Boomerang Books Info Bank - Book Reviews

My Reading Life by Bob Carr

Thu, 01 May 2008 06:22:45 UT

There are few things a genuine book lover enjoys more than enthusing about their favourite books and authors. In this thoughtfully phrased and inspiring volume, former New South Wales Premier and current Dymocks board member Bob Carr is allowed to do just that for over 400 pages.

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The Lucy Family Alphabet by Judith Lucy

Thu, 01 May 2008 06:19:48 UT

A great deal of Judith Lucy’s successful stand-up shtick has centred around her crazy family and in particular her parents.

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Gone for a Song by Jeff Waters

Thu, 01 May 2008 06:16:17 UT

The events that followed the death in custody of Mulrunji in Palm Island in 2004 became one of the more incendiary moments in Queensland politics of the last decade.

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Families Behind Bars by Kay Danes

Thu, 01 May 2008 05:58:40 UT

Kay Danes, an Australian who was falsely arrested and detained for gem theft in Laos, has told her horrific battle of endurance in her previous book Deliver Us from Evil.

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Caught Out! Scandals! Lies! Cover-ups! by Wendy Lewis

Thu, 01 May 2008 05:55:22 UT

Are Australians a bunch of knee-jerkers? I’m talking about people who have strong opinions on subjects they know nothing about. If you listen to talkback radio (or sit around my family dining table any evening,) then your answer would undoubtedly be yes!

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Art Life Chooks by Annette Hughes

Thu, 01 May 2008 05:53:46 UT

An absorbing read, Art Life Chooks is the story of Annette Hughes and her partner Geoffrey who move from Sydney to a farm in Noosa. Both of them seem to know fairly well what they are getting themselves into.

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The After Life: A Memoir by Kathleen Stewart

Thu, 01 May 2008 05:49:51 UT

There’s no doubt in my mind that this memoir is excellent. The prose is literary with a reflective tone, and I enjoyed the fact that this book is not structured with a blow-by-blow commentary of the author’s life.

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A Burqa and a Hard Place by Sally Cooper

Thu, 01 May 2008 05:46:15 UT

Do we really need another reporter’s memoir about Afghanistan? Well, yes—if the book in question has something original to offer. ABC Radio journalist Sally Cooper went to Afghanistan not to report on the war, but to train the people

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The Woman in the Lobby by Lee Tulloch

Thu, 01 May 2008 05:41:52 UT

Melbourne-born author Lee Tulloch writes for newspapers and magazines such as the Age, Vogue Living and Australian Women’s Weekly. She has written five previous novels, including Wraith and Perfect Pink.

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The Two Pearls of Wisdom by Alison Goodman

Thu, 01 May 2008 05:39:32 UT

Twelve-year-old Eon, aspiring apprentice to the zodiacal Rat Dragon, is playing a dangerous game: he is actually Eona, 16-years-old and a girl.

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Nocturne by Diane Armstrong

Thu, 01 May 2008 05:36:22 UT

Herself a childhood refugee from WWII Poland, Armstrong is on familiar territory following the author’s earlier explorations of personal identity and the Holocaust. Teenage Elzunia Orlowski reaches womanhood through the deprivations imposed upon her by the Nazi occupation of Warsaw.

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The Nearly Happy Family by Catherine McKinnon

Thu, 01 May 2008 05:32:48 UT

Told in alternating chapters by mother Jackie and eldest daughter Claire, The Nearly Happy Family is a confident, though perhaps overly long, debut from Catherine McKinnon.

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Misconceptions by Sophie Townsend

Thu, 01 May 2008 05:29:44 UT

Sophie Townsend’s debut novel is both tender and readable. Best friends Ruth and Mim have been each others’ rock through countless experiences, including the death of Ruth’s mother when they were young.

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The Household Guide to Dying by Debra Adelaide

Thu, 01 May 2008 05:27:01 UT

Delia Bennet offers domestic advice for a living, is the author of the popular ‘Household Guide’ series, and she is dying of cancer. Using her experience of dying as fodder, Delia embarks upon writing her final book

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Dreamland by Tom Gilling

Thu, 01 May 2008 05:23:45 UT

Gilling’s previous novels have been historicals, set in an early Australia tinged with fantasy, black comedy and a touch of the gothic. His latest is quite a departure, with its contemporary Sydney setting and many of the genre hallmarks of the crime thriller.

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