would have terminated the pregnancy, a statement that strikes at the core of their faith and family.

What I Thought: I was hooked from the beginning. Loved it (though not the ending). 

Book: Ride with the Wind

Summary: Joanna Kingsford is passionate about horses. The scent of leather, sweat and hay, the clatter of hooves – this is the world she shares with her father, the champion trainer Charlie Kingsford.  Jo couldn't be less like Nina, her socialite mother. Nina wants Joanna to pursue more ladylike interests, like modelling and finishing school; Jo can't think of anything more unlikely, or more dull. But a tragic accident changes everything and Nina sees to it that Jo is kept away from the horses that she loves. Heartbroken, Jo is determined to prove she has what it takes to succeed as a champion trainer. In England, amid the winter frosts and the northern skies, her career blossoms and she soon finds love. But what of Jo's long-held dream of following in her father's footsteps back in Australia? Can the land and skies of home be so easily forgotten?

What I Thought: Loved it. It was a little slow at times but still a great read.

Book: Girl in the Yellow Vest

Summary: Emily Woods counts cracks for a living. Concrete cracks. So when her long-term boyfriend dumps her, she decides it's time for a change of scenery. Her best friend, Will, suggests joining his construction team in Queensland. Working next door to the Great Barrier Reef seems like just the sort of adventure she needs to reboot her life…until she realises that Will is not the person she thought he was.

Charlotte Templeton is frustrated with the lack of respect FIFO workers have for her seaside resort. But picking a fight with their tyrannical project manager, Mark Crawford, seems to lead to more complications than resolutions. The man is too pompous, too rude, and too damned good looking.

As both women strive to protect their dreams and achieve their goals, they discover that secrets will come out, loyalty often hurts, and sometimes the perfect man is the wrong one.

What I Thought: Enjoyed this one. Not my favourite rural romance author but still good :) 

Bookgroup: Catcher in the Rye

Summary: The first-person narrative follows Holden's experiences in New York City in the days following his expulsion from Pencey Prep, a fictional college preparatory school in Pennsylvania.



What I Thought: Loved it and loathed it. Sometimes just wanted to slap him but it also touched on some great teenage angst moments.

Book: Time Will Tell

Summary: Emily Oliphant has made some major changes in her life. After leaving an abusive husband, moving house and starting her own business, things are looking up. And when she receives an offer to purchase the property she's renting, Emily feels herself taking another step in the right direction. She's unsure where the money will come from, but the offer is too good to refuse. Unbeknown to her, the button jar – a gift from her late Granny Mayfair – could contain the solution to all her problems ...
But just when things are finally beginning to go Emily's way, everything takes a turn and Emily must draw on her inner strength to overcome once again.

What I Thought: Brilliant sequel - love it. Can't wait for the final book in the series. Rural romance rocks!

Book: Pieces of Blue

Summary: At the age of six, Kerry McGinnis loses her mother. Her father, left with four young children to raise, gathers up his family and leaves the city to go doving. For the next fifteen years, the McGinnis clan travels the continent, droving, horse breaking and living off the land. Kerry grows up in the harsh outback, and the animals that inhabit the land are her closest friends.With the memory of her absent mother ever present, Kerry begins her difficult journey into young womanhood.

What I Thought: An amazing story which was set in rather recent times really. Boy I have an easy life! Looking forward to reading the follow up eventually.

Bookgroup: My family and other animals

Summary: The book is an autobiographical account of five years in the childhood of naturalist Gerald Durrell, age 10 at the start of the saga, of his family, pets and life during a sojourn on the island of Corfu. The book is divided into three sections, marking the three villas where the family lived on the island. Gerald is the youngest in a family consisting of their widowed mother, the eldest son Larry, the gun-mad Leslie, and diet-obsessed sister Margo together with Roger the dog. They are fiercely protected by their taxi-driver friend Spiro (Spiros "Americano" Halikiopoulos) and mentored by the polymath Dr. Theodore Stephanides who provides Gerald with his education in natural history. Other human characters, chiefly eccentric, include Gerald's private tutors, the artistic and literary visitors Larry invites to stay, and the local peasants who befriend the family.

What I thought: It was ok. Some funny moments but not really my thing. I won't be rushing off to read anymore of his Corfu books. 

Book: Around the World in 80 dates

Summary: As head of PR and spokesperson for Lonely Planet travel guides, Jennifer Cox has explored the most remote regions, toured the most exotic terrains, and bonded with people the world over. So how come finding her soul mate in London turns out to be a virtual dead end? Certain that the man of her dreams is out there somewhere, Jennifer sets out on the trip of a lifetime, dating her way around the globe—across 18 countries in 6 months—to find The One. From the Skate Date in Paris to the High Roller in Vegas, from the Love Professor in Sweden to the Dead Date in Italy, Jennifer tests her chemistry with a bevy of potential partners, assisted by her loyal Date Wranglers. But as she continues to flit from country to country, her adventure takes on a life of its own. If Mr. Right is out there, somewhere, is he worth giving up the trip of a lifetime?

What I thought: The first half was pretty slow going but I did enjoy the second half. An ok read and a great concept! 

Book: Ocean Pearl

Summary: The pressure builds for Kia, Georgie, Micki and Ace in the sequel to J.C. Burke's acclaimed novel Starfish Sisters. Starfish who surf together stick together ...'  It was Ace who wrote that in Kia, Georgie and Micki's blue booklets on the last day of camp. Yet it's Ace who's ended up ruining everything - ending the Starfish Sisters before they've even begun. The Starfish Sisters should be happy that they're on track to make the Australian Junior Female Surfing Team. But will lies, secrets, fighting - and love - keep them apart?

What I thought: A great sequel. Unfortunately there isn't another one on the way. 

Book: Right as Rain

Summary: Mackenna Birch thinks she's met the man of her dreams while on holiday in New Zealand. Adam Walker seems funny, kind and loving...until - to Mack's disbelief - he walks out on her. Nursing a broken heart, Mack returns to the family farm in Australia to find her beloved father unwell and her scheming younger brother home from the city, showing a great interest in taking over the business. Also in her absence, a new worker has been hired, and Mack's unsure of his motives. Mack longs to make big changes to the farm - changes her father has approved. But with her dad's ailing health, all her plans have been put on hold. Soon Mack finds herself turning to Hugh - her old friend and neighbour - as her confidant. As they support each other through family pressures, their friendship strengthens, leading them to question their true feelings for each other. Then, out of the blue, Adam turns up from New Zealand, adding to the melting pot of emotions. Soon Mack's juggling some tough decisions and trying to make those around her happy. But can she find the balance and have her own ever-after?

What I thought: A great read but not as good as her first book. It lacked something... But still a nice rural romance.

Book: Kissing Season

Summary: Every family has a black sheep...and Hannah Elliot is it. It's no surprise to anyone when Hannah Elliot makes the spontaneous decision to marry a stranger in Las Vegas. But when she finds herself pregnant and her new husband files for an annulment, she dreads having to tell her family.

Returning to her Australian hometown of Wildwood Point, Hannah is determined to become a devoted mum and put her baby's needs ahead of her own. She's also set to prove to her family she can actually be responsible. This means putting her wild past behind her and accepting a job back in the family business...while keeping her pregnancy a secret! Except, when gorgeous Italian Matteo Della-Bosca walks through the shop door, Hannah finds her resolve slipping fast...

What I thought: A cute little novella but a bit Mills and Boon like.

Book: Starfish Sisters

Summary: Georgie, Kia, Micki and Ace are thrown together at an elite girls' surfing camp. They're not friends straight away – there's jealousy, insecurity, secrets and lies to deal with first. Yet they soon realise that they need to stick together, because their friendship brings out the best in each of them. But will they all make the grade?

What I thought: Loved it!  A great teen novel with some deep issues.

Book: Piper's Son

Summary: Thomas Mackee wants oblivion. Wants to forget parents who leave and friends he used to care about and a string of one-night stands, and favourite uncles being blown to smithereens on their way to work on the other side of the world. But when his flatmates turn him out of the house, Tom moves in with his single, pregnant aunt, Georgie. And starts working at the Union pub with his former friends. And winds up living with his grieving father again. And remembers how he abandoned Tara Finke two years ago, after his uncle's death. And in a year when everything's broken, Tom realises that his family and friends need him to help put the pieces back together as much as he needs them.

What I thought: I did enjoy this but not as much as her previous work. Still a great YA read though.

Book: Darkening Skies

Summary: Investigative journalist Jenn Barrett never intended to return to Dungirri, the small town she escaped as a teenager. But startling revelations about local man Mark Strelitz have reopened the investigation into the accident that killed Jenn's cousin, Paula, and she is determined to find out what really happened.
For eighteen years, a gap in Mark's memory has concealed the facts - that he was driving when Paula died and a corrupt police investiation sent an innocent man to prison. Mark has finally learnt enough of the truth to know he has to set the record straight. As Jenn and Mark start to ask questions, evidence is destroyed and witnesses murdered. Someone wants the past to remain buried and anyone probing into it to be stopped - permanently. Mark and Jenn's discovery will shock the whole town, but only if they live long enough to reveal it.

What I thought: I really enjoyed this. Story was very far fetched (how many incidents can occur in 3 days) but still it was a page turner :)

Bookgroup: The Rosie Project

Summary: Don Tillman is getting married. He just doesn’t know who to yet. But he has designed the Wife Project, using a sixteen-page questionnaire to help him find the perfect partner. She will most definitely not be a barmaid, a smoker, a drinker, or a late-arriver. Rosie Jarman is all these things. She is also fiery and intelligent and beautiful. And on a quest of her own to find her biological father—a search that Don, a professor of genetics, might just be able to help her with. The Wife Project teaches Don some unexpected things. Why earlobe length is an inadequate predictor of sexual attraction. Why quick-dry clothes aren’t appropriate attire in New York. Why he’s never been on a second date. And why, despite your best scientific efforts, you don’t find love: love finds you.

What I thought: LOVED IT! So cute and quirky and just a little bit different. Highly recommend!

Bookgroup: Piano Lessons

Summary: In this remarkable memoir, Anna Goldsworthy recalls her first steps towards a life in music, from childhood piano lessons with a local jazz muso to international success as a concert pianist. As she discovers passion and ambition, and confronts doubt and disappointment, she learns about much more than tone and technique. This is a story of the getting of wisdom, tender and bittersweet. With wit and affection, Goldsworthy captures the hopes and uncertainties of youth, the fear and exhilaration of performing, and the complex bonds between teacher and student. An unforgettable cast of characters joins her: her family; her friends and rivals; and her teacher, Mrs Sivan, who inspires and challenges her in equal measure, and who transforms what seems an impossible dream into something real and sustaining.

What I thought: A beautiful book... I have wanted to read this for a while as I heard Anna speaking in Clunes a few years ago. Mrs Sivan - gorgeous! Wish I was more musical now. LOL

2013 Health Libraries Inc Conference #vital

Way back in October last year I went to the HLI Conference in Melbourne. Again it was wonderful to catch up with people and meet new ones and to learn about what people are doing in other organisations. Here are my notes from the day:

Susie Morton - Epworth - Secrets of an invaluable library

Quote - I think it's only fait to warn you that I am, in fact, a LIBRARIAN!
It is ok to discontinue services
Library user survey - must do!
Provide premium library services to key stakeholders
Align with strategic plan
Libguides as Department homepages
Quote - Librarians - just like regular people, only much smarter!

Susan Monaghan - RMH - Library Training Programs

600 staff per year roughly trained in library resources
Essential computer skills - word, excel, powerpoint $
Endnote $
Library databases - free
Developing content and support material
Increased proficiency or efficiency
Bought new PC's with $
Word "library" in inboxes frequently

Helen Shipperlee - SVH - Mental Health Specialist

Mental health champion
Research committee
Psych email - professional research librarian; highly experienced; post grad; background knowledge; save time; make you look good
Fortnightly mental health update
Goes to Jnl club/book club - is visible!

I got the most out of Helen's talk for the day. There were also other presentations but they included me presenting on our Digital Repository and also the launch of the HLI/HLA ROI Report. This meant I spoke in the afternoon also as I was the Health liaison for the report. So it was a huge but highly enjoyable day.

Book: My Story

Summary: For the first time, ten years after her abduction from her Salt Lake City bedroom, Elizabeth Smart reveals how she survived and the secret to forging a new life in the wake of a brutal crime. On June 5, 2002, fourteen-year-old Elizabeth Smart, the daughter of a close-knit Mormon family, was taken from her home in the middle of the night by religious fanatic, Brian David Mitchell and his wife, Wanda Barzee. She was kept chained, dressed in disguise, repeatedly raped, and told she and her family would be killed if she tried to escape. After her rescue on March 12, 2003, she rejoined her family and worked to pick up the pieces of her life.

Now for the first time, in her memoir, MY STORY, she tells of the constant fear she endured every hour, her courageous determination to maintain hope, and how she devised a plan to manipulate her captors and convinced them to return to Utah, where she was rescued minutes after arriving.  Smart explains how her faith helped her stay sane in the midst of a nightmare and how she found the strength to confront her captors at their trial and see that justice was served.

What I thought: A really good read. So sad what happens to innocent children.

Book: Essie's Way

Summary: Miranda McIntyre thinks she has it all sorted. She s a successful lawyer, she's planning her wedding and ticking off all the right boxes. When searching for something old to go with her wedding dress she remembers an antique necklace from her childhood, but her mother denies any knowledge of it. Miranda is sure it exists. Trying to find the necklace, she discovers evidence that perhaps the grandmother she thought was dead is still alive.Ignoring the creeping uncertainty about her impending marriage, and the worry that she is not living the life she really wants, Miranda takes off on a road trip in search of answers to the family mystery but also in search of herself. Ultimately, she will find that looking back can lead you home.

What I thought: A lovely little country romance. I wasn't swooning over the "spunky man" though because he had an earring and long hair which just ain't my thing! But a nice story otherwise.

Bookgroup: The Book Thief

Summary: It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still...  Liesel Meminger is a foster girl living outside of Munich, who scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement.

What I thought: BRILLIANT! So good to start a new year with a fabulous read. This is definitely a slow read where you devour bits piece by piece. So sad yet so beautifully written.

2013 Books in review...

Wow! This year was a bumper reading year for me with 82 books. Here's the breakdown:

Fiction: 65
Non-Fiction: 17

Of the fiction 6 were teenage books (finally read a few and loved them) and 22 were my ever so tragically addictive Australian rural romance books. Le sigh - I love them. In fact many of the non-fiction and normal fiction books I read were also about country life. There is just something about it that resonates strongly with me...

I managed to read 10/11 of my bookgroup books - after 5 years 100% still eludes me. Am confident I can pull off 100% next year as I have already read 4/11 (and no I don't re-read).

Best reads were hard to choose this year. I did love many of my Aussie Rural Romances but I'm going to pick Still Alice as my favourite - just brilliant.

Once again the aim for 2014 is 52 books - have a great holiday and may it be filled with many books :)