by Alana Stewart

Harper Collins. Biographical. Hardback rrp $35.00

Everyone who lived through the 70’s will know who Farrah Fawcett was - Charlie’s Angels’ biggest sex symbol.

Tragically Farrah succumbed to cancer in June this year. She was first diagnosed in 2006 with aggressive rectal cancer and was given six months to live. My Journey with Farrah is the story of Farrah’s life and illness from October 2006 until a few days before her death.

Alana Stewart was one of Farrah’s closest friends and her companion through the drugs, nurses, doctors, tests, highs and lows. For three years Alana supported her friend in the struggle to beat a disease that never did anything that was expected.

The book is set out like a diary with photos and uneven page edges. It is a detailed personal view of how cancer affects everyone it touches. Farrah decided early on in her treatment to video everything; from the interviews with the doctors to the actual operations. Alana not only recorded everything in her diary but she also became the cameraman.

Alana’s life is interwoven with Farrah’s. The book tells of the harrowing personal difficulties she faced while continuing to support Farrah - her son being arrested and subsequently jailed, her own brush with cancer, and meeting a new love.

Even though there are glimpses of a “how the other half lives”, My Journey with Farrah is primarily the story of a woman’s struggle against a terminal illness.

Throughout the book are personal family photographs and excerpts of the past before Farrah was diagnosed. This is not a sad read but an uplifting account of courage and friendship in the face of great difficulty. A beautiful story.

by Libby Hathorn, illustrated by Doris Unger

Guest Reviewer - Anastasia Gonis

The setting for this beautifully illustrated book is the Hanging Gardens of Babylon that overlook the Euphrates River, created by King Nebuchadnezzar for his new bride, Queen Amyritis, to alleviate any longing for her homeland, Persia. This delicate story on the birth of beauty is illustrated in both soft and vibrant watercolour, with pages and cover framed in attractive borders.

Zahara’s father, a gifted gardener, has been trying to grow a special rose from a scrappy cutting; a plant that he’d brought home with him from his travels. But with all his nurturing, the result is a single tight bud on a scraggly stem. He refuses to give up on it and hopes to propagate the plant and grow many more. Grandmother has her doubts.

The Queen has requested to see their renowned plants and herbs. The family set out on their ox cart with the scraggly plant amongst their collection towards the Ishtar Gates, named after the Goddess of Love and War, and to the most beautiful gardens in the world that hang in the sky.

The guard initially does not allow Zahara to go past the first terrace because of her walking stick which he fears will prod and poke the fragile ground that breathes life into the delicate flowers. But Grandmother creeps back disguised, and brings the girl into the garden while her mother talks to the Queen on another terrace. Zahara is fascinated by the waterfalls, ponds, and exotic flowers growing in the moist atmosphere. Grandmother has hidden the weak-looking flower amongst the other plants, ashamed to show it to the Queen.

But to her amazement, within the perfect environment for growth, the blood red bud opens to release a beguiling fragrance. They set out in haste to present it to the Queen.

Queen Amyritis, bewitched by the fragrance and beauty of the rose, invites Zahara to be her Official Petal Counter. But to distance herself from her family is unthinkable to Zahara. She settles on a promise to help grow more of the roses, now known as the Flower of Heaven.

http://www.libbyhathorn.com/

by Martin Mischkulnig and Tim Winton

Penguin. Australian, Adult Non-Fiction. Hardback rrp $75.00

There is a saying ‘Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder’. Martin Mischkulnig has found beauty where others would never look.

I have braved the harshness and beauty of the Australia, truly ‘a sunburnt country, a land of sweeping plains…’ Dorothea Mackellar recognised and described it perfectly and so too do Mischkulnig and Winton.

I have seen many of these places, or scenes eerily similar, travelling through the outback. I would love to have a selection of photographs from the books to hang on my walls. And I can! Each 35x28cm photo is displayed on its own page – easy to tear out and frame.

But then the book is a work of art in itself and it’s hard to imagine pulling apart. perhaps the best place to display these photos is on my coffee table.

Each photograph is accompanied by Tim Winton’s wonderful verbal interpretation of the places and people in the photographs. Listen to what he had to say about his own town:

‘The scope of this unloveliness is so heroic as to transcend mere ugliness. It exalts the place, elevates it to the windswept plateau of the truly fugly.’

Brave and bold, poetic and beautiful, the text translates the spirit of Mischkulnig’s photographs. Smalltown is a masterful merger of the visual and graphic with language and words.

I suggested to my husband that Smalltown would be a great Christmas present for his brother and he looked at me and said softly, “No. I think we will keep this book.”

martinmischkulnig.com

The Legend of Stingy Jack

by Karen Tayleur. Illustrated by Heath McKenzie

black dog books. Australian, Young Reader, Junior. Paperback rrp $16.99

Want to buy a Halloween present that won’t rot their teeth? Halloween in Christmas Hills, The Legend of Stingy Jack will be perfect!

Take one look at the large format front cover and its funny, creepy illustration will lure you inside.

Miles Cameron Johnson is the youngest of five children. The family lives in Ash Crescent in Christmas Hills. Everyone has a favourite holiday except Miles.

When Miles is finally old enough to go trick-or-treating with his siblings, he has to stay in his street. There are only ten houses in the crescent and some of the neighbours don’t believe in Halloween. So there isn’t a lot of candy to get.

And worse still, Mr Jack lives in number six. Stingy Jack to the local kids. He keeps lost balls that go over his fence and probably eats kids for supper. No-one goes there! That is until Miles Cameron ventures out on Halloween. But Miles has been warned…

This is a funny and quirky story – it’s not scary but a lot of very strange things are going on. Heath McKenzie’s almost cartoon-like illustrations enhance the sense of goofiness surrounding the Johnson family. A great story to read on Halloween … and every other holiday in between!

http://www.karentayleur.com/
http://www.heathmck.com/

Karen Tayleur’s Chasing Boys was reviewed in Issue 2 of the Reading Stack and Hostage.
Heath McKenzie’s The Aussie A to Z was reviewed in Issue 1, The Australian 12 Days of Christmas in Issue 3, The A to Z of Aussie Activities in Issue 5, and The Number One Aussie Counting Book in Issue 9 of the Reading Stack.

The Complete Adventures of

by Dorothy Wall

Harper Collins. Australian, Junior. Hardcover rrp $39.99

Blinky Bill was first published in 1933 with Blinky Bill Grows Up following in 1934 and the third book, Blinky Bill and Nutsy published in 1937. These three much-loved Australian classics were combined into The Complete Adventures of BLINKY BILL in 1939.

For those who don’t know (surely there isn’t anyone who doesn’t know?) this is the story of a loveable but naughty young Koala, Blinky Bill, who likes to go on great adventures in the Australian bush. He constantly tries his mother’s patience but befriends many interesting and unique Australian animals along the way. He is always getting into mischief and trouble but eventually comes home to his mother.

Harper Collins have faithfully kept the text and charming illustrations of the original editions. An interesting feature of the latest version is the addition of a comprehensive biography of Dorothy Wall and early reviews of the first edition.

The Complete Adventures of BLINKY BILL is a book that will be treasured by the whole family. Dorothy Wall’s timeless language and illustrations will keep the current generation as entranced as their grandparents were. My 1947 copy has been placed lovingly back on the shelf and my new 2009 is already being read to my children.

by Dee White

Walker Books Australia. Australian, Young Adult. Paperback rrp $16.95

Matt lives with his dad. They are happy and settled. But when he receives a 16th birthday card from his dead mother, his life is thrown into confusion and chaos.

Matt’s journey to find his mother is a search for his own identity and place in the world. Why did his father lie to him? Why hasn’t his mother contacted him before?

When Matt’s teacher sets a project which sees Matt writing to Leonardo di Vinci, Matt begins to find his way. Like Matt and his mother, Leonardo was an artist. Like his mother, Leonardo struggled with mental illness. And the similarities continue to unfold. Matt and Leonardo even share the same birthday.

With the help of his friend Troy, Matt attempts to bring his mother more actively into his life. But she is not the person he wants her to be. Or even the person she wants herself to be. Her life is a constant battle with bi-polar disorder.

Mental illness has cruel and harsh consequences for everyone affected by it. Matt ultimately realises this is what his father tried to protect him from. But he realises too late.

Letters to Leonardo is a confronting book best suited to the mature reader. It deals honestly and openly with the sensitive issue of mental health and its impact on the family unit. This is not a fairy story. The ending is both crushing and hopeful. But this is what makes the story important and a must to read.

http://www.deescribe.com.au/

Book of the Year 2009

The Speech Pathology Australia Book of the The Year Award winners were:

The Terrible Plop (Ursula Dubosarsky, Viking, Young Children, 2 - 5 years)

The Gobbling Tree (Mark Carthew, illus Susy Boyer, New Frontier Publishing, Lower Primary, 5 - 8 years)

Noodle Pie (Ruth Starke, Omnibus, Upper Primary 8 - 12 years)

Congratulations everyone.

by Geoff Dyer


Text Publishing. Adult Other. Paperback RRP $32.95

Guest Reviewer - Anastasia Gonis

This novel is pure escapism. It is in two parts that are held together by a common thread but appear as separate stories. The first centres on a journalist who hates his job and finds his life intolerable. But he initiates change by dyeing his hair for the first time and allowing himself liberties that he’d never considered before.

His assignment is to cover the Biennale in Venice and secure an interview with ageing beauty, Julia Berman, on her daughter’s new CD album. He’s also pressured to get permission to publish an early provocative drawing of Julia by a now famous and popular artist. This meeting leads to more temptation and awakens sleeping desires.

His desires are propelled further forward by a meeting with the enigmatic Laura, to whom chance is everything. He embarks on a sexual, intensely sensual journey with her as they spend most of their time making love, attending parties and snorting coke, leaving the Biennale imprinted on his life as an unforgettable journey through love and renewal.

The second part finds the journalist sent to India to write a travel piece. In Varanasi he initially begins his exploration by following the masses to the Ganges, watching the many funeral pyres that are a display for the tourists, avoiding the countless beggars that swamp the streets, and viewing the abject poverty and filth that constitute the chaos of daily life.

But his visit evolves. By degrees, he embraces the calm lifestyle, the disowning of material possessions, and the questioning. He is greatly influenced by all he sees and experiences. His travel article becomes an intimate portrait of life and death; of survival. Amidst a smorgasbord of language and images, the journalist exposes India in all its shades through the eyes of someone extremely familiar and accepting of the customs, rituals and religions of this complex land.

The writing is extremely visual, superbly entertaining, energetic and clever, humorous and human. The writer is an observer of human habits, weaknesses and pretentions, all of which he intricately dissects.

by Karen Tayleur

black dog books. Young Adult, Australian. Paperback RRP $18.99


Guest Reviewer - Jo Burnell

After being hit by the twist in the final pages of Chasing Boys, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on Karen Tayleur’s latest release Hostage, and wasn’t disappointed.

It’s irritating when you can’t put a book down and Hostage held me captive. More twists and turns than a bowl of spaghetti kept me glued to the page as Tully’s story unfolded. Her story to the police, (marked by date and time) didn’t always match her memory – or did it? And what about Tully’s recollections of people and places in the past? Were these also blurred by time?

Where does reality stop and the story begin?

Is there a difference?

Parcels of information in chapter-sized chunks are presented like clues in a detective mystery. It took the entire book to put the full story together. Just as Chasing Boys left questions lingering, Hostage kept me guessing.

Seemingly unrelated threads have been masterfully tightened to form a delicate net. One Tully couldn’t escape and neither could I. Was she a hostage in an abduction? Who could she really rely on? As I visited the many places she had lived, the layers of her short life took shape.

Déjà vu kicked in with the last words on the final page. I couldn’t believe the author caught me out again. The entire story turned on its head and I wanted to start reading the book again – immediately.

Be warned. This book can’t be put down and there’s no point flicking to the last page for a shortcut to the punch-line. You won’t ‘get it’ unless you read every page of Hostage.

Karen Tayleur’s Chasing Boys was reviewed in Issue 2 of The Reading Stack.



http://www.karentayleur.com/

by Kathy Charles

The Text Publishing Company. Adult Other, Australian. Paperback rrp $32.95

We’ve all read or heard about people that do tours around Hollywood’s seamier side. Visiting places where famous people have died or are buried. When does the fascination stop and the strangeness of its reality begin?

Hilda and Benji are two lost seventeen year olds. They met over the death of a cat near their high school and soon realise they have much in common. After returning the body of the cat back to its owner, the two hook up and start to venture around Hollywood’s “dead” spots.

They love visiting the sites of death, whether it’s an old theatre being pulled down or the movie scene of real life tragedy Sometimes they keep mementoes, Benji’s in his parent’s mansion locked safely away in a glass cabinet, Hilda’s in a box in the small bedroom she has at her aunt’s home. Hilda’s parents died tragically so her fascination with death is not surprising but is Benji fascinated with Hilda or her past?

During the summer holidays, they go to Echo Park. A place that is a tired and faded memory of a once successful movie business. Amongst the rundown buildings they visit an apartment where a silent movie star stabbed himself in the bathroom with a pair of nail scissors. Initially, they only want to take a photo and maybe a tile from the bathroom. But Hilda is intrigued by Hank, the old man who now lives in the apartment and who seems to be holding a bigger secret.

Hilda starts to visit Hank without Benji. Benji has immersed himself into a cult of celebrity death whilst Hilda is trying to climb out of it. Then Hank’s downstairs neighbour, Jake, starts turning up at Hank’s. What does Jake want with Hank and even more suspicious, what does he want with Hilda?

Hollywood Ending is a tale of death, celebrities and cults. It is a sad reflection of the seedy, grimy side of Hollywood. It dragged me in and made me a voyeur in this weird and strange world. I have always loved Hollywood and its movie stars. Once such a shiny image it is now dark and strange.

http://www.kathycharles.com/

by Philipp Meyer

Allen and Unwin. Adult Other. Paperback RRP $32.99

Guest Reviewer - Anastasia Gonis

The title of this dark but compelling novel is a metaphor for the slow decay of life in rural America from opportunities lost along with jobs and hope. Through the lives of the characters and their predicaments, we view lives spiralling out of control from one unpredictable event that leads to a sequence of irreversible decisions.

Isaac and his sister Lee are the smartest kids in the county. Lee, by going on to Yale, escaped all responsibility for her damaged father. Isaac chose to stay and care for him after an accident left him in a wheelchair. His mother also escaped by exiting the picture by drowning herself five years previously. But now Isaac has decided at last to get away and start a new life using the large sum of money stolen from his father’s stash. He goes in search of his friend Billy Poe in the hope that they can make the escape together.

Billy is a failure due to his disregard of the countless opportunities life presented to him. His father has abandoned them and his mother, Grace, a gentle and loving person has failed to replace him permanently with anyone worthwhile, regardless of her on again-off again relationship with the loyal Bud, their county sheriff.

Billy consents to accompany Isaac for part of the way. They find shelter in an abandoned barn which is also the stopping place of several other fugitives who come upon the two boys. Isaac feels uncomfortable in their presence and decides to leave. Billy as usual, postpones making a decision and remains. But Isaac returns soon after to find Billy at knife point and the incident that follows sweeps the boys’ future out from under them.

Meyer has captured a real sense of time and place. The six parts of the book examine the damage done to each individual life by the choices they made. The language, like the story, is hard and gritty, and the fine line between life and death is always visible. It’s a book that won’t be easily put down.

http://www.philippmeyer.net/

by Helene Chung

Helene Chung’s life is filled with many firsts. She was the first non-white reporter on Australian television, and the first woman to be posted abroad by the ABC, a job she got into by accident and which gave her the opportunity to travel the world. The reader accompanies Helene through the rich and intelligent narrative to the countries she visited in recollections and with the use of diary entries and letters. The famous people she came into contact with for her commentaries and interviews include Sir Edmund Hillary, and Princess Anne at Buckingham Palace. She has also included a moving testimony of the early, heartbreaking loss of her husband to cancer.

Helene’s mother, the colourful Dorothy Henry, was Miss China, 1942. She divorced her husband when Helene was just a toddler and her sister Lehane a little older, and lived a bohemian life as a single mother. This proved a pathway to an interesting but not always friendly position in life for her. She worked as a nude model and moved in cultivated circles beside the men she met and others that passed through her life – artists and other eccentric and famous contacts which also opened new worlds for the girls; intellectual worlds, of art exhibitions, books, theatre and music.

None of Dorothy’s choices seemed to have had a negative effect on her children. Helene was a well-adjusted child; a tomboy who grew up free and uninhibited by her gender. Lehane was embraced by everyone because of her gentle and loving nature.

Helene Chung confesses that this book was ‘conceived purely as a memoir of (my) childhood and experience of being an Australian Chinese’ but ended up incorporating so much more. It exposes the clash of cultures, the difficulties the family faced without the support of a father and her interesting family tree. She uses a rich history of the times as background, moving between her Chinese and Australian life, which includes her own family’s story from the 1880s to now, and the many secrets held hidden or unknown for years.

by Marian Keyes


Penguin. Romance. Paperback rrp $32.95


One address. Four flats. Seven occupants. At 66 Star Street Dublin there seems to be a lot happening and someone is watching them all. We start off at Day 61 and as we turn another page and pass another chapter we also are counting down to Day 1. But what will happen on Day 1? And why is the “watcher” counting the days and picking and choosing?

Of the seven occupants at 66 Star Street, the “watcher” is trying to decide who to choose. There are some obvious choices and some not so easy. Jemima is in her 80’s and can sense a presence but she isn’t ready … just yet. Matt and Maeve are married who live on the bottom floor only seem like the perfect couple. Young Lydia, stuck living with two unfunny Poles, has a lover but much anger and hatred. And then there is Katie on the top floor. She has a perfect man in Conall, she is turning 40. Could she be the one?


Love, lust, passion, death, tragedy, friendship, endings and beginnings; it is all happening at 66 Star Street. When secrets are uncovered the “watcher” knows it is time to choose.

The Brightest Star in the Sky kept me entranced. How could so much happen in one tiny block of units? How many endings could one book have? And not tied with neat bows either. This is a book with wide general appeal. Buy it for yourself and give it as a gift. You won’t regret either decision.

This Charming Man by Marion Keyes was reviewed in Issue 7 of The Reading Stack.

http://www.mariankeyes.com/

by Sally Wise


ABC Books. Australian, Adult Other. Paperback rrp $24.99

I often work from home but I never seem to have enough time to whip up a truly delicious meal for the family. Many times I have cooked dinner in the early morning before working and left it to sit in the oven or on the stove or in the fridge. I didn’t know about slow cooking.

Then one day in the supermarket I picked up, by mistake, a sachet to make something interesting and different. Unfortunately, as much as the recipe sounded great, it was for a slow cooker. What’s that? I asked myself. Then I found that my mother owned one, most of my friends, the mothers in the playground… almost everyone except me! Why hadn’t I heard about slow cooking? This would make my life so much simpler. So I bought one.

But what to cook? There are only 4 or 5 meal sachets on the supermarket shelf and the recipes that come with the cooker were not inspiring. What a joy to find Sally Wise’s Slow Cooker.

I have tried several of her recipes so far and they are all easy and taste great. Most of the ingredients are in my cupboard already.

The smell when Tilly’s Indian Sweet Curry Beef was cooking made me salivate all day long – one problem with working from home! And my husband, who isn’t a fan of soups, thought the Minestrone was definitely to be repeated. The Satay Chicken is super easy and tastes delicious.

Then there are the desserts! I have to wait for the weekend to cook them but am tossing up on the Apple Dumplings in Butterscotch Sauce or the Apple Golden Syrup Dumplings. I think I might need to purchase another slow cooker so I can have my dinner and dessert as well!