Sim

The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler

I picked this book up in a second-hand book store while having a ‘girly moment’. I’m not normally a reader of chick-lit, but thought this would be quirky.

Indeed, it was a fun read, as you got to know each of the characters. They were a group of people brought together through a Jane Austen book club – that is, a club that only read and discussed Jane Austen books.

This book wasn’t particularly mind-blowing, but it was an easy, fun read. And now I have the weirdest desire to read the entire Jane Austen collection!

Tim

The Last Detective by Robert Crais

I borrowed this book from a friend who had picked it up for next to nothing in a bargain bin. My expectations were, therefore, not very high.

But The Last Detective was a surprisingly decent book. It’s a paperback crime novel and the protagonist is a private dick named Elvis Cole. Cole’s world is turned on its head when someone with a grudge against him kidnaps his daughter’s son.

The characters are a bit one-dimensional, but Crais keeps the plot moving along fairly rapidly throughout. It’s a reasonably entertaining read for the holidays.

Carly

The Man From The Sunrise Side by Ambrose Mungala Chalarimeri

This book was actually recommended to me by a reader I interviewed for an On The Road profile, as he had randomly run into the author whilst touring the top end.

The author is Aboriginal, and in short story format relays his personal account of growing up in a mission, and his journey to re-learn his traditional Aboriginal ways.

As it states in the preface, the book is written in the way that Chalarimeri talks, which I found only added more character to the stories. I found it to be quite an eye-opener.

Visit www.magabala.com if you would like to track the book down.