It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #SundayPost #SundaySalon

Linking to: It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? at BookDate; Sunday Post at Caffeinated Reviewer; and the Sunday Salon at ReaderBuzz

 

Life…

Christmas shopping progress: 5/15

My boys made me very proud during their end-of-year award presentation this past week. Makyah placed first in Information and Software Technology, and was presented with the Year 10 Scholarship Award, while Jasiah placed first in his year (9) for Mathematics. The school year finishes on Wednesday, and Makyah has his Year 10 formal (prom) that night.

On Friday we made the eight hour round trip to attend a campus tour for the University my daughter will be attending next year. We are nervously awaiting the release of her ATAR/HSC results (the equivalent of America’s SAT or the UK’s GCE) this Friday.

My husband is on holidays from this Friday until the 18th January. We don’t really have any plans as such. I expect a lot of people will be traveling since it has been almost impossible to do so all year, given both last summer’s fires and of course the pandemic.

It’s been weeks since we’ve had a locally acquired case of COVID-19 nationally and as such the majority of restrictions have been minimised now. There are still a lot of Australian’s stranded overseas though, as Australia’s quarantine policy for arrivals restricts the numbers permitted entry at any one time. All overseas’s arrivals are transferred directly from the airport to an approved facility (a hotel) where they must spend a minimum of 14 days (up to 24 days) in quarantine, and undergo three rounds of mandatory testing. We don’t have an approved vaccine here yet, and won’t til March 2021 at the earliest, so quarantine will be in place for quite some time. I hope wherever you are cases are beginning to drop.

 

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What I’ve Read Since I last Posted…

 

Dark Tides by Philippa Gregory

Seven Kinds of People You Find in Bookshops by Shaun Bythell

White Throat by Sarah Thornton

The Valley of Lost Stories by Vanessa McCausland

 

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New Posts…

 

Review: Stuff You Should Know by Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant

Review: Dark Tides by Philippa Gregory

Review: White Throat by Sarah Thornton

Review: Seven Kinds of People You Find in Bookshops by Shaun Bythell

 

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What I’m Reading This Week…

 

This vivid story of campervans, stowaways and mischief at any age is essentially about families: the ones you have and the ones you make.

When Ruby and Angela embark on a Grey Nomads road trip, the last thing they expect is a tiny stowaway; one who will turn them from unsuspecting tourists into wanted kidnappers and land them in a world of trouble. As their leisurely retirement plans unravel, Angela’s relationship with her brother Bernard goes from bad to worse.

Bernard has his own problems to contend with. Adrift in life, his career as a news presenter has been reduced to opening fetes and reading Voss as an audio book (a seemingly impossible task). His troubles are compounded when his wife starts dating a younger man and a drink-driving incident turns him into a celebrity offender.

As Angela and Ruby set about repairing burnt bridges and helping their unexpected guest, and Bernard attempts to patch together his broken life, they discover that even after a lifetime of experience, you’re never too old to know better.

A warm, funny, sharply observed story about aging disgracefully and loving the one you’re with.

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A woman alone and a charismatic private detective are caught up in a dangerous quest to discover her true identity in this thrilling historical adventure romance set in 19th century Victoria, from a bestselling Australian author.

1898, Geelong, Victoria. Stella Truehart is all alone in the world. Her good-for-nothing husband has died violently at the hands of an unknown assailant. Her mother is dead, her father deserted them before she was born, and now her kindly Truehart grandparents are also in their graves.

Private detective Bendigo Barrett has been tasked with finding Stella. He believes his client’s intentions are good, but it is evident that someone with darker motives is also seeking her. For her own part Stella is fiercely independent, but as danger mounts she agrees to work with Bendigo and before long they travel together to Sydney to meet his mysterious client where they discover more questions than answers.

What role do a stolen precious jewel and a long-ago US Civil War ship play in Stella’s story? Will sudden bloodshed prevent the resolution of the mystery and stand in the way of her feelings for Bendigo? It is time, at last, for the truth to be revealed.

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A spellbinding new rural romance from the bestselling author of the Callahans of Stringybark Creek trilogy and Fool Me Once.

Jason Weaver just wants to be left alone. It was a tough transition from his army days to civilian life, and he’s looking forward to settling into a solitary life.

Tilly Hollis is working two jobs to save for her dream career: running an equine therapy program. Tilly loves her horses more than anything, and after losing her husband and business partner just a few years earlier, she’s determined to make it work on her own.

When Jason walks into the cafe where Tilly works, they’re immediately drawn to one another. But can they overcome their pasts to find a future together?

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Everybody thinks that Charlotte Lucas has no prospects. She is twenty-seven years old, unmarried, plain, and seemingly without ambition. When she stuns the neighbourhood by accepting the proposal of buffoonish clergyman Mr Collins, her best friend Lizzy Bennet is angry at her for undervaluing herself. Yet the decision is the only way Charlotte knows to provide for her future, and marriage will propel her into a new world, of duty, marriage, children, grief and ultimately illicit love, and a kind of freedom.

Jane Austen cared deeply about the constraints of women in Regency England. This powerful reimagining takes up where Austen left off, showing us a woman determined to carve a place for herself in the world. Charlotte offers a fresh, feminist addition to the post-Austen canon, beautifully imagined, and brimming with passion and intelligence.

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Thanks for stopping by!