If you are looking for a good read, you could try Douglas Kennedy. His main characters are usually women, and he writes with a woman’s voice very convincingly. My favourite of his is The Pursuit of Happiness, which is a few years old. It’s about love, loss and passion and set in New York in the fifties. There is a background of McCarthyism going on, but really it’s about relationships. He won’t win any big literary prizes, but if you are after a good read, you could give him a try. Other good titles of his are Temptation and State of the Union. I didn’t like Women of the fifth or A Special Relationship, but you might…..
Heather
(usually) reliable and responsible Leo is entrusted with. The music box is a family heirloom and Leo is under strict instructions to not, under any circumstances, wind the key all the way. While Leo is content to be guardian of the box and not question the rules, his adventurous cousin Mimi has other ideas. The pair soon discover the wonder, and sometimes the horror, that is the world of Rondo.
The Battle for Rondo
PS. How good was the Crispy Duck recipe from Kylie Kwong in Celebrity Masterchef? One to try out at home definately. Heather
Featuring the popular singles Lisztomania and 1901, Phoenix has well and truly entered the mainstream with their jump in popularity thanks to this outstanding album. A mix of several different genres from pop and rock to acoustic and even electro, the cruisy low maintenance pop[ish] sensibility is at once fun and relaxing. I’m looking forward to summer days outside with this as the soundtrack.
vourite of mine is Kate Miller-Heidke’s Curiouser. Including the first single Can’t Shake It, and the track you can’t listen to radio without hearing, The Last Day On Earth. Fabulously quirky and operatically trained, you might have seen Ms Miller-Heidke on ABC’s hit music quiz show Spicks and Specks [last year I think], and she tours locally a lot, being Aussie and all. This girl can really sing!
dinner parties and on reading her escapades, you will wish you had Phryne’s smarts, confidence and sense of adventure, not to mention her wardrobe.
Forbidden Fruit (PB $23), the fifth book in the Corinna Chapman series, has just been released and does not disappoint. Corinna and her partner Daniel are suffering through the Melbourne summer, Corinna having to deal with Christmas crowds and shopping, when they stumble across the story of Manny and Brigid. Brigid is 16, very pregnant, and the daughter of the leaders of a sinister religious cult. Having run away from home, she and her boyfriend Manny are living on the streets and need to be found. With the help of their neighbour and local witch Meroe, the Freegans, some vegans, Brigid’s sister Dorothy, a nun and a donkey named Serena, Corinna and Daniel endeavour to find the young couple before the cult can ruin their chance at happiness. Amusing and adventurous, you will not no doubt love Corinna (and have a craving for muffins).
Rosy loves her doll house. Every Saturday morning, Rosy and her father eat eggy bread and carefully make new furniture and clothes for the miniature dolls. When her father gets sick and has to go to hospital, Rosy is sad, until the Dolls’ House Fairy comes to stay. Thistle is cheeky and messy, likes chips for breakfast and draws on the walls but Rosy loves her. As Rosy helps Thistle mend her broken wing, Thistle helps Rosy worry a little less about her dad. When Rosy’s dad comes home, she tells him all about Thistle, but when the time for introductions comes, Thistle has disappeared! But just in case she ever comes back, Rosy and her dad leave out a tiny slice of cake, on a tiny table, next to the tiny bed.
