Books

Some books I've read recently:

No-one takes my Children: Donya somebody.
I made no effort to remember her surname because I was thoroughly unimpressed by her as a person. She became mildly famous for helping women in England get their children back after their husbands had abducted them and taken them overseas - particularly to the Middle East. However she neglected to notice that her own husband was getting ready to snatch his own two children. Donya lies, manipulates and self-justifies her way through life to get her own way and calls it working for the greater good of keeping children with their mothers.

The Contemplative Pastor: Eugene H Peterson
This I picked up today and looked at over lunch and was very impressed with it. I'm definitely going to read it - if only because it has a chapter called 'The Ministry of Small Talk'.

The Spellman Files: Lisa Lutz
This is a hilarious tale of a very dysfunctional family of private detectives. Everyone's in the business, so they know exactly how to spy on each other. The voice is very fresh, the characters very flawed. I don't like Isabel much but I love the whole story.

The Secret River: Kate Grenville
I was very happy to get this for my birthday because I had heard a lot about it. It's an award-winning novel based on research into Grenville's own family history. The first half was wonderful. The second half I have yet to get through, and the reason is entirely that I'm not overly keen on the Australian bush. If you love Australian landscapes and know the Hawkesbury in particular, you will relish this, but I have yet to develop the enthusiasm.