Bright star DVD

Bright star is one of the most moving and beautiful films I have seen. It's finely drawn, the costumes are gorgeous, the performances sublime and the story is just so darn tragic. Any of us who have 'done' John Keats' poetry at school knows the story of the romantic English poet and his beloved, Fanny Brawne, the girl next door, and their touching, tender but ill-fated romance. While Fanny is a feisty minx whose poetry is in her dressmaking, Keats aims to make his mark with his beautiful poetry - an ambition sadly not realised in his short lifetime. You'll need the tissues for this one, but if you're a fan of a well-made costume drama, don't miss it.

Rating - I give this 5/5

GREAT!!

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Reviewed by Jan @ Ballarat branch

A good woman (DVD)

I watched this movie primarily for the wonderful 1930's costuming; imagine how thrilled I was to find that A Good Woman is based on Oscar Wilde's play, Lady Windermere's Fan!
Mrs. Erlynne, a woman well known for entertaining wealthy, married men, makes her escape from her debts and problems in New York after a failed affair. She sets her sights on the Amalfi coast and newly wed couple, Robert and Meg Windermere. What follows is an entertaining and scandalous tale of misunderstandings, love and loyalty.
If you feel like curling up on the couch with some chocolate and an beautiful movie, this is for you!
Rating - I give this 4/5 Not bad!
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Reviewed by Imogen @ home

Ancestor by Scott Sigler

On a remote island in Lake Superior, a unique group of scientists are working on the problem of using animal organs as transplants, which are often rejected by the human immune system. Funded by a secretive and ruthless biotech firm, Dr Claus Rhumkorrf seeks to recreate the ancestor of all mammals. By artificially manufacturing root DNA, Rhumkorrf hopes to create an animal with human internal organs - the perfect donor. Rhumkorrf discovers the ancestor, but it is not the harmless, cow-like creature he expects. Instead, it is a cunning and bloodthirsty beast that nature had eradicated 250 million years ago. The ultimate predator. Suddenly, the island feels very, very small. And the ancestor is very, very hungry (from the publisher).
While this book is fiction, it takes you for a stroll down the ethics road as it is along similar lines with Jurassic Park in demonstrating what could go horrifically wrong when people begin to mess with DNA and genes and the like. Lots of blood and gore and violence in this, but I still enjoyed it. Although you may never look at a pregnant cow the same again...
Rating - I give this 3.5/5 Not bad!
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Reviewed by Michelle @ admin

The Black Russian by Lenny Bartulin

After yet another slow week at the cash register, that fine purveyor of second-hand literature, Susko Books, is facing financial ruin. Jack Susko sets off to a gallery in Woollahra to scrape up some coin with the sale of an old art catalogue. With his usual panache and exquisite timing, he arrives just as De Groot Galleries is being done over by masked thieves. Along with a mysterious object from the safe, the robbers seize a valuable first edition from Jack's bag, too.When the owner of the gallery doesn't want to call the cops, Jack is offered a sizeable sum to keep silent: but when de Groot arrives at the bookshop with his heavy to renege on the deal, all bets are off. With an ease that almost constitutes a gift, Jack Susko finds himself at the centre of a world full of duplicity, lies and art theft (from the publisher).
This is not as hardboiled as Peter Corris's Cliff Hardy but it has the same kind of feel - blokey without being too macho with a nice turn of phrase. The city of Sydney - suburbs, streets and weather - is more than a mere backdrop - she is the character. Not particularly demanding but certainly enough to keep the page turning quickly.
Rating - I give this 3.5/5 Not bad!

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Reviewed by Sarah @ home

Thirteen reasons why by Jay Asher

Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker–his classmate and crush–who committed suicide two weeks earlier. On tape, Hannah explains that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out how he made the list. Through Hannah and Clay's dual narratives, debut author Jay Asher weaves an intricate and heartrending story of confusion and desperation that will deeply affect teen readers (from the publisher).
This book had me intrigued within the first few pages and I found it difficult to put it down after I had started. It is a haunting tale that explores the domino effect words and actions can sometimes have on someones life, particularly in the name of 'fun' or 'I was only joking'.
Rating - I give this 4/5 GREAT!!

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Reviewed by Michelle @ admin

Mud, muck and dead things by Ann Granger

Lucas Burton hates the countryside. To him it's nothing but mud, muck and dead things. And he's right. When he turns up at a deserted farm in the middle of nowhere hoping to conduct a lucrative business deal he stumbles across the body of a dead girl. And that's just the start of his problems. Penny Gower, from the local stables, spots his silver Mercedes leaving the scene of the crime and when her friend Andrew Ferris calls the police it's only a matter of time before Lucas gets a visit from someone he'd rather not see! Inspector Jess Campbell is on the case, but with very few leads and a new superintendent breathing down her neck, the pressure's on. Then another dead body is found (from the publisher)!
Well written English crime/mystery with a village feel. Not a psychopathic killer in sight and no graphic forensic detail. Good characters - both the police and the cast of supporting locals - I'll read more as the series progresses. Just right for weekend reading in a comfy chair with cups of tea and a warm fire!
Rating - I give this 4/5

GREAT!!

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Reviewed by Sarah @ home

The Amityville horror by Jay Anson

In December 1975, the Lutz family moved into their dream home, the same home where Ronald Defeo had murdered his parents, brothers and sisters just one year earlier. The psychic phenomena that followed created the most terrifying experience the Lutz family had ever encountered,forcing them to flee the house in 28 days, convinced that it was possessed by evil spirits. Their fantastic story, never before disclosed in full detail, makes for an unforgettable book with all the shocks and gripping suspense of THE EXORCIST ,THE OMEN or ROSEMARY'S BABY, but with one vital difference...the story is true (from the publisher).
Whether you are a believer of the supernatural or not, the events that this family went through for a month would be enough to scare the pants off anyone, especially if you read it through the middle of the night when you are home alone. It is up to you as to how true you believe the events to be, but either way, it is one of the scarier books I have read!
The remake of the film (2005 edition) had given me a different impression of what had happened, with a stronger focus on the one person; whereas the book explores strange things happening to the whole family.
Rating - I give this 4/5 Not bad!

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Reviewed by Michelle @ admin

A kind man, by Susan Hill

Gifted author Susan Hill keeps writing such wonderful books. At 185 pages, her latest offering, A kind man, is a short, easy read that is nevertheless haunting and thought-provoking.
The kind man of the title is Eve Carr's husband Tommy. Money is tight, but gentle, loving, hardworking Tommy ensures Eve has a happy life, in contrast to her overworked, overburdened sister. Their happiness is complete with the birth of their daughter Jeannie Eliza and their love does not change when the child suddenly dies at the age of three.
But grief takes its toll and Tommy becomes ill and is not expected to live. What happens next is so unexpected, so magical and so very Susan Hill.
I enjoyed this book so much and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to any reader looking for something a little out of the ordinary.
Rating - I give this 4/5

GREAT!!

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Reviewed by Jan @ Ballarat branch

Upside down world : early European impressions of Australia's curious animals by Penny Olsen

Late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century Eurocentric perceptions of natural history led to the flora and fauna of the new colony of New South Wales being viewed as deficient and inferior. The swans of the colony were black and eagles white, birds built shell-strewn avenues of sticks to cavort in and parrots walked on the ground. The mammals carried their young in a pouch and there were furred animals that laid eggs. This miscellany of the curious fuelled the rage for Australian natural history amongst the upper classes of Europe, bringing income and, occasionally, fame to its collectors and documenters. On the ground, in the colony, it contributed to great change for the animals and, in some cases, extinction. In this book author Penny Olsen documents how our scientific knowledge evolved, using collectors and naturalists journals to enhance her stories (from the publisher).
To see some of these illustrations, you have to wonder how closely the illustrators observed their subjects or cared about what they were portraying! One illustration looks like a mouse standing on its huge hind legs - obviously a kangaroo; while another is of a sloth, something that has a likeness to its American cousin until it is later depicted for what it actually is - a koala. I'll give you a sample of a description that was given of our unusual animals: "... a head of a rabbit, a tail as big as a bed-post, hopping along at the rate of five hops to the mile, with three or four young kangaroos looking out of its false uterus to see what is passing". A fascinating look into the initial perception of Australia's fauna.
Rating - I give this 4/5 Not bad!

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Reviewed by Michelle @ admin