latest books

"When you reach me" by Rebecca Stead was a great read, much more so than "A wrinkle in time" which it makes loving reference to on more than one occasion. I am glad I read the L'Engle though, it's not essential but the plots of the two books do have connections. The Stead novel is very clever, with sly similarities to "Back to the future" and "The Time traveller's wife" in some ways. (Incidentally, I saw the film version of TTW on the plane to Paris and thought it really soppy). I would recommend this book as a gift for a clever grade 5 or 6 girl, very different to something like "Twilight."

I always enjoy the latest Cliff Hardy tale by Peter Corris. This one (Torn apart) was short, fairly light on plot,but it must be hard now Cliff has lost his private eye licence.
I think I've read every one he's written.Had a few years when I was lost in Babyland and I missed a few but I've caught up now.

The other book I'm finishing off currently is Mia Freedman's memoir called "Mama Mia". This is not my usual sort of read at all, and I think I'm probably ten to twenty years older than her blog fanbase/ readership.

I read a piece about her in The Sunday Age magazine last year which got me interested in reading her book . I had vaguely heard of her over the years and read some columns here and there but she was apparently the editor of Cleo and Cosmopolitan magazines ( which I did not read much even at my most magazine obsessed - maybe in the late teenage years), nor do I watch Channel Nine or daytime television (which she featured on, apparently) so had I no knowledge of her as a tv personality.
Well, I am quite liking her book despite not knowing much about her. It would be a good one for a long haul flight because it's a breezy read, very entertaining, despite some sad family stuff and some very personal disclosure that I do find is in the "too much information" category . The parts about the magazine industry were eye opening and should be required reading for teenage girls (everything you see in the magazines is faked to the nth degree, and the advertisers really control everything). As I said, I feel too old to be reading it - too much fashiony/magaziney/baby focus for me, but hey, this was her life and she relates it all most entertainingly.

I do feel the need to read something a bit substantial after all the fluffiness so when I'm finished with Mia I'll be looking through my unread pile for something with some substance I think.