A case of exploding mangoes

Author: Mohammed Hanif Publication Date: 2008 Category: Literary Fiction, Humour, Love, Murder & Mystery

Point of no return: The ambiguous title caught me. Classic line/s: Pg 1: "His smart casual look hides a superior diplomatic mind; he is a composer of sharp, incisive memos and has the ability to remain polite in the most hostile exchanges."

Pg 18: " 'See you at the square, Baby O.'

I felt jealous, not because of the intimacy that it implied, but because I wished I had come up with this nickname for Obaid." What's it all about? It's part love story, part murder-mystery and part tragic comedy. It's a wonderful book that I didn't want to end - I was enjoying the company of part time narrator Ali Shigri so much. Apart from the captivating storyline, this book is beautifully written - it's like reading a lilting poem. The story revolves around the mysterious explosion of a C130 Hercules, in which Pakistan's military dictator General Zia dies in August 1988. General Zia "knows" someone wants to kill him, but doesn't know who. General Zia might as well be in a "choose your own adventure" story as far as that goes: Will he be poisoned? Will a curse kill him? Will one or two of his Generals betray him?

If you get the chance, listen to the author at the 2009 Sydney Writers' Festival. This session was a real bonus as Mohammed Hanif read quite a bit from the book. I think my experience of the book was much enhanced from being at this session - it gave me the accents and the humour. I guess this is what made Ali Shigri so real to me.

Publisher: Jonathan Cape

Persepolis : the story of a childhood & the story of a return

Author: Marjane Satrapi Publication Date: 2008 What's it all about?

Persepolis is biography about Marjane Satrapi’s childhood and adolescence in graphic novel format. Marjane grew up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution and she reveals what that was like in dark, tragic and humorous language. The format made some of the more historical and political content easier to read - and all the more hilarious in some parts. This book is a great story about growing up, I learnt a lot about Iran, it made me laugh out loud and cry bitter tears. I don’t read many biographies or comics but this is a fantastic and interesting read for something really different. Publisher: Vintage

Knit-In & Wrap with Love @ Wallsend District Library

On Friday the 7th August Wallsend Library patrons participated in the annual Wrap with Love Knit-In.

10 eager ladies attended, knitting and crocheting squares to be made into blankets for distribution to the needy both here and overseas.

A beautiful crochet rug and knitted squares were also delivered by community members unable to attend the Knit-In.

A regular monthly Craft Club morning will be held on the 1st Friday of each month between 10am-12noon at Wallsend District Library. So bring along your craft work or knitting and join us for a morning of craft and chatter.

Wallsend District Library, Bunn St Wallsend Contact Ann or Natasha for details on 4985 6680 Visit Wrap With Love for more information about the annual Knit-In.

The Shadow of the Wind

Author: Carlos Ruiz Zafon Publication Date: 2005 Who'll want to read it? Anyone who loves to live in a world of books, who is interested in Spanish culture and anyone who loves a story they can curl up and get completely lost in. What's it all about?
Daniel Sempre works in his father's bookshop in Barcelona, as a young boy he dreams of being a writer and of owning the fountain pen that belonged to Victor Hugo. One morning he wakes up to realise he cannot remember his mother's face, she is gone and he cannot remember her. This is the day he goes to the Cemetary of Forgotten books, the day his life is changed forever. Here he discovers a book named 'The shadow of the wind' by Julian Carax and after reading it Daniel seems to become drawn further and further into the world of the author, the story of the book and the many mysteries and dangers that this world presents.
This was such an amazing book! If I could have spent all day and night reading I would have, there were times when I just wished I could disappear inside the pages and join them in this world full of darkness, mystery and culture. It is a beautiful story and I'm glad to have made it's acquaintance. Publisher: Penguin Books

The Lost Book of Salem

Author: Katherine Howe Publication Date: 2009 Category: Fiction Who'll want to read it? Those interested in witches and history, particularly American Colonial history. Point of no return: When the two parts of the story link up for the first time on pages 63 and 64. A key falls out of an old bible, and it has a tiny piece of paper rolled inside it: "On it, in a watery ink barely legible in the flickering light, were written the words Deliverance Dane." What's it all about? Connie Goodwin is a PhD student at Harvard, spending the summer cleaning out her grandmother's old house near Salem, which leads to researching Deliverance Dane for her dissertation topic. Deliverance is a cunning-woman, a witch, in the 1690s, at the time of the infamous Salem witch trials. The past and the present seem interwoven as Connie continues her research, and she starts to develop the rather novel idea that for some, witchcraft is just a part of everyday life. Publisher: Penguin