Tarts: sweet and savoury by Maxine Clark

Maxine Clark’s upbringing in Scotland has stood her in good stead when it comes to pastry making and she comes to the fore in her new book, Tarts, Sweet and Savoury. Tarts cross a wide spectrum from delicacies served at cocktail parties to casual lunch or supper dishes and as a comforting finale to a meal and Maxine runs the whole gamut here (from the publisher).
There are a lot of great recipes in this book that I am keen to attempt at some stage. Photographs accompany step by step descriptions as to how to make your own pastry for your tarts as well. May just buy this book...
Rating - I give this 4/5 Not bad!
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Reviewed by Michelle @ admin

Australia's open gardens: national garden guide

Since 1987 Australia's Open Garden Scheme has given garden lovers the opportunity to explore a variety of private gardens. Grand, tiny, community, organic, arid, lush ... there is something to interest everyone and you can learn so much for your own garden by seeing how other people do it. The 2009-2010 guide is available from the library now and you can use it to plan a year's worth of visits in your locality or travel further afield for a weekend away. Make the most of the spring weather by packing a picnic basket and heading off for a sticky-beak!

Rating - I give this 4/5 GREAT!!

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Reviewed by Julie @ Wendouree library

Being Human (DVD)

Meet Mitchell, George and Annie. Flatmates by day - undead by night. Being Human follows three housemates as they do their best to live their lives as normally as possible despite their strange and dark secrets. But with unwelcome intruders into their world, rumblings about an impending revolution from the vampire underworld and constant threats of exposure - on top of the usual issues faced by young people surrounding love, work and mates - the only thing they may be able to rely on in their heightened world is each other (from the publisher)...
I had heard that this was a great series. I sat down to watch it and those around me left after half an episode. I gave it a chance by watching the whole season (only 6 episodes) but, unfortunately it didn't get any better for me.
Rating - I give this 2/5 Nothing Special
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Reviewed by Michelle @ admin

The collector by John Fowles

In this chilling archetypal tale of good and evil, a beautiful, idealistic young woman studying art in London is kidnapped by a startlingly ordinary young man who wants only to keep her--like the butterflies he has collected before her. James Wilby is superb as the collector, by turns angry, indignant, whining, and threatening, and the terrified, but defiant, prisoner waging war against her captor while in secret journals struggling to come to terms with her past and present.

This is a seriously creepy book! It had me appalled, repulsed and disturbingly fascinated all at once. One that will stay with you for quite some time.

You might like to watch the video of the discussion about The Collector on ABC TV's First Tuesday Book Club hosted by Jennifer Byrne.

Rating - I give this 4/5
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Reviewed by Julie @ Wendouree library

The Relic by Lincoln Child and Douglas Preston

Just days before a massive exhibition opens at the popular New York Museum of Natural History, visitors are being savagely murdered in the museum's dark hallways and secret rooms. Autopsies indicate that the killer cannot be human...
But the museum's directors plan to go ahead with a big bash to celebrate the new exhibition, in spite of the murders.
Museum researcher Margo Green must find out who--or what--is doing the killing. But can she do it in time to stop the massacre (from the publisher)?
This book is the first of many written by the authors. Many of the characters, and in particular FBI Special Agent Pendergast, frequent their other books. There is something about these books that successfully draws you in, keeps you guessing until the final twist. There is an element of sci-fi - it is a monster, of sorts, that is killing people, and the story just seems to work!
Rating - I give this 4.5/5 GREAT!!
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Reviewed by Michelle @ admin

Dreams from my father by Barak Obama

I first became acquainted with this book after hearing him read from his book on radio national. His accents were brilliant and he really had me spellbound. The book jumps from Hawaii to Indonesia in his early years. Obama has had a colourful upbringing and he manages to create a sense of the characters that he grew up with. Over and over again Obama stresses the need for integration of people and races, undoubtedly due in large part to his colourful upbringing that introduced him to different cultures at an early age.
I am glad to see that the world is in such good hands and it's a pity other world leaders haven't had his upbringing to give them a more holistic approach. I found the part about how he gave up his well paying finance job and risked everything to become a community organiser the most exhilarating part of the book. His work in the south side of Chicago was amazing considering the conditions of the area.
The book ends with his return to his ancestral homeland of Kenya. This was a very personal journey for him and while it was easy to see how important this was for him, it didn't engender the same interest for me as his work in Chicago.
A very well written book.
Rating - I give this 4/5 GREAT!!
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Reviewed by Sven @ home

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

The book's story takes place over a period of 12 hours in Washington D.C., with a focus on Freemasonry. Langdon is summoned to Washington by his mentor, a Mason named Peter Solomon. When Solomon goes missing and a ghastly clue is left, Langdon is sent on a rapid chase through the concealed passages of the city. He joins forces with Solomon's daughter, Noetic scientist Dr. Katherine Solomon, while matching wits with a tattooed and brilliant villain who is in search of an ancient source of power (from the publisher).
I wondered whether this would live up to its predecessors. It either would or it wouldn't. And (for me anyway) it hasn't quite made it, even with the twist at the end. Brown apparently spent 5 years getting together research for this book, which is evident in the story, but it seems too much back information and explanation is interrupting what should be a fast paced story. Just didn't grab me the way some of his other books have.
Rating - I give this 3/5 Hmmm...
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Reviewed by Michelle @ admin