Author Event - Tarran Jones

Author Event - Tarran Jones

Our very own Tarran will be celebrating the launch of the Twice Upon A Time, An Anthology here at Collins booksellers Edwardstown, Castle Plaza Shopping Centre.

Her story 'All That Glitters' is a retake of the Brother's Grimm story 'Girl With No Hands'

We would like to invite you all to come and share this occasion with us.

Not only will you be getting Tarran's story, but there are 40 other fantastic short stories - all re-tellings of myths, legend and fables from around the world.

Fairytales don’t always happen once upon a time. Fables don’t always have a happy ending. Sometimes the stories we love are too dark for nightmares. What if waking Sleeping Beauty was the worse thing the Prince could have done? What if Rapunzel wasn’t in that tower for her own protection—but for everyone else’s?

Assembled by The Bearded Scribe Press, Twice Upon A Time combines classics and modern lore in peculiar and spectacular ways. From Rapunzel to Rumpelstiltskin, this unique collection showcases childhood favorites unlike anything you’ve ever seen.

Both traditionally-published and independent authors will take you on a whirlwind ride through fairytale and folklore, myth and majick. Cherished stories are revisited and remastered into newly-treasured tales of hope and heartache, of adversity and adventure.

Book Review - Once - Morris Gleitzman

Once by Morris Gleitzman

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I have seen this book everyday in the last 14 years I have worked in the bookshop but I've never read it. I had the opportunity to do so last week and here are my thoughts.

This book was well written and very respectful. The main character is a child who has been placed in an orphanage to hide him from the Nazi's. He believes his parents are world adventuring bookshop owners. As the course of the novel progresses we see the main character start to lose his innocence as he gradually finds out what is actually happening in Poland, which starts when he leaves the orphanage to warn his parents people are burning books.

Depressing in places (but what novel about Nazi regime wouldn't be) this is a highly recommended book for juniors/teens to read to get a feel of what World War 2 was about.

Glad I read it, I wouldn't mind reading the other two in the series Then and Now.

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Book Review - Chocolate Promise - Josephine Moon

The Chocolate Promise by Josephine Moon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed reading this book. Christmas Livingstone is a quite complex character. We get to see her grow over the course of novel and I love all the chocolate facts the author includes. It was a very interesting read and I would love to see if in future books if the author might combine the characters of The Tea Chest and Chocolate Promise.

Due out April 2015 this is a great book to read!

Pre-order your copies today at Collins Booksellers Edwardstown

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Reading for pleasure boost self-esteem

People who read regularly for pleasure have greater levels of self-esteem, are less stressed, and can cope better with difficult situations than lapsed or non-readers, new research for Galaxy Quick Reads has found.

While the research, carried out by Dr Josie Billington at the University of Liverpool, found that 58% of people read regularly, it found that 16m adults in the UK – almost a third of the UK adult 

population – are lapsed readers, who used to read but either rarely read now or don’t read at all.

Cathy Rentzenbrink, director of Quick Reads, said: “I have always found reading to be a great source of comfort and this research confirms what I have long witnessed professionally: reading can help any one of us to be healthier, happier and ultimately to get more out of life.”

The research found that people who read for 30 minutes a week are 20% more likely to report greater life satisfaction than those who do not, while readers are 21% less likely to report feelings of depression and are 10% more likely to report good self-esteem than non-readers.

Lapsed readers said that barriers to reading again included lack of time and of enjoyment. The research found that 2.2m people in the UK who used to read now rarely or never pick up a book because of a difficult event in their lives, such as ill health, death or getting divorced and that 1.2m adults have stopped reading as a result of some form of depression.

To read the full article go here

Stella Prize Longlist Announced

The Stella Prize is delighted to announce the 2015 Stella Prize longlist.

From more than 150 entries, this year’s Stella Prize judges – critic and writer Kerryn Goldsworthy (chair); journalist and broadcaster Caroline Baum; writer and lecturer Tony Birch; singer–songwriter Sarah Blasko; and acclaimed author Melissa Lucashenko – have selected twelve books for the 2015 Stella Prize longlist.

The books on this year’s longlist range far and wide, demonstrating the diversity and power of Australian women’s writing. Works by established and highly regarded writers such as Helen Garner and Joan London sit alongside books by exciting new voices and emerging authors; the list includes three debut works, and five books by authors under the age of 40. Foreign Soil by Maxine Beneba Clarke The Strays by Emily Bitto Only the Animals by Ceridwen Dovey This House of Grief by Helen Garner Golden Boys by Sonya Hartnett The Invisible History of the Human Race by Christine Kenneally The Eye of the Sheep by Sofie Laguna The Golden Age by Joan London Laurinda by Alice Pung Nest by Inga Simpson Heat and Light by Ellen van Neerven In My Mother’s Hands by Biff Ward Download the Stella Prize longlist flyer - click here http://thestellaprize.com.au/

Book Review - AWOL - Traci Harding

AWOL by Traci Harding
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I throughly enjoyed this book. I was hooked from the beginning and it felt like the author was going back to her original writing style. I really couldn't put it down, I loved it. I was a little bit disappointed at the ending but Traci wrapped up the series well. Can't wait to see what the next series will be like.

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