What a mixed bag of books we read last month and much discussion on topics related to them.

Lost Girl by D C Gray, a mystery and romance that bring past and present colliding.  A Forest of Souls, Carla Banks.  Psychological thriller taking the reader from 21st C Britain to the dark days of war torn Eastern Europe.  A tale of hidden truths.  Recommended read.  Dorothy read the Gold Miners Sister questions arose as to where it was set, The Lakehouse and Pretty Sally were both mentioned.  Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E Frankl.  What is the meaning of life? Viktor recounts his experiences in the Concentration Camps of WW11 and the school of therapy he invented to help us confront this very question.  The Getting of Garlic, book by John Newton, Australian food from bland to brilliant, how our food has changed, includes some Indigenous food as well.  Florence Swims Forever by Rachel Beanland, set in Atlanta in 1934 tells the story of a Jewish family struggling to conceal the drowning of a cherished daughter for fear that her pregnant sister will lose her baby.  The Dictionary of Lost Words reveals a lost narrative hidden between the lines of a history written by men a remarkable book by Pip Williams.  This book was enjoyed.  A Room Made of Leaves by Kate Grenville provided differing opinions from the group, a good discussion.  Greatest Mysteries of the Modern World by John Pinkney.  A whole swag of strange vanishings, a ship found with no crew on board, mysterious murders, all outlined in short chapters.   The Bookshop of Yesterdays by Amy Meyerson.  A woman inherits a bookstore from an eccentric uncle, a good read.  The Dickens Boy by Tom Keneally was very good as was The Return of the Dancing Master by Swedish crime writer Henning Mankell.  Crime novels are a popular read among our group, and apparently women writers excel as crime writers.  There were quite a few more really interesting books read by our group.
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Geraldine McCorkell

Many thanks to Lorraine for hosting our first Lets Talk Books for February.  The Library will not be opening to groups for some time yet, but given the size of our group we will have to look for a new venue, I will inform everyone where that will be by the middle of February.

Many and varied books were read, some enjoyed, some a little disappointing.  Noelle enjoyed The Blue Sky between Sky and Water by Susan Abulhawa, set in Palestine it follows the lives of the Baraka family from Deit Daras to Gaza and the dispersing  of the family across the world.  Unusual was The Behaviour of Moths by Poppy Adams.   From her lookout on the first floor, Ginny watches and waits for her younger sister to return to the crumbling mansion that was once their idyllic childhood home. Vivien has not set foot in the house since she left, forty-seven years ago; Ginny, the reclusive moth expert, has rarely ventured outside it.  Reliable Anita Shrieve wrote A Change in Altitude, set in the darkness and light of Kenya in Africa, worth a read.  The Memoirs and Diaries of the poet Lord Byron who died in Greece in 1824, Byron Bay was named after him, was also worth the read.  The Highland Clans by Alistar Moffet, held special interest for our reader following her family history.  The Diamond Hunter, Fiona McIntosh was a little disappointing, everyone was too perfect.  The Champagne War by Fiona,  was voted a better read.  Also mentioned was a regular column in the Women’s Weekly called The Reading Room, which lists new releases.    The Dressmakers Secret, Rosalie Ham, was disappointing, but Dogs in Australian Art by Steven Miller was delightful and very well produced.  A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles, got the thumbs up, whilst the usual run of mystery novels, James Pattison, Michael Connelly were enjoyed.  The Cartographers Daughter, slow to start but finished OK.  Girls with No Names New York in 1910, Time of suffragettes, unions and the House of Mercy for girls who broke the law!!

​What a big read everyone had.  See you all in March.

Geraldine McCorkell

Hello everyone!   Just a reminder that our Let’s Talk Books gathering will be at the home of Lorraine Knox, 51 Bridge Street Benalla, two doors up from the Shell Roadhouse at 2 p.m. next Tuesday 2nd February.   We will continue to meet this way until we can use our rooms or the Library.   Looking forward to seeing everyone and sharing all the interesting books we have been reading. 
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Geraldine McCorkell 0408 522 662

I hope everyone has been busily reading over the last few weeks.  If anyone has lent books to members of our group and would like them back before Christmas, please let me know as I have a number of books here from our first meetings this year. 

Our group will continue in 2021, not quite sure where as yet, but that will be decided before we begin in February.  Hope Christmas is a happy one for you and we look forward to a better year ahead. 
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Geraldine McCorkell

I haven’t done a book report as such this month, apart from me reading The Butterfly Room by Lucinda Riley.
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BUT I would like to have a final LETS TALK BOOKS for 2020 in December.  The plan at the moment is to meet under the Library on Tuesday 1st December at 2 p.m.   Bring your own chair and a drink if required.  It would be really nice to just meet and have a chat and talk about plans for next year.  I will contact you all personally before then, please don’t feel you have to come if you are still uncomfortable being among others.

Geraldine McCorkell

People have been reading a great assortment of books this month.  Trish Potter only took 2 days to read The Daughters Tale by Armando Lucas Correa, based on the true story of the Nazi massacre of a French Village in 1944.  The author also wrote The German Girl.  The Light After the War by Anita Ariel, written in a similar vein  to The Daughters Tale,  is also a true story of two Jewish friends who survived the Holocaust.  The Girl They Left Behind by Roxanne Veletzos a family saga and love story that offers a glimpse into life in war torn Bucharest in 1941 and living behind the Iron Curtain.  So after all those rather sad stories some lighter reading for you. 

Shirley really enjoyed a small book of Collected Short Stories by Somerset Maugham, as Shirley said these were meticulously written.  Being a fan of murder and mayhem Shirley also read, Stately Homicide by S.T. Haymon, mystery in a stately manor in Norfolk where Anne Boleyn once stayed.  Forty Years of Murder is the biography of Keith Simpson who was Home Office Pathologist, he spent 40 years in the midst of murder, according to Shirley there was some humour in parts of this story.  The Haunted Monastery by Robert Van Dubilk AD666, travellers seek refuge from a mountain storm  in a Taoist monastery where the Abbott Jade mysteriously dies.  

Now another change of pace, A Ration Book by Jean Fullerton.  Jean Fullerton has written a series of `Ration’ books about the era when London’s East End was being bombed during the blitz.  Quite a good read.  The Lost Pearl by Emily Madden, a romance saga from Pearl Harbour to the shores of Sydney.  For readers of Fiona McIntosh and Anne O’Connor you will enjoy this book.  Heart of the Cross also by Emily Madden, takes you from Ireland to Kings Cross, a young married woman finds life in Kings Cross is a lot different for her and their young son. 

I have just finished The Bee and the Orange Tree by Melissa Ashley, set in France in 1699, the untold story of the woman who invented fairy tales.  I enjoyed this, but probably not for everyone.   

​Hopefully we are coming to the end of being unable to see each other.  I would like to think we could have a get together perhaps in early November, even if it is in the Benalla gardens.

Geraldine McCorkell

Welcome, everyone - hope your reading has been enjoyable over the last few weeks as we continue on our merry way. 

I had a chat with Helen Squires who has enjoyed Bye Bye Baby written by Fiona McIntosh.   A schoolteacher is found murdered in an alleyway in a northern English city.  Three months later a courier’s body turns up in a toilet block in a rough London suburb.  Two men with very different lives but a common death both bodies brutally mutilated.   A heart stopping tale of brutal revenge with a chilling twist.  We have all enjoyed The Lavender Keeper by the same author. 
 
As usual Heather Sloan has read a few varied books.  The Beautiful Mother by Katherine Scholes.  In a remote corner of Tanzania Essie Lawrence lives with her husband in an archaelogist’s camp.  One morning a chance encounter with two strangers sees  her making a rash promise.  When she returns to the research base she has a baby in her arms.  Sounds intriguing.  The Goldminers Daughter by Alison Stuart.   In 1873 Eliza Pemrose arrives in the gold mining town of Maiden Gully Creek in search of her brother.  Instead she finds a tragic mystery.  You will have to read this to find out what the mystery was.
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Noelle has read a different but enjoyable book My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk.  This book was the winner of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Literature.  It is a philosophical thriller constructed around the clash between two world civilisations.  The review said it is `an outstanding novel’.

Also enjoyed by Noelle The Sand Archive by Gregory Day.    This was shortlisted for the 2019 Miles Franklin Award.  The book spans decades from present Geelong to Paris.  The book references the need to find a solution to the shifting and destablising influence of sand on the Great Ocean Road.  There is love, poetry and politics involved in this book, which received good reviews.  The Love that Remains by Susan Francis, a memoir with secrets, life’s shocking twists and unconditional love.  Sounds interesting. 

I have just finished The Paris Seamstress by Natasha Lester, set in Paris and the USA during the WW2.  Quite enjoyed this one. 

Keep reading and stay warm. 
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Geraldine McCorkell

Hello everyone, be happy, Spring is just around the corner. 

This month I have a couple of new books that have just been published.  Kate Grenville’s latest novel Room Made of Leaves, her first new novel in a decade.   Kate brings Elizabeth Macarthur, wife of John Macarthur, the father of the Australian Merino sheep, to life as a person in her own right.   I am sure if you are a reader of Grenville this will be enjoyed.  Also just out, The Survivors, a new Jane Harper read. A reckless mistake has devasting consequences.   I have enjoyed her previous books enormously.  Highly recommended during conversations with friends are The Things She Owned written by Katherine Tamiko Arguila, the complexity of lives lived between cultures.  A Gentleman in Moscow  by Amor Towles, a work of historical fiction, Count Alexander Llyich, a Russian aristocrat used to `the good life’ is sentenced by a Bolshevik tribunal in 1922 to a life of house arrest in the luxurious Metropol Hotel in Moscow (a hotel that still exists today).  A beautifully written and very descriptive book, most enjoyable.

Too Close to the Falls by Catherine Gildiner.  An amazing and very humorous memoir about Catherine’s extraordinary childhood in a small American town situated near Niagara Falls in the 1950’s.  A lovely encapsulation of the life and times of that era in small town America.

I really enjoyed a book from the library The Liberation of Brigid Dunne by Patricia Scanlan, set in Ireland, about two members of a family who entered the convent.  At the moment I am reading Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens.  It is getting a bit better the more I read.  Nevertheless, keep reading and I hope some of these books find their way into your living rooms. 
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Geraldine McCorkell

​Those of us who like reading have found great solace in the last few months in books, they are a welcome distraction from the mayhem around us. 

​I have enjoyed Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel more than Wolf Hall and Shirley Roberts said the same, although Shirley has tackled the third in the series The Mirror and the Light and thinks the book could be condensed as the author seemed to get carried away with words.  I am about to start Where the Crawdads Sing, by Delia Owen, so I will give an opinion next month on that one.  Shirley has also enjoyed Jeffrey Archer’s As the Crow Flies a typical Jeffrey novel. 

Heather has listened to a few audiobooks, one in particular Nanberry by Jackie French, set in 1789, in which John White, Australia’s first surgeon, adopts an aboriginal boy to raise as his own, was very much enjoyed.    Heather has also enjoyed Growing up Aboriginal in Australia, childhood stories of family, country and belonging.  This anthology is edited by author Anita Heiss. 

Maxine has read a few spy books but also a book of short stories written by Alice Munro, a Canadian author who won the Nobel Prize in 2013, Maxine is looking forward to reading The Redhead by the Side of the Road by Ann Tyler. 

​Janet chose two books to tell us about Blind Justice the True Story of the Death of Jennifer Tanner by Robin Bowles.  In 1984 Laurie Tanner finds his wife dead on the family farm with a gun in her hand, an apparent suicide, but the discovery of human remains on the same farm a few years later sets in motion queries about the suicide.  Janet also enjoyed The Convert by Stephen Hertmans, a journey across medieval Europe and forbidden love.  The author lives in a village in Provence where people have spoken of ancient pogroms and hidden treasure.  Sounds a good read, I think I will look for this one.

So, as we struggle on with the virus and social distancing, enjoy your reading and let me know of any `can’t put down’ books you have read.

Geraldine McCorkell

​There is no sign of us being able to meet in the near future, but I am sure that has not stopped us reading lots of books, I saw in the paper last that week Jane Harper has a new book ready for release and as I have enjoyed her previous books I look forward to seeing what this new one will bring.

I have rung a few of our members for their thoughts on their reading this week.

Maxine has enjoyed Foals Bread by Gillian Meares, Gillian won many Literary awards for this book, a story of two generations of the Nancarrow family and the high jumping horse circuit before WW11, also enjoyed was The Choke by Sophie Laguna, written in the 1970’s the story is set in a section of the Murray River known as the Barmah Choke, the lives of hard done by families and one in particular, 10 year old Justine Lee raised by her grandfather, worth while reading.  This is Happiness by Niall Williams, a touching book set in Ireland, a good read.  Love is a Four Letter Word by Colin McCann, also set in Ireland, Maxine enjoyed this one too.

Shirley, who loves all things with a bit of history has been busy reading.  Rommel the German General also known as the Desert Fox, Women Wartime Spies by Ann Cramer the brave women who became spies for the Government, not all returned home.  Nancy Wake a woman larger than life, not enjoyed at all was the Da Vinci Code, but Shirley has also indulged in a couple of mystery novels by James Pattison.

Janet has read the crime novel Harbour Street by Ann Cleeves, the 6th book in the Vera Stanhope books, the series has been made into a television series, Janet believes it follows the book well.  The Breaker by Kit Denton, is an audio book. Breaker Morant was convicted and executed for murder during the 2nd Anglo-Boer War, but a mystery surrounds the death sentence, he famously said `shoot straight you bastards’ at his execution. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne, a novel about the holocaust, as is common with that era this story was very sad.

Trish really enjoyed Just One Wish by Rachel Johns, three women, three secrets - a real page turner. If you like dogs An Unexpected Grace by Kirsten Kreisler very uplifting, a woman’s journey to healing and the soul mate who helps guide her there.  

​We have been very busy, I am still struggling through Wolf Hall, enjoying it, but a lot of concentration needed.  Keep well and continue reading.

Geraldine McCorkell

​Hello everyone,

In this time of social isolation, I have spoken to a number of our members and they are taking great solace in reading.  If you don’t get a mention this time I will be ringing you for the next Newsletter, so don’t feel left out.

I have reread Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout because I bought her new book Olive Again and needed a refresher, followed by The Dutch House, Ann Patchett,  I am now into Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel, heavy going but I think I will enjoy it.

Janet has read and mostly enjoyed The Glass Room by Ann Cleeves, a bit corny features `Vera’ from the TV series.  From Frasers to Freezeout by Ian Stapleton, a history of the Treasure family and the Dargo High Plains, Virals by Kathy Reichs, too terrible to finish, Woman in a Green Dress, by Tea Cooper, this also was pretty corny, and Bushranger Country by Alan Sharpe, story of most of Australia’s bushrangers.

Heather has read Escape from Kabul,  We That Are Left by Lisa Bigelow, set in Melbourne in 1941 made for good reading, Tuscan Rose by Belinda Alexander, Miss Muriel Matters by Robert Wainwright, an Australian girl, who went to the UK to work joined the suffragette movement, and chained herself to the fence of the House of Commons, demanding women get the vote.

Lyn has continued with her interest in history with Mrs. Kelly by Grantlee Kieza, the astonishing story of Ned Kelly’s mother.  Daughter of the Empire by Raymond Feist, a story of magic and murder, The Temptress, passion and murder in Happy Valley.

Lorraine has read The Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett whilst Noelle found 2 books on her top shelf by Andre Brink a South African author, Chain of Voices an historical account of apartheid in the country north east of Cape Town.  The second book Wall of the Plague  is written in a similar vein to Geraldine Brooks, a relevant line in the book is anything that can keep one person away from another is a wall of the Plague. Rings true in the present time.

Rae has enjoyed Wearing Paper Dresses by Anne Brinsden, a story based in a small settlement in the Mallee, a beautifully written compelling story with well drawn characters and an understanding of country Australia, loved this one.  The Glovemaker by Ann Weisgarber, an enjoyable, engrossing easy book to read, this is set in the USA in 1888.  Deborah Tyler, a glovemaker lives in an isolated settlement of a few Church of Latter-Day Saints families.  The families had moved by wagon from the larger Latter-Day Saints communities because they didn’t agree with the multiple wife policy. An interesting insight to the Latter-Day Saint movement.

So keep reading and you will receive a phone call from me very soon to see what you have been reading.
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Geraldine McCorkell

Due to the Library not having group sessions because of the Coronavirus, we will hold Lets Talk
Books in the U3A room at the Seniors building. We are aware that some members will not feel
comfortable taking part in group sessions whilst this virus is prevalent so please do not feel you are obliged to attend. Keep well and safe.

​Geraldine

Our first gathering for 2020 found our group keen to discuss books read over the holiday period. A glance at some of the books enjoyed included Buckley’s Chance Garry Linnell about an escaped convict who lived with aboriginals for 32 years.  The Butterfly Room Lucinda Riley continued the enjoyment of her books, Four Fires Bryce Courtney was once again read, Boy Swallows the Universe Trent Dalton earned a book of the year award and was worth the read, War Flower Mary Ann O’Connor set against the background of the Vietnam war and the sixties era received a tick.  Land of Golden Wattle JH Fletcher took the reader through a history of Australia and seven generations of a pastoral family.  The Dutch House Ann Patchett published in 2019 is about a brother and sister over five decades, good reading.  Live a Little Howard Jacobson a wicked novel about falling in love in your nineties and the family’s reaction!!  The Happiest Refugee Anh Do a feelgood book.  Published in 2019 In Darkness Visible by Tony Jones about a prisoner of war in Croatia, good read.  Poum and Alexsandre,  by Catherine de Saint Phoull set in Paris and how family define us this author also wrote The Sea and Us, written about a young man who returns to Australia and lives above a fish and chip shop in Brunswick Street.  Lyn read a History of the Channel Islands during the War referred to as Hitler’s British Isles, also enjoyed was Working with Winston the vast array of secretaries and female assistants needed to keep up with him.  Esther a biography by Jessica North recounts how Esther was convicted in the Old Bailey and transported to Botany Bay and became the first Lady of the Colony.  There were more books read, obviously the hot weather gave our group plenty of opportunity to read, we yearn for more reading time to have a look at some of these gems.  See you all on the 3rd March.
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Geraldine McCorkell

At our meeting in December quite a few war-time books had been read.  To Die in Spring, Code Name Verity, The Moscow Sleepers (a trilogy), Barbed Wire and Roses, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, to name a few.  A book much enjoyed was Against All Odds, the inside story of the Thai Cave Rescue.  The reader also found Great Australian Flying Doctor Stories the reader very funny. 

​The Testaments by Margaret Attwood, the sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale, was voted rather boring, whilst The Real Wallace Simpson and Lady in Waiting by Anne Glenconnor made for good reading.  Mysteries Deadly Harvest, Cold Case, Suitcase Baby, The Court Reporter for the crime lovers, whilst the general fiction readers enjoyed The Crimson Room, A Taste For It (Monica McInerney), Oceans Between Us and The Snow Geese all rated well. 

We wish Margaret Sellars a speedy recovery, hope you are back with us in 2020 Margaret.  Have a happy and healthy Christmas everyone, do lots of reading, we will catch up in February.

Geraldine McCorkell

Our last meeting for 2019 will be Tuesday 3rd December.  Enjoy your reading over the holiday period.

All the best for Christmas and 2020.  It has been a pleasure meeting with this group every month.
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Geraldine McCorkell

Quite a few good reads this month. Kelly Rimmer author of The Things We Cannot Say set in Poland during World War 2 and then America, this was a must read.  The Lavender Keeper by Fiona McIntosh set in the same era was very much enjoyed, a follow up book The French Promise has been published so more about that when it has gone around the group.

Trial for Fakes written about the Art fraud of artist Brett Whitely’s paintings was fascinating, whilst the investigation into the deaths of Dr. Bogle and Mrs Chandler in 1963 was a fizzer, nothing new to report there.  An Improbable Friendship two iconic women from enemy camps Israeli Ruth Dayan and Palestinian Raymonda Tawil and their 40 year peace mission.  They are still friends to this day.  Another good read was When We Were Orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro, set in England in the 1930’s.  A talking book that was good value An Uncommon Woman by Nicole Alexander was set in rural Queensland.  An author not widely read by our group Penny Vincenzi has written a sizzling story Almost a Crime,  of marital infidelity between a charity guru and her lobbyist husband.   During a discussion about Bryce Courtenay’s Four Fires the question was asked is it a good read because it was set locally?   The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See, Korean Women Divers borrowed from the library was very good.  The Butchers in Berlin had too many characters.  Red Joan by Jenni Rooney received the same comment as the film, very dry and left readers in mid air.     An unusual book The Memory Craft by Lynne Kelly a writer from Castlemaine has researched methods of storing memory, we could all learn from that I am sure.

No meeting in November – Melbourne Cup Day, next gathering on the 4th December. 
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Geraldine McCorkell

Sidney Sheldon made an appearance this month in Stranger in the Mirror, which was a tad disappointing, this was followed by a Michael Connelly suspense The Closers.  A Time for Heroes, war tales by Frank Barnard was enjoyed by this reader.  The English Assassin a spy novel by Daniel Silva published in 2002 is the second in the Gabriel Allon series, a good read.

The Tailor and the Shipwright by Robert Westphal is a true story giving a unique historical account of the convict history and early Sydney, well worth the read.  House for All Seasons, bequeathed a century old house, four estranged friends return to their hometown, they must stay for a whole season, many secrets revealed.  Some audio books enjoyed were Hello from the Gillespies by Monica McInerny set on a family property in South Australia, and Not Bad People author Brandy Scott, set in a Victorian town.

Henry Himself by Stuart O’Nan, is described as a poignant novel.  The Overstory written by American author,  Richard Powers, who is passionate about the loss of trees in the world.  The usual mystery novels, The Tailor of Panama, John Le Carre divided opinion on this one, Flesh and Blood Patricia Cornwall and The Moscow Sleeper by Stella Rimington.  The autobiography of Julia Gillard highlighted difficulties experienced in politics, she was criticised for her clothing and hair and the work hours were long and very pressured.  To Die in Spring by German author Ralph Rothmann is a brutal coming of age in in Nazi Germany.  A Spanner in the Works, the extraordinary story of Alice Anderson set in the 1920’s.   Alice was the first woman Motor Mechanic, who had a garage in Cotham Road Kew with an all woman workforce.  An interesting and inspiring read. 

We had such an interesting and varied lots of books this month.  See you all on the 1st October.
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Geraldine McCorkell

A smaller group than usual arrived for our August chat, but plenty of discussion took place nevertheless.  The Outback Writers Festival was entered by Shirley’s granddaughter, His Name Was Mud by Tracy Liotis and received a good review, a justly proud grandmother.  The Lost City of the Monkey God a true story written by Douglas Preston was enjoyed and The True Story of the Horse Soldiers in Afghanistan told by Doug Stanton was of a deployment of American soldiers after 9/11 who rode with the Afghanistan warriors to defeat the Taliban.    A discussion was held on whether the book Jane Austen made her look somewhat of a radical.  The Tattooist of Auschwitz had received a bad review, but those of our group who read this didn’t agree. Fiona McIntosh The Lavender Keeper and The French Province were a good read, whilst White Out by Ken Follett was not worth the effort.  The Favourite, the power struggle between Queen Ann and her best friend Sarah Churchill the Duchess of Marlborough, was enjoyed. Whilst on history, Behind Closed Doors, the tragic story of how Wallace Simpson spent her final years.  Her Mothers Daughter by Nadia Wheatley, an interesting memoir, whilst Transcription by Kate Atkinson, had too many people and too many time frames although a good read.  The Envelope by Maurice Wills, a very sad story of Australian Orphanages from 1930’s to the 1950’s.  Murder on Easey Street, the cold case murder of two Benalla girls in a house in Collingwood, the house was empty for six years until being sold and renovated.  A few more books were read - a small group read many books.  See you in September.
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Geraldine McCorkell

A smaller group for Let’s Talk Books on the first Tuesday of July, I guess the lucky ones have gone away seeking warmer weather.  Quite a few books are doing the rounds after recommendations from our group, who are always willing to lend a book to another.  It is interesting to listen to the different opinions given about the content of the books swapped and lent.  The Cardinal (George Pell) was lent and read, leading to more comments about this situation.  Laurie, our Talking Books guru, listened to The Dry by Jane Harper and thoroughly enjoyed the novel.

Colours of Gold by Kaye Dobbie.  Annie an Art Restorer in Melbourne finds a painting in a cellar of two young girls.  The book goes back to 1867 when a Paddle steamer captain found a girl half drowned in the Murray River, his wife named her Alice.  Alice had a gift of seeing an aura around people.  Eventually she runs away to the Goldfields with her friend Rosie, but there is always a man in a dark coat.  Annie the Art Restorer is determined to find out more, but always sees the same man in the dark coat.   A very good read.   Hells Trail, a thesis written by John Williams in 1972 about the Irish Convicts and Van Diemens  Land,  was of historical interest.  Mary Celeste the American Merchant ship discovered adrift and deserted in the Atlantic.   A Canadian brigantine found her in a dishevelled condition under partial sail with the lifeboat missing.   One of those mysteries worth having a look at.  The Legend and the Life of Coco Chanel, great pictures, sex and excitement, this book had it all.  A beautiful picture book of Queen Mary’s Doll House, complete with miniature furnishings, this is on display at Buckingham Palace.   There were a few crime novels and a couple of books `not worth reading’.  So sit by the fire and read and have a lot to talk about in August.
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Geraldine McCorkell