Category: Book Reviews

  • KARRANA: A Professional Review

    KARRANA: A Professional Review

    From Amazon’s Online Book Club I’d received lots of reviews from family and friends of my debut novel, Karrana. But I never quite believed the veracity of these reviews, being from close contacts. So I submitted the book before the eyes of a reviewer on The Online Book Club. Most professional reviewers charge $300 or…

  • So You Want to Write A Picture Book? Get inspired by Nicholas Reece!

    So You Want to Write A Picture Book? Get inspired by Nicholas Reece!

    Worth a thousand words: the top ten best Australian children’s picture books Nicholas Reece, The University of Melbourne The academics and the “mummy bloggers” are in furious agreement – reading picture books to children is one of the best things you can do for a child’s development. It also happens to be, in the opinion…

  • Discovering Karrana

    Discovering Karrana

    A: As a little girl I was free to roam in nature, where I became a part of it — its rhythms, its colours.

  • Alone not lonely in Apartheid South Africa

    Alone not lonely in Apartheid South Africa

    Alone not lonely is Maureen Mendelowitz’s second novella to be published by Ginninderra Press (2018). See my post about her first book on this site. I attended the successful launch of the 2nd book at JewishCare Centre in Woollahra recently. The date coincided with public awareness of domestic violence issues against women, including in Australia,…

  • The Phoenix Years

    The Phoenix Years

    THE NIB AWARD The Waverley Library Award for Literature, established in 2002, is entitled ‘the Nib’. Organised and financed by Waverley Council, it is managed by Waverley Library, with the support of a committee, and a number of community establishments, including Friends of Waverley Library, Gertrude & Alice Bookshop, and local RSL Clubs. The Nib…

  • We Are Not Alone

    We Are Not Alone

    WE ARE  indeed NOT ALONE on this earth that we call home! I joined WANA tribe, after having read a book entitled: Rise of the Machines: Human Authors in a Digital World by American writer and blogger, Kristen Lamb. I’d recommend it to anyone trying to understand the world of social media and blogging. It’s…

  • Elusive Elena’s Brilliant Novel

    Elusive Elena’s Brilliant Novel

    “My Brilliant Friend” by Elena Ferrante,  is a brilliant read, if somewhat elusive at the start. This mirrors the enigmatic aspect of the novelist herself: Who is she? Is part of the draw-card the setting in Naples, that boisterous and “dangerous” city to the south of Rome? Many English speaking readers of these books, have…

  • Daffodil: Biography of a Flower

    Daffodil: Biography of a Flower

    Meet the Author, HELEN O’NEILL, in conversation with Suzanne Leal Thursday 21 April  2016  6.30-8pm Waverley Library I attended an interesting conversation in 2016 at the Waverley Library, Bondi Junction, Sydney, between Susanne Leal, journalist and author, and Helen O’Neill, whose recently published book, Daffodil: Biography of a Flower”  was a contender for the 2016…

  • An Article in Quadrant Magazine

    I’ve just had my review of My Year with Sammy by Libby Sommer published in the Quadrant Magazine under Reviews. The review is entitled “Retrieving A Childhood.  I’m chuffed! The Book: MY YEAR WITH SAMMY by Libby Sommer, Published by Ginninderra Press, 2015 The Review: My Year With Sammy, by Libby Sommer, is the story…

  • Harper Lee has died aged 89

    Harper Lee has died aged 89

    Source: Sad News: Harper Lee, author of To Kill a Mockingbird has died aged 89 See book reviews on her most famous book: To Kill a Mockingbird  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2657.To_Kill_a_Mockingbird https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/oct/17/review-to-kill-a-mockingbird-harper-lee http://www.theatlantic.com/past/unbound/classrev/mocking.htm http://classiclit.about.com/od/tokillamockingbird/fr/aa_tokill.htm http://teacher.scholastic.com/writewit/bookrev/read.htm