Non-fiction Aussie books

#1Book Review: The Girl in the Steel Corset (Steampunk Chronicles #1) →July 1, 2011 · 9:17 pm ↓ July Challenge- Non-Fiction
Our Aussie Readers group @ Goodreads have chosen non-fiction as the July 2011 reading challenge. I do enjoy a juicy memoir or travel narrative.

So here’s what I pledge to read this month:

Me of the Never, Never by Fiona O’Loughlin

Biting the Big Apple by Bella Vendramini

An Umbrian Love Story by Marlena De Blasi


Do you have any non-fiction titles on your TBR list for this month?
And here’s an update on the Goodreads Aussie Readers Group 2011 Winter Challenge. View the original post HERE. I pledged to read the following books:

1.The white earth by Andrew McGahan

2. Bite Me by Parker Blue READ- see my review

3. Starcrossed: Perigee by Tracey L Campbell

4.Vampires Rule by K.C Blake READ- see my review

5.The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

6.Winter’s Shadow by M.J. Hearle READ- see my review

7.Airmail by Naomi Bulger READ- see my review

8.Me of the Never Never by Fiona O’Loughlin

9. Fallen by Lauren Kate READ- see my review

10. According to Luke by Rosanne Dingli READ- see my review

I have read 6/10 of the books on my winter reading challenge!

I have the biography of Margaret Hawke and read Bob Hawke's and am considering searching th eshelves for what are listed here. There are an awful lot of Australian biographies to choose from and hopefully in the future Aussie bookreaders will get to read Dad's Story, his autobiography that I am currently writing.

Tom Clancy

A beautiful book this one and very inspiring.
Henry Eyring, staunch Latter-day Saint, a soil physicist of some renown and father to Henry B. Eyring, 1st Counselor in the First Presidency

As usual with anything that Tom Clancy writes I am astounded at his breadth of knowledge of world affairs, the political no-how of nations including his homeland of USA. Once again he weaves this knowledge into a gripping tale of espionage, terrorism, fighting to do what is right against all odds. From the first Ryan novel Red October I have followed the efforts of Jack Ryan as an inteligence officer and historian, university lecturer and great thinker. This massive tome has kept me gripped to my seat as I want to know where Clancy will take Ryan and me next. Believe it or not, I have learnt much about the American President and his role for that nation. I am not finished yet of course, but already have given it a five star rating. And now its finished the five star rating remains. Clancy is a gifted story-teller and a great writer. He weaves his various characters together in time and space so I know exactly who is up to what, and eagerly read on to see what happens next. Take the Mountain Men for example. Raring to go to do a serious mischief in Washington with a souped-up concrete mixture that's almost a time-bomb, and the person they were aiming for, the President, suddenly closes all movements between states because of an horrific infectious disease spreading across America and leaves them stranded. As their 'bomb' had a mixer full of manure, things got a bit smelly of course...great yarn
Now its the Sabbath day and am searching my shelves for some worthwhile, spiritual and refreshing material and havew come up with Henry Eyring's Reflections of a Scientist, a book that was a source of inspiration to me when I was at University, and felt very much like the only Latter-day Saint, and a social scientist at that, in that establishment

The Aussie Book Blog

The Australian Bookshelf Guest Blog Wednesdays with… Colleen O’Grady
Posted on May 25, 2011
by The Australian Bookshelf| Leave a comment
This week on Guest Blog Wednesdays at The Australian Bookshelf we are joined by Australian writer, Colleen O’Grady. Welcome Colleen!

Colleen joined us a month ago to discuss a writing dilemma and here she shares some more thoughts…
I’m an author, a writer, but when one is not feeling well, the head is thick (thick-headed takes on a new meaning ha!). But I must do something. Last week I wrote of a writer’s dilemma, this week I’m writing of a writer’s health….umm…well something like that

Everyone thinks that Queensland sun is had.
Great balls of fire! They must be mad!
Hardly the sun we’ve seen this year,
For always the sky is dropping a tear.

Spare me days! It’s getting hard to think
Cannot even find the pen and ink.
Nose is all running – I tell you true.
Get it together Colleen, what’s the matter with you.

Does anyone out there have days like that?
Think I’d better go and cuddle the cat.
Puss doesn’t want me. Now I’m in a stew
For goodness sake Colleen, what’s the matter with you!

Head is all fuzzy – where’s the written word?
A Wilbur Smith – good writer you’ve heard.
Not interested in following the African spoor.
Wind is so cold, shut the ruddy door!

So many tears are falling from the sky,
Its about time Someone wiped it dry.
Where’s the sun? Nobody knows.
Oh! Better go wipe my running nose.

Oh dear. I am sure there are others who suffer the same fate when faced with a cold. The Wilbur Smith I mentioned in the poem is Birds of Prey, and for the first time I was not enthralled by his writing, even though this is the story of the beginning of the Courtneys in Africa. Some writers try to cash in on their material that proved so popular, but fail to come up to standard. Perhaps they wrote in haste. Maybe it is something we all do. I have a book called Freedom’s Land by Anna Jacobs. Its not a well-written piece of work. This tells the story of settlers during the 1920s and the traumas one woman and her daughter found and how that daughter turned her life around. That gives the story charm. Birds of Prey faded into insignificance against the tide of life written by the popular novelist Anna Jacobs. Sorry Wilbur Smith. Must go and deal with my nose

Thank you for your post Colleen.

It was a pleasure to submit this

Tom Clancy

Executive Orders by Tom Clancy

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


As usual with anything that Tom Clancy writes I am astounded at his breadth of knowledge of world affairs, the political know-how of nations including his homeland of USA. Once again he weaves this knowledge into a gripping tale of espionage, terrorism, fighting to do what is right against all odds. From the first Ryan novel Red October I have followed the efforts of Jack Ryan as an inteligence officer and historian, university lecturer and great thinker. This massive tome has kept me gripped to my seat as I want to know where Clancy will take Ryan and me next. Believe it or not, I have learnt much about the American President and his role for that nation. I am not finished yet of course, but already have given it a five star rating.



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The Work of Jim Lergessner

Great Southern Land: Origins of the early New South Wales colony by James G. Lergnesser




I have only recently purchased this book so will do a review after having read it



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The work of Jim Lergnesser

From Olive Grove to Eucalyptus Tree: An immigrant family in baby boomer Australia by Jim Lergessner




I have just purchased this book so cannot give a rating as yet



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A new Aussie book

well I entered to see if I could get a free copy of this popular book....
With release date nearly upon us, Braiden (That Boy Needs Therapy) and I thought we'd do a few posts to get you all even more excited for this incredible novel. If you've read my review and Braiden's, you'll see how much we LOVED this book. I do not make such statements lightly. DIVERGENT IS FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC! If you like your dystopians, you're going to be drooling over this baby.
We'll be having a couple of Divergent-related posts over the next few days on both our blogs, so make sure you check them out!
Tomorrow: Veronica's editor, Molly O'Neill gives us a peek behind the scenes of Divergent!
And thanks to the absolutely gorgeous Eliza of Harper Collins Australia, between us we have SIX copies of Divergent to giveaway!! 3 on my blog, 3 on Braiden's. Unfortunately though, these copies are limited to Australia only. Sorry! If you have an Aussie address we can send it to, please do enter!
To win 1 of 3 brand new copies of Divergent:
CLICK HERE
Australia only.
Automatic entry for entering, extra entries for following our blogs and advertising.
Ends April 30th 2011

The Australian Bookshelf

DAD and I attending a premier in 1966
My Dad as a Medical Orderly WWII
So I have now got an article on a new blog and I should have checked it over first for typo errors!

The trouble I have with writing sometimes seems to overwhelm me. I have figured it out! It is easier to write fiction than it is to write someone’s biography including my own. The trouble is my Dad’s Story. That’s what I’ve called it. It is his story. I mean Dad was a famous man, a famous writer, a good old Aussie at large, the bearded old bastard from the bush he called himself.
The problem with writing his story, is writing from his journals. Now he led an interesting life at times when he left journals, like towards the end of the war against the Japanese. But I find that all the good stuff I want to make sure I’ve got in his story, and find myself researching, seeking for tantalising bits of information that he only made a passing sentence to, and did not elaborate or give a thought to what his feelings were. A dilemma then. One particular subject that he made a passing mention of was to Major Bennett, a controversial figure that fled Singapore instead of surrendering to the Japanese as required by the British Commanding Officer at the time. An Australian faced the flak of the British. Bennett had to face a Royal Commission when the war ended. Indeed. Drastic measures. Now I ask you all, isn’t it an officers duty to do his best to escape from being a prisoner? Should I elaborate more of this man’s trials in Dad’s Story? What should this top Australian have done? I can’t help thinking of Weary Dunlop’s diaries of Changi and where two of my relations spent time during that war.
And in my own life record I have come across similar situations. How can one remain unbiased when one was reared on the bomb scare or a commo under every bed! What would the modern day youngsters think!

About Colleen O’Grady…

Well, I am a senior, a struggling writer though have completed a doctoral degree in my senior years. Due to circumstances beyond my control I am a late starter, though have often written poetry over the years and had a few published here and there. I am divorced (for many years) and have four grown sons and grandchildren. I currently live inQueensland, but callWestern Australiahome, I miss that state sometimes; the wildflowers, wide easy streets, highways and freeways that can lead either north or south to farms and bush, the great vast, wide open spaces that I love. Often I feel ‘hemmed in’ here – one can’t go cruising like inPerth, there are two many waterways, ducking and diving amongst thick traffic and the notorious gateway. Guess it’s all what we are used to, and here I seem to have better access to my O’Grady family and of course – writing!

The link to my blog is – http://sezogrady.blogspot.com/

I am interested in disasters, very much so, and any interesting news items, get posted on my blog, articles written by others, articles by me and poetry

The Iliad

The Iliad by Homer




This was a fabulous edition of Homer's great epic. I loved Homer's descriptive way of writing, discussing where each section of people had come from, likening some of them to various weather conditions or nature, and introducing us to those Gods so abhorred by those of the biblical era. it was really great to discover that Troy really existed, but I was mystified that there was no mention of a trojan horse. Modern day licence perhaps?



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Jane Austin - her biography

Jane Austen's writings have always appealed to me for the historical era that she writes about, giving me a wonderful view of life in the late 1700s. I love Pride and Prejudice, both book and movie. I was surprised to read of its popularity among the Saints, and then realized just how true what they say of Austen's morality in her writings and the modesty in her female dresses. I had not thought of that myself

Why Jane Austen appeals to LDS women
Angela Lankford - 21 hours ago
source: LDS Living
When author Howard F. Clarke published a re-formatted version of the Jane Austen biography, Jane Austen: Her Life and Letters, a Family Record, he discovered that book sales in Salt Lake City, Utah surpassed sales in all the other U.S. cities by a ratio of 8 to 1.
This unusual spike in sales caught Clarke’s interest, so he contacted Aspen Anderson, the Utah Regional Coordinator of the Jane Austen Society of North America to find the answer.
Anderson told Clarke she thought the reason for these statistics was largely based on a matter of morals. The relationship between the morals found in Jane Austen novels and the values of the LDS Church may in fact have largely influenced the sale of the biography in Salt Lake City with its 60 percent LDS population.
“Jane Austen’s society and the way that it was reflected in her writings reveal a time of manners and morals that are not present today in most of our society,” Clarke said, “except for in special groups like the Mormon ladies who adhere to nobility and moral standards handed down from parents that is different from the ideals of most of society.”
Although written in the early 1800s, the values present in Austen’s characters are similar to the values that LDS women strive for today. These similarities in characteristic values are what draw LDS women to Austen’s novels. Leslie Johns, an LDS fan of Jane Austen, believes that “Austen’s novels represent LDS culture in a way that transports the LDS woman’s experience today into a similar setting as a woman’s experience in Austen’s day.”

Nancy Clark

The Hills at Home: A Novel by Nancy Clark

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


A charming story of extended family sharing a home for one year with their Aunt during tough times and managing to be a knit and reasonably happy family, despite the age differences. Clark managed to weave brothers, sisters, neices, nephews together living under the same roof and actually being studied by an outsider as an unusual family



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Billy Sing

a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7628561-gallipoli-sniper" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px">Gallipoli Sniper: The Life of Billy Sing by John C. M. Hamilton




A very interesting but sad tale of a young man caught in a war and whose excellent rifle expertise forced him into killing men to save the lives of his mates. Maybe one day I might be able to get to the cemetery to see his grave and lay some flowers of rememberance



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Jimmy Stewart

Jimmy Stewart: A Biography by Marc Eliot




A fabulous story of one of my favourite actors. I never knew Jimmy Stewart flew bombers in World War II abnd that he was very much involved with the Strategic Air Command etc for the rest of his life. A wonderful warm-hearted man that I used to sense in watching his movies and now know that he had a terrific personality. A wonderful read



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The Anthology of Colonial Romance Fiction

Read in October, 2010
A fabulous anthology of short stories that are very enjoyable and all completely authentic early Australian. A wonderful effort was put forth by the editors Ken Gelder and Rachael Weaver to gather up these tales that would otherwise have been lost

Ann Pearlman

Read in October, 2010
I loved the recipes and the snippets of information of the different spices and other exotic ingredients that were used in the cookies. Pearlman has written her book based on her own involvement in a cookiee club, where 12 friends meet yearly to share their wares, bringing an extra bag of cookies for a local hospice. Each member shares a story about her cookies and the cookie leader introduces us to these women and their lives. Some stories ares so heart-rending and tragic, and are based on real ...more I loved the recipes and the snippets of information of the different spices and other exotic ingredients that were used in the cookies. Pearlman has written her book based on her own involvement in a cookiee club, where 12 friends meet yearly to share their wares, bringing an extra bag of cookies for a local hospice. Each member shares a story about her cookies and the cookie leader introduces us to these women and their lives. Some stories ares so heart-rending and tragic, and are based on real-life experiences (less)

Wilbur Smith

Assegai by Wilbur Smith

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


A powerful story of an ex-game Boer War veteran turned big-game hunter who guides many wealthy overseas men interested in pitting their strength and skills against the big game of Africa in the early 19th century. His involvement in this, his chosen type of work, leads to the meeting of a wealthy German industrialist just before the outbreak of the Great War and of whom, with his involvement in the British Army which he had been commissioned to join, he was able to prevent a planned German takeover of British East Africa with the help of the German's mistress. Another of the Courtney series that Smith is noted for, portraying his in-depth knowledge of all things African. Smith is definitely a marvelous writer of historical fiction



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The Burning Land

The Burning Land by Bernard Cornwell

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


A hair-raising, frightening story of the 800s in that developing England under many Danish leaders and Saxons. A great piece of historical fiction based on fact. Its fantastic and I love the way Cornwall put all the facts together to create his story



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Charles Dickens

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens by Charles Dickens

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


It has been many years since I read this work of Dickens, when first I was apalled at the miserable existence of the people of those times. This time around I could truly appreciate the writing of Dickens and his intimate knowledge of the life of people in two distinct cities, London and Paris. Well worth another read



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John Galsworthy

The Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy




A fabulous peice of historical work in following four generations of a family through the Queen Victoria years to the 1920s and the changes that occurred in their social outlook, their family and their beliefs. It is something that I can relate to in this the year 2010 from the early days of my my maternal and paternal grandparents and the great changes of social outlook and beliefs through four generations. One thing remained true though, the family



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1942

1942: Australia's Greatest Peril by Bob Wurth




I learned just how close we were to being invaded by the Japanese during World War Two. This well-researched work of Bob Wurth's included the Japanese side of the story, using that nation's official records. This is a very good historical work and well-researched. Wurth weaves the Japanese plans and Australia's fears together in revealing this great truth - we were almost invaded!



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