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 :)

Book: Ironbark

Summary: Sixteen can be a tough time. And it's almost unmanageable for a wisecracking boy whose temper is white-hot. As a consequence he is sentenced to a time-out with his reclusive grandfather in a primitive shack in the Tasmanian forest. There is little to do except chop wood and watch the red-eyed wallabies gather at dusk.

They are an unlikely couple: a taciturn old man who prefers the simple life, and a volatile boy addicted to the technology of the 21st century - and yet a bond blossoms between them. But denied access to much he desires, and feeling provoked by a local cop cynical of city folk, the boy's frustration grows. And when he encounters situations he can't control anything could happen...

What I thought: Quite enjoyed it. A little different and it ended abruptly leaving me with questions and gaps (don't like gaps). LOL.

Book: Poppy's Dilemma

Summary: Poppy Abbott seems to have it all. Bright, successful and attractive, she lives in a beautiful apartment with sweeping views of Sydney. However, since the recent death of her beloved grandmother, she's been struggling to come to terms with her grief.

Feeling nostalgic one evening, Poppy decides to sort through her grandmother's belongings, which she hasn't been able to face before. She's hardly started when she comes across an old leather diary with the name 'Maggie Abbott' written in the front. It's not long before she's drawn into Maggie's life and her fears for her soldier boyfriend during the First World War.

As her interest in Maggie's diary intensifies, Poppy decides to spend some time at her grandmother's house in the country. Away from the city, Poppy begins to wonder if all the things she's always valued so much are what she really wants out of life. And then love intervenes...

What I thought: Loved it. Great rural romance.

Book: The Activist

Summary: As Theo finds himself in the center of a hot political battle over a proposed highway bypass through his town, he discovers corruption that has him questioning the ethics and motivations of everyone involved, including his father.  When his beloved canine sidekick, Judge, is badly injured in a confrontation with surveyors, Theo discovers that a dog is not only a boy's best friend, but also his star witness. 

What I thought: It was ok. Not as good as the first 3 in the series but I still enjoyed.

Card Swap #4 (3/3)

Some gorgeous ones to finish off:

Card Swap #4 (2/3)

Love these:

Card Swap #4 (1/3)

The final swap cards for the year. Another great year with gorgeous cards:

SU Stamp Club from October

We made these in October's Stamp Club:

Card Swap #3 (2/2)

And these ones too: