David and Gerda Foster Follows each season at a self sufficient smallholding in the southern highlands of nsw. Each chapter covers an activity at the farm from milking their jersey cow, collecting honey, havesting and planting vegetables. Each chapt...

This is a lovely book. Emily uses great anecdotes and latest science to back her 4 pillars of meaning. Refreshing to read such practical advice on satisfaction in life. Not happiness, not the pursuit of more possessions, genunie meaning and contentme...

It is refreshing to read something questioning the big silicon valley technology companies. In my circles we tend to glamourise them and see the power of technology to liberate. It was good to receive a cutural perspective. How content platforms are ...

Peter F Hamilton I became a fan of Peter's writing with the Greg Mandel series. I came from a cyberpunk angle. So when he moved to epic space drama I did not take to it easily. I think I read The Reality Dysfunction, it was too different for me, too...

Paolo Bacigalupi This is his second novel, I loved the windup girl. This one is less dense with scifi/cyberpunk ideas but still great. Easy to follow plot that is well paced. Good portrait of a dystopian future as a result of climate change.&nb...

A gentle, charming, humorous book. Interesting characters. I liked his relationship with his Dad and its examination of old age. I was also informed about the plight of the hearing impared. This is my second David Lodge and I will try another wh...

Richard Dawkins The Evidence of Evolution. This was a fascinating read. I had some knowledge of evolution, but there were some gems in here. I also liked the accessibility, with examples Dawkins explains the processes. It helps you open wonderous ey...

Tien Tzuo Business book about the subscription economy. I found it light weight with lots of shallow examples. It was inspirational, but we are already down this path so I was not needing as much convincing. It has impacted my decision making and ex...

Danny Wallace Great holiday reading, funny, some breakup and early/mid life crisis introspection. he is a good yarn spinner, I could imagine him telling these stories at the local pub. It is sort of a stream of consciousness writing style, there is ...

Sean Williams and Shane Dix Evergence #1 Good Sci-Fi with a large dose of war. I liked the AI in a box, the human spacecraft symbiosis, the evolution of human species types, the grown super human, the mind powers. It was just a little heav...

Ben Elton I was expecting a light, funny book from Ben. Instead I got a murder mystery with an analysis of bullying. It was good, good characters, nice plot, good pace, worthy topic. Just lacked some of the humour I enjoyed in his other work. Murder...

Malachy McCourt A memoir of an Irish immigrant to America. Leaving poverty behind Malachy builds a life for himself in America. His actions did not endear him to me. His alcoholism and treatment of his wife and family. But it might be an indication ...

Neil Boyd Very comforting small english village story. Follows the misadventures of two clergy, Father Duddleswell and his curate Father Neil. Like a cross between Herriot and Father Ted. I will look out for others....

Luke Rhinehart I read this as a young man and it had an impact on me, opeing up the possibilities of how you lived, breaking down walls and freeing my options. This time round it was less revolutionary, but just as fun. Like a cross between Brett Ea...

Terry Pratchett This is another one of Pratchett's early novels. Like Dark side of the sun this is before discworld. This one was a bit more cohesive and easy to read. Had some good science fiction concepts with earth building, long lived creatures,...

Sonia Neale Very funny. One to two page observations grouped loosely together. Full range of motherhood for a modern mum. Very funny and relatable....

Mike Carter I have read other mid life crisis books and they seem whiny and self indulgent. Man up, take responsibility, look the yawning oblivion in the eye. This had a bit of that, it was just a guy getting over a broken relationship, but was an i...

This is Pratchett's second novel, published in 1976. At 160 pages it is a short novel but packed full of sci-fi concepts. I got lost in places, but picked up a few ideas and saw glimpses of the writer he would become. Amazing to read a pure sci-fi fr...

Dynamite, nitrates and the making of the modern world. Stephen R. Bown Fascinating read, from scientific discovery up to the country level sourcing nitrates for use in ammunitions and fertiliser. Mainly follows Alfred Nobels life, but also covers F...

Elizabeth Lane I love these sort of books, set in early rural Australia. This is from the early 20th century and is autobiographical about Liz and her pioneering family. Set it rural Victoria it follows the adventures of Liz and her 11 other si...

Judith Lucy This is a search for the meaning of life, covering various topics from boys, to booze, to religion.  It was funny, entertaining, and imspiring. This was not as impactful as her Lucy Family Alphabet, but it still had the same fr...

Annie Proulx This is a lovely gentle story from the pan handle of Texas. Annie has again crafted a character rich story. There are some multi generation aspects as stories intertwine. I was eager to read this story and loved the ordinary world ...

Bryce G. Hoffman Good introduction to a red teaming toolkit. The anecdotes from businesses are good. The author is quite enthusiastic about the benefits. I am not at a stage to use it, but it is a good reference. It was good for me to be reminded th...

The adventures of Alexander von Humboldt The Lost Hero of Science Andrea Wulf Following the life of Alexander von Humboldt, late 1700s to early 1800s. What a time to be alive. Unexplored foreign lands, undocumented natural species. A time whe...

This was an incredibly sad book. It has haunted me since reading it. Judith conveys the story of her family relationships with wit and emotional honesty. I thought this was your regular comedian novel, I was set for a light read and a bunch of laughs...

Lian Hearn I have not read anything like this before, it was like a good kung fu movie. We follow Takeo's journey from his destroyed village, discovering his talents and history, training and growing to a epic conclusion. I loved it, a character tra...

Michael Albert I thought I could see some alternative society structures from this book. I like some libertarian and socialist concepts. But I could not make it through this book. It is so anti capitalism. I expected a well argued presentation of hi...

Terry Goodkind Another page turner, even at over 750 pages I got through this quick. What I have come to expect from Goodkind, characters we know, in dire situations, magic, sex, evil. It was a bit sameish, no great twists or character developm...

David Lodge This was a charming and funny novel. Beautifully structured sentances and easy plot. After you were engaged with the characters it then tried different formats. a chapter of newpaper articles to follow the story. Movie script chapters. W...

Caesar Campbell I have read a few biker books and there is normally a character arc or an insight from their past or some humanity. This one was just a "this happened" and then "this happened". Half the book was Caesar in jail after Milperra and the...

Neal Stephenson & Frederick George This is not a cyberpunk novel. The sci-fi elements could be fit in a short story. The elaborate descriptions took me a while to get into. Reminds me of Clive Cussler, not as sharp as Tom Clancy or Robert Ludlum...

Nick Leeson Enjoyable tale, well paced and entertaining. Even though I knew the end result I was still barracking Nick. Trading his way out of a loss. It is told from his perspective so he does blame others and sometimes admits responsibility for lo...