If I Can't Have You by Charlotte Levin

This debut novel from Charlotte Levin takes us down the rabbit hole of infatuation, betrayal and revenge...

...this story is told by Constance, and written in the form of a letter to someone who meant a great deal to her....Samuel.

Samuel is the new doctor at the private clinic where Constance works, and she seems to have a bit of a crush on him...could it be anymore cliché?

Needless to say the new doctor on the block, Samuel isn't into anything meaningful when it comes to relationships, he's more of a free spirit, live for the moment type of guy....but he hadn't banked on Constance's decision to show him the error of his ways!

Library Enthusiast book obsessions...

If we are talking about Obsessions...and basically that's what Levin's writing about in If I Can't Have You...the library books Australian readers were obsessed by and couldn't get enough of during the pandemic make an interesting collection....

Jane Harper's The Survivors 

Michelle Obama's memoir Becoming

Australian crime writer Dervla McTiernan's The Good Turn

British thriller writer Lee Child's Blue Moon

 

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

 Once again a friend back in the UK recommended this book to me...this is why I love having an online connection with passionate readers cross the globe...we are able to share the books we love!

The concept of The Midnight Library is an interesting one and Haig executes it well. 

How different would our life be if we made another choice?

Could just one decision change the lives of the people around us?

Is there any such thing as a perfect life?

The story centres around Nora Seed...she has hit rock bottom...after losing her cat and her job she decides to take her own life.

However she finds herself in the Midnight Library...a point between life and death.

Nora learns that she has an opportunity to live as if she had done things differently...

In one life Nora is an internationally famous rock star, in another she works as a scientist in sub-zero temperatures, she is an Olympic athlete, she's rich...she's poor...in-fact the possibilities are infinite!

Throughout it all, Haig seamlessly interjects magic into the most ordinary of details.

There is a lot to think about in this story, and yes it is full of hurt and despair, but there is also love and transformation. 

Haig shares with us just how debilitating and all consuming depression can be.

He also reminds us to live life to the fullest, to appreciate every moment...

...even the really hard ones.

Library Enthusiast shout out...

Libraries change lives...

...libraries build literate, productive and engaged communities!

Our public libraries support mental health by reducing social isolation and connecting communities through its programs and services.

Libraries are achieving a lot and they can do so much more.

Our public libraries are often on the front line on a range of social and community services that address disadvantage.

We need to make sure our libraries are supported to meet the rising community demand for their vital services.

Infinite Splendours by Sofie Laguna

 There is no doubt what so ever that Sofie Laguna is a beautiful writer, her ability to express such a dark, sad tale with such compassion is quite breathtaking...

...this is a story of art and beauty, of growing up in an idyllic and peaceful place. It is a story of mountains and streams, of colour and sunsets...it is the story of the ultimate betrayal.

The year is 1953 and Lawrence (10) and Paul (8) live with their widowed mum in a property called Beverley Park. There is a deep bond between the brothers, a bittersweetness about their often difficult life...until in walks Uncle Reggie.

Uncle Reggie is almost too good to be true, the 'man of the house' Lawrence and his brother often dreamed of, but there's something not quite right about Uncle Reggie...

Written with compassion, tenderness, and Laguna’s distinctive aptitude to live in the interior space of a fragile youth, Infinite Splendours is full of outward brilliance, making an excursion to the dark even more readable. 

Library Enthusiast heads up...

Technology is not just for us nerds, libraries all across the country are offering 'Art and Maker' classes online. What an excellent way to discover a new talent and from the comfort of your own home...especially if like most of us you are still a little wary of putting yourself in an environment you have no control over...COVID-19 has changed normal for us all. 

                   So yes back to these online workshops, you can discover how to make an origami lampshade or learn drawing techniques, and they are free...gosh how much I love that word...these step by step videos are presented by experienced artists and even have Auslan interpreting and close captions...now that's technology at its best! 

Heart of the Grass Tree by Molly Murn

 I spent my whole weekend reading this...

...I reluctantly stopped to cook, eat, sleep and interact occasionally with my family!

And believe me it has been an awfully long time since I found a book I couldn't put down...lets just say I now have a huge to do list before Monday comes round again!

So why did I find this book so unputdownable?

Well firstly Murn can write, and what she writes are words that cut deep into your soul.

Her ability to weave us a beautiful story of... 

...family 

history... 

...belonging 

and connections with the land 

will resonate with us long after we close her book...

Heart of the Grass Tree is a study on grief and loss, we journey with Murn's characters as they attempt to deal with the death of Nell...a daughter, mother and grandmother.

The connection each character had with Nell was special but complex, and as secrets about their family are unravelled we begin to understand Nell's unique link to the island she called home....

Kangaroo Island

History and family are what we come to understand and appreciate as we join Nell and her family on this journey of discovery...if you like me knew nothing of the history of Kangaroo Island, the Ngarrindjeri people and the influence of the sealers, then you like me, may find this a moving and emotional read.

Library Enthusiast suggestion...

If you have an interest, no matter how geeky it may seem to you, your local library can probably hook you up with materials, community and support for that interest...seriously there's probably a collection about your interest available on the shelves or online...libraries have very geeky hearts!

A Caller's Game by J.D.Barker

I struggled to immerse myself in this one...and I chose not to give up on it because Barker writes good stuff...usually.

There is so much to dislike about his main character talk radio host, Jordan Briggs, and I get that's Barkers intention, and it might have worked had we not had to spend the first quarter of the book reading her extremely unpleasant interactions with those she so clearly despises...

...her fans.

Barkers characters are often complex, and you either love them or hate them because of their complexities, and sometimes yes, you can misjudge them.

 It is as Barker unravels their stories to us that you can begin to understand their choices and actions and even grow to care about them as they travel through his tale....but with Briggs, nah I couldn't care, I couldn't be bothered to understand and that left me a little disappointed.

Now Bernie, Bernie I grew to understand...

...and Bernie is blowing stuff up!

So yes, it was an OK read, I can see someone wanting to turn it into a movie...think Die Hard meets Lethal Weapon.

Will I be in line to watch it....maybe, depends who gets to be Bernie.

Oh and Mr Barker, your 'Author's Note' on the global pandemic that was just being realised at the time of you finishing this tale...an interesting read for us to mull over...hope you and yours continue to be safe.

Library Enthusiast Thought...

Libraries are popular for all ages, and our older generation visit to read the newspapers, make use of the large print and audio collections...but perhaps more importantly to chat. In a time when social isolation is a huge health risk, our libraries have become a vibrant place to connect.

No longer do we have to be silent...

 ...in fact libraries should be noisy, otherwise they will become an empty building, ripe to be repurposed into apartments!

 

The Man On The Street by Trevor Wood

 

I get excited when there's a new character for us to connect with, especially if this character is a true original...Jimmy Mullen is my new 'hero'...

...okay so Jimmy isn't really a cape wearing hero, but he is one of the good guys. What Wood has managed to do here is take our preconceptions about stereotypes and made them human...

...human with a huge amount of sensitivity, honesty and depth of understanding.

Jimmy is a homeless veteran on the streets of Newcastle, he has his mates, Gadge and Deano and he has Dog...he also has a deep sense of responsibility so when he hears something heavy fall into the Tyne river he begins a journey of truth....

Library Enthusiast Thought...

..Newcastles' libraries feature a fair bit in 'Man on the Street' which tells us something about the world wide need for these community spaces...not only for the obvious, but perhaps more importantly, for the connection we humans get from the very nature of these open, safe, accessible and free spaces...libraries don't judge us they accept us, no matter what our need.

 

Little White Lies by Philippa East

 

When 15 year old Abigail returns to her family after being held captive for 8 years, you would expect things to be a struggle...

...and struggles there are.

Mother and daughter struggle to reconnect 
Mother worries about how much daughter remembers about the day she disappeared
Daughter has trust issues...obviously
Mother is anxious that the little white lie she told all those years ago will be discovered...

East delves into what it might be like for the family when a member has been abducted and is finally returned to them, she attempts to show how the guilt and a complicated history can impact on so much more than what is obvious. 

I do feel a little disappointed that we didn't hear more of Abigails experience whilst held captive, and I don't mean the gruesome details.

 In my very humble opinion, I do believe East may have missed an opportunity by choosing not to give Abigail more of a voice... 

...I may have connected with her character more had East chosen to add her viewpoint.

I give Little White Lies...

Library Enthusiast Acknowledgement ...

Yes I know I'm not a writer, unlike Ms East, so who am I to judge her choice of how she narrates her novel?

 But if I take up Brisbane's Free Library 'Writing for Children' with Ursula Dubosarsky workshop opportunity I could give it a go!

Seriously these workshops are too good not to share, so who wants to join me and Ursula as she shares her own experience of starting stories, keeping them going and breaking open that creative part of our brain?