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Good Reading : April 2009
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caught reading good readers On a train, on a plane, on a beach, walking down the street – we corner civilians reading and ask them what, how and why? Mark and Colleen from Oatley, NSW, were caught reading on the plane from Tokyo to Sydney. MARK What are you reading? Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates. Why that book? I found it in a bookshop in Zurich. I knew it had been made into a movie so I thought it would be good, and I wanted a fiction book to read, so I grabbed it. What’s it about? Marital relations in 1950s New York. It’s about straying from the normal, suburban expectations of post-war America – deviating from expected behaviour. Are you enjoying it? Immensely. Would you recommend it? Yes. Anyone who enjoys a well-written book will enjoy it. COLLEEN What are you reading? The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd. Why that book? I saw a story in the paper about how it was being made into a film. I think if they’re making a movie based on a book it must be a good book, the sort of book you can visualise as a movie. I was also intrigued by the name of the book. What is it about? It’s a coming-of-age novel, set in South Carolina in the 1960s. It’s about a young white girl, she’s about 14 or 15, she’s on the run from her heartless father and dealing with the death of her mother. She goes to live with three African-American women who are beekeepers. An underlying theme is the racial tension of the 1960s and the African-American people getting the vote. It’s all about the young girl’s journey – physically as well as psychologically. Are you enjoying it? Yes, I can picture it vividly. Where did you get it? I bought it from a bookshop in Sydney. Would you recommend it to others? Yes I would. Especially since Barack Obama has been elected. It’s fascinating to read this sort of thing and think about how far we’ve come [as a society]. It is a slow read, and there’s a lot of spirituality to it, but I would recommend it. It’s sad, but uplifting. Roger and Pamela from Yorkshire, England, were caught reading on the plane from London to Sydney. ROGER What are you reading? Fromellesby Patrick Lindsay. Why that book? I am very interested in World War I, particularly the fighting on the Western Front (France and Belgium) and visited Fromelles in 2008. I saw the VC Corner Cemetery and the Diggers’ Memorial. What’s it about? The tragic, and pointless, loss of 5500 Anzacs in 1916, and the recent excavations by battlefield archaeologists which identified a mass grave. Where did you get it? A bookshop in Sydney. Are you enjoying it? Yes, fully. Would you recommend it? Yes – to anyone interested in the detail of the Western front, the sites and the sights. PAMELA What are you reading? The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton. Why that book? Before and during a holiday I do like to read the work of local authors. I read The Shifting Fog in England (under the title The House at Riverton) and was delighted to find Kate Morton’s second book. What’s it about? A little girl is abandoned on a ship to Australia in 1913. At her 21st birthday party she learns a secret that changes her life. Decades later her granddaughter inherits a cottage and its forgotten garden in Cornwall, and starts to uncover long- hidden family secrets. Are you enjoying it? Yes. It is beautifully written, moving across the years between the UK and Australia. Where did you get it? I bought it in England. Would you recommend it? Yes. Caught Reading is brought to you by Best Western Hotels www.bestwestern.com.au 14 goodreading i APRIL 2009
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