Favourite Australian Novel

Australian Book Review invites you to vote in the ABR Favourite Australian Novel (FAN) Poll.
All Australian novels are eligible - any era or genre, and anyone can vote.
Email poll@australianbookreview.com.au with the author and title of your favourite Australian novel and your contact details, or you can 'snail mail' or fax the entry form to ABR.
Votes close 15 December 2009 and there are three great prizes for three lucky voters:
· The complete set of 99 Popular Penguins - valued at nearly $1000
· The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, Deluxe Leather Bound Edition - valued at $410
· A three-year complimentary subscription to ABR - 30 issues valued at $290.
The winning novel will be announced on 1 February 2010.
Deb.

Best Books of 2009

Publishers Weekly has released its Best Books of 2009 list. As it is American list, we don't have all the titles on the list, but we do have:

• In other rooms, other wonders by Daniyal Mueenuddin
• The age of wonder: how the romantic generation discovered the beauty and terror of science by Richard Holmes
• Shop class as soulcraft by Matthew Crawford
• Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi by Geoff Dyer
  
• Lost city of Z: a legendary British explorer's deadly quest to uncover the secrets of the Amazon by David Grann

They also list many other titles in their top 100 which are worth checking out.

Have you read of any of their top ten? If not, click on the link above and follow through to place your free hold. If you have, what did you think? Is it worthy of its place in the list?

There was some controversy over the lack of women authors in the Publishers Weekly list, so sister company Library Journal came up with their Top 10 Best Books of 2009 written by female authors, which include:

• Wolf Hall by Hillary Mantel
• Lark and Termite by Jayne Anne Phillips
• A Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore
• Short Girls by Bich Minh Nguyn
• Too Much Happiness byAlice Munro
• The Believers by Zoe Heller

Should any of these titles have been included in the original top ten. Wolf Hall won the 2009 Man Booker Prize - shouldn't this have given it a place in the original top ten? Would love to hear your thoughts.

Michelle

Melbourne - Sporting Capital

Last week, Melbourne was named the "Best Sporting City in the World" at the SportBusiness Sports Event Management Awards, held in London.

This came after yet another successful Melbourne Cup Carnival and on the heels of yet another sporting coup announcement, that being the new Super 15 rugby team would be out of Melbourne. And it was confirmed more recently with the appearance of Tiger Woods at the Australian Masters Golf.

This comes to no-one's surprise and to the delight of a lot of local sports' fans. But what it is that makes our capital such a great sport's nation? Is it our world class facilities, the amazing range of sports hosted in our city, or the passion of our many and varied fans.

It would have to be a combination of all three I think. But to give you an insight into any and all of these, check out these great reads to get a true idea of why Melbourne is a worthy winner of this award.

• The People's Ground: the MCG by Keith Dunstan (focusing on cricket)
• Temple down the road by Brian Matthews (focusing on football)
• Winners of the Melbourne Cup: stories that stopped a nation by Costa Rolfe
• United by the moment: the journey of the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games by Travis Cranley
• Our open: 100 years of Australia's grand slam
  

Plus there are many more books, about the particular sports that Victorians love and the personalities that make those sports so enjoyable to watch.

So check out the catalogue, or ask library staff for help on finding more on the sports stars you admire or the sports you adore.

Michelle

What to read next?

If you've finished a series, want to find something similar to a book you really enjoyed or are just plum stuck for reading inspiration, try some of these great resources:

GOODREADING: the magazine for book lovers.

An excellent magazine that provides reviews of new books – fiction, non-fiction, biography and talking books.
The magazine also has feature articles on authors, what books other readers have enjoyed and recommend, and includes publishers forthcoming books. Often an issue will also highlight a book title for reading groups, together with discussion questions.

[On the cover of November's edition is author Judy Nunn. She has just released Maralinga and will feature as our December Author of the Month in Pages. Keep an eye peeled for a podcast under Hear Here (scroll down on the left-hand side) - it will be coming soon.]

WHO ELSE WRITES LIKE ...?? A reader's guide to fiction authors.

This is an established reference book and reading promotion tool. It is designed to help anyone who enjoys reading fiction to expand the number of writers they read. It answers the dilemma facing those who have exhausted the output from a particular author — “What shall I read next?” Pick out an author whose books you like and see which other writers are recommended underneath. For instance, if you like Philip Kerr, you might also like Geoffrey Archer, Robert Edric and so on.

CHECK OUT OUR DATABASES @ www.cclc.vic.gov.au/find/databases.html
If you're a CCLC Library member, you can access these free from in the library or at home!


NextReads is an email newsletter reader's advisory service. Get any of the 20 available subject newsletters of your choice, sent straight to your inbox, to help you find your next great read. Covers fiction genres, non-fiction, biography, audio books and young adult.


Explore the endless possibilities and combinations of books, authors, genres, and topics.


Search similar titles by entering the title of a book you know and enjoyed, or browse by location, topic, character, genre, timeframe, or setting.

Websites:
Check out www.fantasticfiction.co.uk
Information on over 300,000 books. Throughout the site, just click on a book to see its cover picture, description and publication details. There are also author bio notes, info about series, authors, new books and awards.
Also: http://booksalive.com.au/
Books Alive has been running since 2005 with '50 books you can't put down' selected each year. With books on different fiction genres and non-fiction, for adults and children, there is something for everyone.
Happy Reading everyone! Deb.

A Worthy Winner

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Read by the author

As Editor of our Next Reads audio book newsletter, I was drawn to choosing this book because it won the coveted audio book of the year in the 2009 Audie Awards.
- - -
Danger lurks for Nobody Owens – Bod to his friends – for the man Jack has already killed all of Bod’s family. Small and alone, by accident and luck, he escapes the scene of the crime and toddles up a grassy hill to safety. At the top of the hill the little boy finds a fence, and on the other side, a cemetery.

The boy is welcomed on the hill where the dead do not sleep, and the graveyard residents rally to protect him. For outside the fence that separates a city from its ghosts, a dastardly killer is patient and persistent. The danger is real, and it is alive. It is hunting, and wise, and evil.

The chattering dead make a pact. A decision is made, and shelter is granted to the tiny fellow, who has no inkling of his peril. He has no parents, no place, and no name. But the kind-hearted spirits will not let him freeze, or starve, or meet his end by a murderer’s blade. They wrap the breathing boy in a shroud. They call him Nobody, for he looks like nobody but himself.
- - -
Earlier this year, the Americal Library Association [ALA] named The Graveyard Book as the recipient of the 2009 Newbery Medal; and, among others, it also won the 2009 Hugo Award for best novel. It is, according to some websites, one of the most honoured children’s books in recent history! Gaiman's work was cited by the ALA for its "delicious mix of murder, fantasy, humour and human longing", noting its "magical, haunting prose".

Ah, you picked up on “children’s book”? In our libraries it is in the Young Adult collection, a source of many fabulous novels enjoyed by adults of all ages. The Graveyard Book joins my top reads from this section, the audiobook trilogy ‘Hatchet, Brian’s Winter and Brian’s Return’ by Gary Paulsen, Tomorrow When the War Began series by John Marsden and ‘The Gathering’ by Isobelle Carmody.

But, back to The Graveyard Book … Just listening to Chapter 1 had me drawn in and hopelessly addicted: “What happens next? What happens next!” This opening had me querying the validity of the “children’s book” moniker - it’s blood-chilling and very disturbing, but it is the necessary anchor to a story of murder and trickery, adventure, rite of passage and, of course, family.

Gaiman’s narration is outstanding, to say nothing of his accents which give the diverse ghostly characters so much life, pardon the pun! The timbre and meter of his voice is just right for each one – from the mellifluous, black-clad guardian, Silas; to Bod’s graveyard Mum, Mistress Owens; to Liza Hempstock, the witch buried outside the fence in unconsecrated ground and Scarlett Perkins, a real live girl who becomes friends with Bod.

One of the pearls in this audio edition is the music that begins and ends each of the 7 CDs. It is evocative, haunting, and just so right for the story. I was intrigued enough to search it out on the web: it is Danse Macabre played by Béla Fleck and the song itself inspires one of the chapters of the book! [Béla Fleck is an American banjo player. Widely acknowledged as one of the world's most innovative and technically proficient banjo players, he has been nominated in more categories than any other musician, namely country, pop, jazz, bluegrass, classical, folk, spoken word, composition and arranging.]
Click on the small play button here and have a tantalising listen ...

Ah, this was a wonderful story; it is beautifully written with an absorbing storyline. The characters are engaging, carrying the ‘reader’ through a gamut of emotions from spine-tingling fear and anger, to laughter and of course, to tears. It deserves every accolade it has garnered. I feel hard-copy readers may be a little short-changed by missing out on this great audio version, but to not read it at all would be a very *grave* omission.
Deb.

Nine dragons

Nine Dragons is the latest book by well known crime author Michael Connelly and features his well-loved cop main character, Harry Bosch.

So being both a Michael Connelly and Harry Bosch fan, I was keen to get this book home for a good read. Neither of them have failed to satisfy in the past. Unfortunately, they let me down a bit this time.

The idea for the story was good, it is based around the Triad and their operations in Los Angeles and the story takes you from LA to Hong Kong, where the impact of the case Bosch is working on affects his daughter and ex-wife, who are living there. Sound complicated? It is a bit. But you can get your head around most of it.

Unfortunately, it seems to take a while to get there. It was only when I got halfway through the book that I felt I was really engaging with the story and thought here is the point where I wouldn't be able to put it down. Well it was in a way, but not the way I hoped.

Connelly manages to twist the story in a couple of ways, but unfortunately they both disappointed. It was almost like the things happening in this story were done to set up the next one, more than being any good for this story.

It may sound like I hated it - I didn't, I did manage to enjoy much of it, I was mostly disappointed with it when I am used to so much more and better from this author and character.

This may put you off reading this book, but if you are a Michael Connelly fan, I would encourage you to read it and let me know with a comment here, whether you agree with my assessment. Am I too harsh, or have we been let down a bit by Nine Dragons?

Michelle

World Fantasy Awards 2009

And the award goes to...... The winners of the 2009 World Fantasy Awards have been announced at the World Fantasy Convention, this year held in San Jose, California.

Winners include:

• Lifetime Achievement: - Co-Winner was author Jane Yolen

• Best Novel was a tie between: The Shadow Year by Jeffrey Ford and Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan (an Australian author)

• Best Short Story was: 26 Monkeys, also the Abyss by Kij Johnson - to be found in The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year Volume Three

• Best artist - Shaun Tan

If you are a fantasy reader, check out these award winning titles, authors and illustrators and discover for yourself, exactly why they deserved their wins.

Michelle

PM's Literary Awards

The winners of the 2009 Prime Minister's Literary Awards have just been announced, with three books and four authors taking out the Fiction and Non-Fiction prize categories!

If trying to do the maths, don't stress ~ there was a tie in the non-fiction category, the judges unable to separate House of Exile by Evelyn Juers and Drawing the Global Colour Line by Marilyn Lake and Henry Reynolds.
The judging panel said: "With great intellectual authority and international research, Evelyn Juers, Marilyn Lake and Henry Reynolds tell their stories magnificently."

Winning the Fiction prize for his book of short stories The Boat was Nam Le. The judging panel was "...impressed by the daring scope and excellence in execution, the generous breadth of its emotional and social traverse and the excitement generated by every story".
Deb.

The Road - Cormac McCarthy

This review was submitted by Janine K.

The Road - Cormac McCarthy

This book was a selection for my book group and being a Pullitzer Prize winning novel, I was very skeptical about its worth as a good read. I was very mistaken, this is a great read in more ways than one. It tells the story of a man and his son in a post nuclear disaster world and their never ending journey down a road. It is a story of survival, hunger, devastation and the relationship between a man and a boy. The writing is sensational. At times I had to re-read some paragraphs to determine whether it was the son or the father speaking.

The story is just so scary at times and so sad. I felt sorry for both characters the father - trying to feed his son and protect him, and the son- the pure innocence of childhood. There were some haunting parts - when they came across another little boy and left him standing in the middle of the road, and because in the beginning the boy wants to stop and help everyone that they come upon, by the end, you know when the father takes all the clothes and goods off a thief that’s been stolen from them. The boy says to the father " but we must not do this, to leave him without food and without clothing in the cold" and the father says "well we could have killed him" and a few sentences later they boy says" but we did kill him". That really got to me!!! And even though the ending was not conclusive, it didn't matter, it just left you wondering and in tears!! The movie based on this novel will be released in January 2010 starring Charlize Theron, Victor Mortensen and our own Guy Pearce.

It will be my pick of the year for book club.

Inspirational reading

Shehani, who won a double pass to the movie Mao's Last Dancer in our recent competition, wrote how she is inspired by athlete Cathy Freeman. You too can read the stirring autobiography, Cathy:Her own story Simply click on the title (above) to reserve your copy now! Or next time you're in, cruise the shelves in our Biographies section for other inspirational stories. Thanks to everyone who entered and congratulations to all five winners.

Deb.

Favourite Books of All Time

Borders ran a survey of readers, to find their top 100 books of all time.

The results are in at their website: 100 Favourite Books of All Time.

The top ten were:

Pride and prejudice - Jane Austen
To kill a mockingbird - Harper Lee
Lord of the rings - JRR Tolkien
My sister's keeper - Jodi Picoult
Twilight saga - Stephanie Meyer
Harry Potter and the philosopher's stone - JK Rowling
Time traveler's wife - Audrey Niffenegger
Book thief - Marcus Zusak
1984 - George Orwell
Magician - Raymond E. Feist

It will be interesting to see how much the list changes if they do it again in 12 months time. In general I think the list holds up well, but I would be interested in hearing what you think.

Check out the other 90 as well to see if your top recommended books made the list. And if you are inspired to read any of those listed, come back to our catalogue and place your free hold!

Michelle

Booker Winner Announced

A tale of political intrigue set during the reign of King Henry VIII won the prestigious Man Booker prize for fiction in London on Tuesday (Wednesday morning Melbourne time). Hilary Mantel's "Wolf Hall" scooped the 50,000-pound ($80,000) prize. Mantel's novel charts the upheaval caused by the king's desire to marry Anne Boleyn, as seen through the eyes of royal adviser Thomas Cromwell. Mantel's novel beat stiff competition from a shortlist that included previous Booker winners A.S. Byatt and J.M. Coetzee.

Did the judges get it right? Reserve your copy today and see what you think.

Teresa