I’m keeping it short and sweet this week for several reasons, not the least of which is that it means I will get this week’s Which? What? Who? posted on time, thus avoiding Meredith’s not-so-subtle comments about my poor time management skills.

Book Discussions
Last night I watched the first part of Random Acts of Kindness on Channel 9/NBN. The kids love this show and there have been some absolutely amazing individuals highlighted on the program.

The first person on last night’s program was Sarah Garnett, who established the Benjamin Andrew Footpath Library several years ago. The library currently provides books to homeless people in Sydney and Melbourne.

The following quote is from Michael, an artist who featured in the Random Acts of Kindness episode last night (from an article about the Footpath Library at Open Forum):

“The footpath library has been a saving grace. Apart from being down and out in Sydney I’ve been down and out in Paris and London with George Orwell, read about the homeless in Victorian London in Peter Ackroyd’s “London: A Biography”‘, discovered Proust in the Edward Eager Lodge, hung around seedy ports in the South Pacific with Conrad’s Lord Jim & reread one of my favourite books; Joyce Cary’s “The Horses Mouth” with its patron saint of destitute artists Gully Jimson. I read a book on the Lives of the Saints & felt both inspired & humbled. I wandered through Europe in the 50’s through the eyes of Lloyd Rees & his wonderful drawings and was glad I was sober after reading a biography of Charles Bukowski. Patrick Whites “Tree Of Man” made my troubles look pretty small & I learnt a little humility from reading the life of the Australian poet John Shaw Neilson.”

I think that the concept of the Footpath Library program is incredible and was all fired up last night to contact them and get involved. There are numerous hostels in Sydney that the group works with, in addition to their Footpath Library, and one group in Melbourne. The Footpath Library website includes information on how you can assist through cash and/or book donations or by donating time to work as a volunteer.

I would love to be involved with something like this in Newcastle and have contacted the Footpath Library for more information. Watch this space for more details.

Fave Book Blog
If you’re interested in the Australian publishing industry and you’re on Twitter, you should be following @AustLiterature.

This summary of the purpose of AustLiterature.net comes from their blog:

As a not-for-profit space to collate news and views exploring themes, concepts, political and theoretical approaches underpinning the contemporary study and reading of Australian Literature, AustLiterature.net (ALN) is an online literary networking community for lovers of Australian Literature.

On Twitter, @AustLiterature provides a regular selection of links to fascinating articles and new updates about Australian authors, publishers, titles and Australian literature in general.

You really should follow them and bookmark the Australian Literature site. Go on. You know you want to.

This week’s Booking Through Thursday is a quick answers challenge:

Which do you prefer? (Quick answers–we’ll do more detail at some later date)
• Reading something frivolous? Or something serious?
• Paperbacks? Or hardcovers?
• Fiction? Or Nonfiction?
• Poetry? Or Prose?
• Biographies? Or Autobiographies?
• History? Or Historical Fiction?
• Series? Or Stand-alones?
• Classics? Or best-sellers?
• Lurid, fruity prose? Or straight-forward, basic prose?
• Plots? Or Stream-of-Consciousness?
• Long books? Or Short?
• Illustrated? Or Non-illustrated?
• Borrowed? Or Owned?
• New? Or Used?
(Yes, I know, some of these we’ve touched on before, and some of these we might address in-depth in the future, but for today–just quick answers!)

OK. Quick answers, right? That means I can’t elaborate or explain myself? This could be more challenging than it looks…

Frivolous or serious? – Depends on my mood. Serious probably wins out more often than not.

Paperbacks or hardcovers? – Definitely paperbacks. They’re cheaper and easier to hold when reading in bed.

Fiction or non-fiction? – Both.

Poetry or prose? – Prose.

Biographies or autobiographies? – Autobiographies.

History or historical fiction? – Both, but if it’s historical fiction it needs to be reasonably accurate.

Series or stand-alones? – Both, but if it’s a series I need to read them in order.

Classics or best sellers? – Both, but I probably lean more towards classic literature.

Lurid or straight-forward prose? – Straight-forward. Overworked metaphors and elaborate descriptions are a definite turn-off.

Plots or stream of consciousness? – Too tired and easily distracted for stream of consciousness at the moment. Love a well developed plot.

Long books or short? – Both, but can’t stand long books (or series) that are 50% filler. I love a long story if it is full of a great plot and well developed characters NOT a decent short story stretched out to give the appearance of being more significant than it is.

Illustrated or non-illustrated? – I like illustrations in children’s books, cookbooks and non-fiction.

Borrowed or owned? – I am a bit compulsive about owning books. I just love to have my shelves crowded with old literary friends and waiting-to-be-discovered treasures. It breaks my heart to have to return a great book to the library or a friend if I have borrowed it.

New or used? – I love to visit second hand bookshops. As long as used books are in good condition, they will win with me every time.

Well there you go. And I even managed to give one word answers to a couple of the questions. Not so challenging after all.

What about you? Do you get rid of books as soon as you’ve read them? Never read fiction? Can’t stand either biographies or autobiographies? Feel free to elaborate on any of your choices in the comments or link to your BTT post.

Yes, I know. I know. I should have posted this yesterday. This week I choose to blame my children, who are on school holidays and quite unreasonably wanted me to spend some time with them. We went out for the afternoon and saw Night at the Museum 2 at the local family cinema at Boolaroo, where I smothered my writing guilt in hot buttered popcorn.

Now that I’ve made my excuses, on to all things bookish from the past week…

Book Discussions:

Maurice Sendak’s classic picture book Where the Wild Things Are will be released as a feature film in October 2009. The We Love You So blog has all the latest information and links related to the movie including these Wild Things vinyl figures.

A 300-page YA novel version of Where the Wild Things Are titled The Wild Things written by David Eggers will be released on 1st October. To be honest, I’m not quite sure how I feel about that. I’m not quite sure how it will work as a novel, but then again I am not known for embracing innovation and change, as my recent Vegemite debate with Meredith demonstrated. What do you think?

Amy at My Friend Amy has announced the second annual Book Bloggers Appreciation Week, which will run from 14 to 18 September 2009. If you have a book blog, make sure you register at the BBAW website. You can also follow @BBAW on Twitter and/or use a #BBAW hashtag in your tweets.

Amy has provided a comprehensive nomination form where you can vote for your favourite book blogs into a huge range of categories. This is a great way of acknowledging some of the awesome bloggers that are out there highlighting some amazing books and authors. Set aside some time to fill in the BBAW nomination form before nominations close on 15th August 2009.

Michelle at Galleysmith has launched a Literary Road Trip and is inviting bloggers to highlight and promote authors from a specific state. You can add a comment to put your name down for a particular state and then link to your Literary Road Trip posts at the Literary Road Trip home post. I’ve put my hand up to cover New South Wales, Australia. I’ve already written two reviews and will post a Literary Road Trip summary post soon.

Cindy at Cindy’s Love of Books is hosting a Books Bought Meme that I am going to start taking part in. I am hoping that forcing myself to admit just how many books I buy in public will help me to curb my book buying impulses. Stay tuned for my first Books Bought confession post…

Fave Book Blogs this week:

This week I’ve decided to list some of my favourite Australian book/writer blogs:

• Persnickety Snark
• Book Thingo
• Book Chook
• Reactions to Reading
• Tania McCartney
• Miscellaneous Mum
• Black Dogs Books

Title: A Room at the Top
Author: Heath Ducker with Samantha Trenoweth
Publisher: William Heinemann, 2009 (365 pages)
ISBN: 978-1-74166-674-8
Topic: Autobiography/Memoir

Summary:

Heath Ducker grew up on the wrong side of the tracks. He couldn’t even see the tracks from where he lived, in dilapidated government housing, with shattered windows and holes in the floor that let the weeds climb through. He lived with his emotionally fragile, single mother and nine siblings, conceived with half a dozen different fathers, none of whom ever moved in. Most days, there was nothing to eat but breakfast cereal.

Just when it seemed things couldn’t get any worse, soon after Heath’s twelfth birthday, he was sexually abused by the father of his only real friend.

However, Heath was determined, from the outset, that he would not let his circumstances beat him. As a teenager, he was so committed to passing his final exams that he lugged his books up a mulberry tree and onto the roof of his house to study in the only quiet spot he could find.

Now, at 25 years old and as a result of extraordinary courage and resilience, Heath Ducker is a lawyer with a passionate commitment to improving the lot of underprivileged kids. He lobbies politicians on their behalf, gives his weekends over to voluntary work at camps for teenagers in trouble and he leads treks for young people along the notorious Kokoda Track in the highlands of New Guinea.

When Heath appeared on ABC television’s AUSTRALIAN STORY in 2006, he provided inspiration for thousands of viewers. His life story has continued to inspire as one of the most frequently viewed episodes on the ABC TV website.

Now, in A Room at the Top, Heath Ducker, for the first time, tells his story in his own words.

Comments:
While A Room at the Top is written in a very easy, approachable style, I found it particularly difficult to read about Heath Ducker’s struggles as a child with no proper food or clean, warm clothing. The barriers he had to overcome seemed so great and I felt for the small, scared child he must have been.

For those willing to read through Heath’s more challenging experiences, his story offers a very positive message, as his life demonstrates the resilience of the human spirit and the significant impact simple acts of kindness and acceptance can have on individuals.

I find it incredible that someone who has experienced what Heath has could have such a positive and balanced outlook on life. His strong desire to make a difference in the life of others comes through very clearly in his book and is very inspiring.

I spoke with Heath after the launch of his book. He commented “As people, we need to know that we belong to something, that we are valued. The way to do that best is to live in a community that values each other.” It seems such a simple thought but his words have challenged me to really think about how I interact with the people around me each day.

Two particular organisations played significant roles in offering support and encouragement to Heath during the difficult years of his childhood. The Aunties & Uncles program offered Heath the opportunity to experience a structured and caring home environment and Youth Insearch offered a mentoring program that helped him to realise that he had value and could achieve his dreams. A percentage of sales from A Room at the Top will be donated to Youth Insearch.

Heath’s story is one that will stay with me for some time. I plan to give a copy of his book to a friend who works with local youth. I think his story is incredibly encouraging to anyone who strives to be a positive influence in the lives of those around them, particularly those who work with teens and children.

This is review is part of my contribution to the Literary Road Trip hosted by GalleySmith. I am highlighting authors from New South Wales, Australia.

Related Links:
Suite101.com review of A Room at the Top

Title: Loathing Lola
Author: William Kostakis
Publisher: Pan Macmillan Australia, 2008 (346 pages)
ISBN: 978-0-33042-416-5
Suitable Age: 13+

Summary:

Fifteen-year-old Courtney Marlow didn’t exactly think it through. She thought the offer to have her life broadcast on national television was the perfect solution to her family’s financial troubles.

She was wrong.

Mackenzie Dahl, the show’s producer, promised to show Australia a real teenager. Courtney was going to be a positive role model, someone on television without a boob job and an eating disorder. But as events in her life are deviously manipulated to create drama, Courtney begins to realise that ‘ordinary’ does not translate to ‘entertaining’.

Everyone wants their 15 minutes of fame via a little bit of Courtney – especially her conniving friend Katie, and her stepmother, Lola. But Courtney is not the pliant teenager everyone seems to think she is…

Comments:
I recently read about Loathing Lola by William Kostakis at Persnickety Snark and was intrigued by the concept of the novel. I was also keen to read some youth fiction by someone who was of the same generation as the characters in the book. The author’s own recommendation on my Reading Wish List that the book was “made of awesome” pushed me over the edge and I picked up a copy and moved it to the top of my teetering TBR pile.

After a shaky start with a funeral scene that didn’t quite work for me, I really enjoyed this novel. The characters were fun and the story moved along at a nice pace. There is a lot of humour in the dialogue with the characters making the kind of witty comebacks that I would have loved to have been confident enough to make back in high school.

While each character did have a slight edge or quirkiness that stopped them being predictable, for me the major characters did more or less conform with a stereotype for their role. I’m not sure if this is what Kostakis intended, but for me this worked well as a reflection of the very staged and edited “cast” of characters present in most reality TV programs.

To illustrate my point, here is a list of some of the main characters:

Courtney: friendly, well-meaning, wants to make a difference, divorced parents
Tim: Courtney’s best friend since kindergarten. Funny, thoughtful, smart, supportive
Katie: Tim’s twin sister. Gorgeous, fashion conscious, vamp
Jackson: Hot potential boyfriend, gorgeous and talented
Jordan: annoying younger brother
Mother: caring, overworked, too many worries
Father: insensitive, irresponsible
Step-mother Lola: ditzy, insensitive

Kostakis is apparently currently working on a second novel that will centre on Katie. Of all the characters, Katie is the one with the sharpest sense of humour and I enjoyed her one-liners. She is a character with a lot of spunk and, for me, seemed to share quite a lot of the spotlight in Loathing Lola as well. After all, it’s hard to ignore someone who is willing to strip to their underwear to help take unwanted attention from a friend.

Loathing Lola was very entertaining to read with a very natural feel to the dialogue particularly. I think that it would also work well as a starting point for high school classroom discussions about how much “reality” there really is in reality TV programs. This is a great debut novel for Sydney-based author Kostakis and I’m looking forward to seeing how his writing style develops with future books.

This is review is part of my contribution to the Literary Road Trip hosted by GalleySmith. I am highlighting authors from New South Wales, Australia.

Related Links:
Adele at Persnickety Snark interviews William Kostakis
William Kostakis website

Well, it’s taken me two weeks, but I have finally managed to get a Which? What? Who? post in on time. Yay me!

Book Discussions:

I have been greatly distracted over the past 4 days by a Twitter competition run by Penguin Books Australia. (@PenguinBooksAus) offering $2000 worth of Penguin book to the best answer for the question “Why did the penguin cross the road”.

There were some very creative answers (including some absolute winners from me, thank you very much) and I particularly enjoyed some of the photographic answers, particularly these from Jane Wills and James Tinniswood.

Sadly, Penguin Australia did not see the incredible wit of my replies and I didn’t even manage to score an honourable mention in the competition results. The experience was not a total loss however. I did create a Popular Penguins Reading Challenge thanks to the experience and am toying with the idea of a Penguin Classics Reading Challenge as well (but don’t tell Meredith or I will get a lecture on over-committing myself).

For those who missed out on the Penguin giveaway, you should visit Natasha at Maw Books, who is offering a signed copy of Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book. Full entry details are at her blog and entries close 23rd July 2009. I’ve got my fingers crossed.

Tree Swing Reading also has a great Christian Book Giveaway, offering copies of all the titles nominated for the Christy Award. Visit the blog to put your name in the draw for any titles that interest you (or all of them if you want). Entries close on the 30th July 2009.

I know it isn’t book related, but I just have to include a link to my post at Oh, the Thinks you can Think about the new ad campaign for Perfect Italiano. It works for me.

Fave Book Blogs this week:

In no particular order, these are some blogs that have caught my attention this week:

• Aliteratus
• The Penguin Blog
• Sassy Monkey Reads
• Book Thingo
• Galley Smith

Title: It’s Yr Life
Author: Tristan Bancks, Tempany Deckert
Publisher: Random House, 2009 (282 pages)
ISBN: 978-1-74166-397-6
Suitable Age: 13+

Description:

Sim’s from Byron Bay. Milla lives in Hollywood. Sim’s in a foster home and dumpster-dives for food. Milla lives in a mansion with her celebrity parents.

When they’re forced to email each other for an assignment, it’s doomed to fail. So why haven’t they stopped? Secrets . . .

What did Sim find that has him running scared? Whose footprints are outside Milla’s window – and how can she fix her screwed-up family before something really bad happens?

Comments:
I really enjoyed the central characters in this story. Their email correspondence was fun to read and there was quite a lot of humour in their exchanges, especially when they were arguing with each other. Sim and Milla were great characters that opened up a lot of opportunities to compare different lifestyles, philosophies, interests and the US and Australian cultures.

I also enjoyed the pop culture references scattered throughout the story. It did slow my reading down a little as I had to stop to google different terms, but it certainly rang true as the way information is shared now. Why send someone a page of information when you can send them a website URL?

I do wonder whether the many pop culture references will date the story too quickly. In five years will teens still want to read about what teens today are interested in? The world changes far too quickly and it is very easy to appear out of date by referencing something as new once it becomes common knowledge. (I should know, I’m about 10 years behind the rest of the world when it comes to technological advances and still get ridiculously excited about stuff that is already out-of-date for others).

Despite this, I think that this is a book that teens will enjoy and quite possibly it will maintain its appeal by marketing itself as a retrospective look at teen relationships in the early years of this century.

It’s Yr Life has humour, mystery, family dramas, friendships, sibling issues and pop culture references combining to produce a fun teen read which should also appeal to those who enjoyed Bancks’ Mac Slater: Cool Hunter books.

Related links:
Tristan Bancks website
Tempany Deckert website
Suite101.com review of Mac Slater: Cool Hunter Book #1 and Book #2
Suite101.com review of It’s Yr Life by Tempany Deckert and Tristan Bancks

Title: The Ghost at the Wedding
Author: Shirley Walker
Publisher: Penguin, 2009 (248 pages)
ISBN: 978-0-670-07388-7
Genre: Biography/Memoir

Summary:

In the year of 1914, in the canefields of northern New South Wales, the young men couldn’t wait to set off for the adventure of war.  The women coped as best they could, raised the children, lived in fear of being next to receive an official telegram.  They grieved their dead, and came to learn that for returned men there are worse things than death in combat.  They bore more children to replace those lost in the First World War, and the sons were just the right age to go off to the second.

The Ghost at the Wedding is like no other account of war, chronicling events from both sides – the horror of the battlefields and the women who were left at home.  Shirley Walker’s depictions of those battles – Gallipoli, the Western Front, the Kokoda Track – are grittily accurate, their reverberations haunting.

Comments:
I frequently forgot that I was reading a real life account as I read The Ghost at the Wedding. The story flowed so easily that it was only when the author referred to her own role in the family drama (daughter-in-law to the central character, Jessie Walker) that I remembered that this wasn’t merely a fictional tale.

I found the descriptions of Jessie Walker’s family heritage, life on the Clarence River in northern New South Wales, and glimpses of everyday family life fascinating.

I have a casual interest in Australian military history and have read several books, both fiction and non-fiction, on this subject in recent years. Through the story of Jessie Walker, her parents, brothers, husband and sons, The Ghost at the Wedding conveys the wrenching emotional impact of the World Wars on both the soldiers and their families.

What particularly impacted me was the ongoing emotional damage caused by the war, especially for the families at home. The years of anxiety, uncertainty, fear, loss and struggle left scars on those at home almost as significant as those carved on the battlefields. While physical injuries are mentioned, the story focuses more on those wounds that could not be seen – the feelings of guilt, fear, resentment and bitterness.

The novel was surprisingly easy to read despite the heavy themes and content. Jessie was an engaging character as I followed her from her youth through to her old age. I was particularly fascinated with her love of painting and the way that she was finally able to release the emotions suppressed for decades through art.

It is unfortunate that few of her paintings have survived and I was disappointed that there were no images of the remaining paintings offered in the book. I would also have liked to have some family photos and a family tree included, although this would perhaps have affected the narrative flow of the story.

I found myself thinking of my grandmother often as I read and wondering about her experiences during the difficult years of the war.

I enjoyed this novel and would definitely recommend it to anyone who generally enjoys modern historical fiction or who has an interest in Australian families and their experiences during the years of the First and Second World Wars.

Related Links:
Suite101.com review of The Ghost at the Wedding

Title: The Cat on the Mat is Flat
Author: Andy Griffiths
Illustrator: Terry Denton
Publisher: Pan MacMillan Australia, 2006 (166 pages)
ISBN: 978-0-3304-2260-4
Suitable Age: 6+ (younger readers may need a little help)

My daughter was giggling to herself as she read this book today and I thought I would take time to write a quick review.

While I confess that some of Andy Griffiths titles don’t really appeal to me (not particularly surprising since I am hardly in his target audience, which consists primarily of 7 – 11 year old boys) I do love The Cat on the Mat is Flat and the follow-up book The Big Fat Cow that goes Kapow.

The book is very reminiscent of Dr Seuss with fun and quirky rhyming stories that will have both children and adults smiling. My favourite is Pinky Ponky the Shonky Wonky Bonky Donkey although I do also enjoy reading Ed and Ted and Ted’s Dog Fred. Terry Denton’s simple but amusing illustrations add to the humour of the stories as well.

The vocabulary is quite simple and I have given the books to children in first grade as a birthday gift.

Like Seuss stories, the fun rhymes and rhythms makes this is a great book for young readers.

Related Link:

• Andy Griffiths website
• Terry Denton website
• Suite101.com review of the Wombat & Fox series by Terry Denton

Title: One-Piece Wearables
Author: Sheila Brennan
Publisher: Quarry Books, 2008 (144 pages)
ISBN: 978-1-59253-344-2
Topic: Craft – Sewing

As part of my recent renewed interest in sewing, I have purchased several sewing books. One of the second wave of purchases (after first borrowing the book from the local library) is One-Piece Wearables by Sheila Brennan.

The title of this book appealed to me as the thought of fiddly paper patterns makes me break out in a cold sweat. I really enjoy sewing, but my previous experience has been largely with patchwork projects where I have had to simply cut multiple pieces of the same size, arrange them in the appropriate order and then sew them all together.

All the projects in this book require only one piece to be cut from the selected piece of material. Paper patterns are still required (15 full-size patterns are provided with the book) but the possibility of piecing the items together incorrectly is avoided by having only one piece of material to work with. Sounds good to me.

There is a surprising range of items given the “one-piece” restriction. Patterns include jackets, summer dresses, halter tops, jackets, robes, skirts, tops, bags and other items. While I’m not quite willing to risk my modesty to a home-made bikini, there is also a pattern for this for anyone with more confidence in their sewing ability.

I would like to note that Meredith has declined my offer to make her a hooded scarf with pockets. Just want to get that out there in case she complains later that she isn’t benefiting from my sewing skills.

The illustrations resemble 70’s pattern packets, which is a shame because most of the items are quite contemporary and with the right material selection would make great fashion items for teens and early 20s. Each item includes easy to follow instructions with illustrations, general tips, recommended fabrics and fabric patterns and suggested variations. There is also information about basic sewing skills.

Other titles recommended by this publisher include:

• Jean Therapy by Scatha G Allison with Marla Stefanelli
• Sweater Surgery by Stefanie Girard
• Altered Clothing by Kathleen Maggio

This last title in particular interests me and I would love to know if anyone who owns it would recommend it.

Related Links:

• Suite101.com article Simple Sewing Books for Beginners
• Book Review – Linen, Wool, Cotton by Akiko Mano