How long has it been since you’ve been so moved by a book that every few chapters you have to take a few deep breaths, stop the tears from flowing and plunge in again?

How long since you’ve found it impossible to stop reading a book because the writing is so beautiful, so poignant, so compulsive?

This story is told by two women , in alternating chapters—a Nigerian refugee girl and a British journalist. Cleave is a master at getting into the female psyche.

To say any more would be to spoil your discovery of a book that will profoundly affect the way you look at life and the world we live in. Please read it.

Review by Bec and Margaret

Ren is a young orphan who hides treasures in wells, has a knack for stealing and cannot remember how he lost his arm, nor anything before his humble life at the orphanage.

Only when a cunning stranger adopts him is Ren's world changed forever, and he is lured closer to the truth about his own mysterious past.

Full of adventure, imagination and quirky characters; The Good Thief is a thousand stories within a story.Beautifully written and an absolute delight to read; you will willingly lose sleep until you've finished the final page.



review by Manda

This is Helen Garner’s first novel in over 15 years and what a beautiful work of fiction it is. I was rather unsure about reading this at first, having lost someone recently to cancer, but don’t let that put you off. I am so glad I read this and have since passed it on to many friends and family members who have also fallen in love with it.

Review by Janine

The isolation and abuse that a little girl named Hester suffers at the hands of her religious, unstable parents, is incredibly distressing but the vivid language and imagery of Hester’s world creates stunning visions out of the horror.Hester’s friends are Handle, Spoon, Cat and Table, and they speak to her. When Hester finds a pencil her secret drawings become living tapestries.

Reading this book is such a visual experience. It reminded me of movies like Cybil, and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and also the paintings of Marc Chagall.

I couldn’t stop reading this, it took two nights and I’m still reeling.



Review by Kelly

No experience is too personal or too humiliating to be included and rendered hilarious by David’s sharp wit and flowing prose.

David Sedaris is known as one of America's great humourists; dry, sardonic and with surprising pathos. He is utterly addictive.



Review by Zoe

This isn’t the kind of book that jumps straight into the middle of an action-packed adventure to ensure the reader doesn’t get bored. Larsson takes his time building up the characters and the plot until you are right in the middle of a mystery that will keep you so engrossed that concentrating on anything else is nearly impossible.

Forget cheap thrills, this is cutting edge crime that you won’t get bored with and you won’t see the end coming. I promise.



Review by Bec

Two men from the backbone of this history; Sir James Murray who was the driving force behind this momentus work, and William Minor, one of the dictionary’s most prolific contributors who was a murderer incarcerated in a mental institution.

The sheer effort involved in compiling millions of words and definitions over more than 70 years is awe-inspiring as is the unwavering dedication of Sir James Murray who, as the decades past, knew he would not see the dictionary completed in his lifetime.

This is a brilliant history of one of the greatest books ever created (and still evolving) and a wonderful insight into some of those who were part of the original first edition. I loved it.



Review by Kelly

On the Road is an institution. It is one of those rare books that has completely captured the raw energy of a time and place and managed to retain its potency some 50 years on.

Take a deep breath and lose yourself in the frenzied rhythm of highway; of sleepless nights, nameless towns, no money and no destination.

One of those books you just have to read.



Review by Manda

I had read quite a few heavy books before I picked this up and it was a breath of fresh air to read this totally original love story between two people who didn’t expect to find it again.

Prepare for a mouth-watering read, that will leave you craving foods you’ve never even heard of and leave you smiling as you close it.



Review by Bec

Part travel narrative, part memoir, Eat Pray Love is a treat for the senses. Elizabeth Gilbert takes us down alleys in Italy in search of the ultimate culinary experience, to an ashram in India to find spiritual enlightenment and finally to Bali where at last she finds love.

This book is for anyone who has ever experienced the painful ending of a relationship, the desire to find oneself, or the bliss of new love. This is a feel-good read that will leave you optimistic and hopeful.

'Bright Shiny Morning' is all fiction! Unusual fiction at that. The lead protagonist in this novel is LA!, although we do meet a wonderful array of characters throughout the book who appear in their own individual stories.

This is for someone who likes their books quirky, unusual and slightly off the wall. Feel like something different? Give it a try. I loved it.



Review by Janine

This tale weaves around you until you can almost touch the sawdust in the ring, see the America of the 20's & 30's, and hear the train's whistle. It broke my heart to have to finish this breath-taking book, I loved it.



Review by Bec