chaptertwobooks.com.au

Hugo Charteris - Picnic at Porokorro

Nick — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 12:00:41 +0000

Drawn in by the blurb which is wonderfully? racist in it’s periodical (’50s) assumption that the major political issue of British mining companies searching for diamonds in South Africa is the nuisance factor of black people in the running of an efficiently legitimate corporate rape of their land!

Frederick Forsyth - The Odessa File

Nick — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 11:23:14 +0000

Picked this up when i realised that in my mad, stupid panic to pack for my holiday I had neglected to include any reading matter! Never expected to get too far into it (we have two young kids who, at the ages of 4 & 2 haven’t grasped the concept of reading for relaxation, or, if they have, realise there’s nothing in it for little people who can’t read) but polished it off in a few short days. To be more specific, most of this book was read with the backdrop of the Heysen Range (Flinders Ranges, SA) embracing sunrise to make those of you who enjoy pure natural beauty as a form of relaxation truly jealous.

Brief synopsis: it’s a Forsyth novel. Enjoyable and, if you’re into modern european history, somewhat enlightening. It is purely coincidental that it looks at the post WWII Germany that I have been reading (and have yet to finish) in a previous post.

Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert (One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia)

kate — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 03:59:26 +0000

I had heard so much about this book that I was looking forward to the day when I read it and my life would be magically perfect as a result. Nothing can live up to such high expectations. So, I was underwhelmed - but it’s not the book’s fault. I love the concept, Gilbert’s writing style resonates completely with me and I feel that for the right person at the right time this autobiographical tale of pinpointing life’s important matters could indeed be life altering. But for me, today, it was just a book. Sorry! I would still strongly recommend it though.

And if you liked this (or want to read it) I can also recommend Miss Garnet’s Angel (see my previous blog. While a fictitious story, the themes are hauntingly similar) and Holy Cow! by Australian Sarah McDonald, also an autobiographical tale of finding oneself in India.

Miss Garnet’s Angel by Salley Vickers

kate — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 07:52:11 +0000

This was recommended by one of the lovely volunteers down at the book shed. Its blurb describes it as “subtle,” and it is, but it is oddly gripping as the said Miss Garnet finally starts learning how to live - at retirement age - with a spontaneous solo trip to Venice. With heavy religious references it is probably not to everybody’s taste however.

Pearson: The Life of Ian Fleming

robert — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 05:19:15 +0000

After rereading all the Bond books by Fleming recently, rereading Pearson’s bio is

a revelation. Instead of zeroing in on the authorly side straight away, Pearson

gets right at the heart, that sad shy bitter man lurking in the heart of Bond.

Every would-be writer must have this on their shelf, if only as a warning not

to turn out like Fleming, creator of a flawed and vulnerable hero, nontheless

as cardboard as Bulldog Drummond. Tonight I raise my glass in salute.

Airey Neave - Nuremberg: A personal record of the trial of the major Nazi war criminals

Nick — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 21:46:22 +0000

Nuremberg marked the first occasion where terms such as ‘war crimes’ and ‘crimes against humanity’ entered the legal lexicon. Rather than having a morbid fascination with what was unquestionably one of the most horrific and terrible regimes in modern history, I am looking to learn a little bit more about how the world’s current attitude to post-war closure was formed. Certainly the execution of Saddam Hussein and the imprisonment of terrorism suspects at Guantanamo have aroused furious debate and it seems that the world is still not 100% comfortable with the moral concepts surrounding ‘the victor writes history’ but is generally accepting of the fact that this is so.

Explore the Flinders Ranges, edited by Barker, McGaskill & Ward

kate — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 06:11:51 +0000

Guess where we’re going for a holiday soon! I’m interested in the geology and this has a nice simple overview. Lots of different town and bush walks are detailed too looking at natural and settler history.

Transforming Community Boards and Committees from Hell to Heaven, an ourcommunity.com.au booklet

kate — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 22:48:15 +0000

I’m preparing for the day when the Chapter Two Books emporium is so big it needs to be run by a Board, all high profile authors and business identities, of course.

In the meantime it’s useful for kid’s play group. Booklet is a good introductory overview, easy to read and in
layperson’s language.

Arthur Miller - Death of a Salesman

Nick — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 01:36:51 +0000

26/6/09 There’s something about reading a play that appeals to me. I think it’s the no-nonsense approach… straight into the story from the get-go, concise (albeit slightly mechanical) scene-setting and a sense that every word of dialogue is important. I haven’t read any of Miller’s work before so am eager to get into one of his most famous.

Simisola by Ruth Rendell

kate — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 11:45:35 +0000

I needed a gripping book for a bus ride. This Rendell jumped out at me. Perfect! As I neared the city I read faster and faster, trying to find out more before I had to disembark. I finished it over the next couple days, neglecting housework to do it (though I don’t need much excuse). I’m not giving too much away by saying the baddies get caught and it all finishes neatly, well except for the dead people. Lovely, I can’t stand being left hanging at the end of my quick reads. This was one in the Wexford series, for thiose for whom that means something.
Racism, or more precisely the subtle racist behaviours of non-racists, was a key themes throughout. I found this a little laboured. Surely that’s a positive sign that we, as a society, have moved forward a bit on this issue in the 15 years since the book was written…
Definitely worth the read (Chapter Two’s Nick has taken my advice; I actually read it first, he just put it on the computer before me).