National Bookshop Day 2013

It is that time of year again where we celebrate bookshops!! How fun is that!! Here is the line up for the events happening at our store!

Winner of the Hannah Kent Giveaway

The winner of the signed copy of Hannah Kent's 'Burial Rites' is.......

Sarah Armstrong

Can you please email  castlebooks@live.com.au with your postage details and we will send out your prize asap!

Thank you all for entering!!!! 

Burial Rites by Hannah Kent Giveaway

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National Bookshop Day 2013 Line Up

Make sure you set aside Saturday 10 August 2013 on your calendar to celebrate National Bookshop Day.

A day to celebrate the role of your bookshop in the community.

We will be having some fanastic authors coming in for panels during the day!! We will keep you posted when times are avaliable.

Melanie Casey - Hindsight
Cass Lehman has a terrifying 'gift'...The youngest in a family of extraordinary women with supernatural talents, Cass is cursed with the not-so-sexy gift of seeing the past...but not just any past; she sees death. For years she's hidden herself away in her family home. Now, desperate for a better life, she ventures into sleepy Jewel Bay, only to stumble upon murder and mayhem and a killer at large who's long been lurking in their midst. Taking a chance, Cass volunteers to assist Detective Ed Dyson with the investigation. Will Cass be able to save the latest victim - and herself?

Kathryn White - Behind the Scenes
Catlin Ryan is determined to escape her dreary life in a beachside caravan park. Abandoned by her alcoholic mother, she dreams of a life on the stage and is prepared to work hard to get it. So when she is offered a starring role on her favourite television series, Catlin does not think twice about taking it.But fame comes with a set of new challenges, long hours, spoiled and demanding colleagues, the paparazzi, some wild parties and Tom, the bitter director who seems to hate her. Then there is the reunion with her father, a brooding retired police officer, who offers her board and lodgings inside a house that is haunted with dark family secrets. Who is Catlin Ryan, really? Why does she keep remembering things that she knows never really happened? Can Catlin reconcile with her past and keep her family secrets out of the tabloids, or is the world destined to know what goes on behind the scenes

Hannah Kent - Burial Rites
In northern Iceland, 1829, Agnes Magnúsdóttir is condemned to death for her part in the brutal murder of two men. Agnes is sent to wait out the months leading up to her execution on the farm of district officer Jón Jónsson, his wife and their two daughters. Horrified to have a convicted murderess in their midst, the family avoid contact with Agnes. Only Tóti, the young assistant priest appointed her spiritual guardian, will listen to Agnes’s side of the story. As the year progresses and the hardships of rural life force everyone to work side by side, the family’s attitude to Agnes starts to change, until one winter night, she begins her whispered confession to them, and they realize that all is not as they had assumed. Based on a true story, Burial Rites is an astonishing and moving novel about the truths we claim to know and the ways in which we interpret what we’re told. In beautiful, cut-glass prose, Hannah Kent portrays Iceland’s formidable landscape, in which every day is a battle for survival, and asks, how can one woman hope to endure when her life depends upon the stories told by others?

Peter Cooper - Jeweller of Rassylon  
The brigand-lord Zhangfu has escaped with the precious Blue Jade, and is now being pursued across the wilderness by those who want it for themselves. Dillen, Koto and Tajni, sure that Zhangfu is seeking the mysterious Jeweller of Rassylon, consult a famed seer, whose information comes in the form of a riddle. They follow the clues to a remote village and to a potion-master who insists on joining the quest. But the Jeweller's hideout is well guarded. It is no longer just a question of reaching it before Zhangfu, Heito and the koorai. Reaching it alive will be the challenge... 

Ben Chandler - Beast Child
Can a child from an ancient past unlock the secrets of Lenis and Missy’s powers in the second entry in this Philip Pullman-meets-Nicholas Flamel series? Lenis and Missy Clemens have found their freedom aboard the airship Hiryu, but are they ready for the responsibilities that come with determining their own fates? Hard on the trail of the mercenary Karasu, the man who holds the keys to unlocking Suiteki's power, the twins face the realities of their own growing abilities. Their search for Karasu takes them to Heiligland, where Missy has to decide which is more important—the safety of an entire nation or her own sense of right and wrong. As she relies more and more on the powers of the Quillblade, her brother grows distant, shunning the bizarre connection that binds the Clemens twins together. When they meet Kanu, a young boy from the distant past who just might hold the key to who they are, the twins must decide whether to embrace their destiny or be torn forever apart 

Jason Fischer - Quiver
In Gravesend, the dead walk, and the living huddle behind high walls. For Tamsyn, the end of the world couldn't come sooner. She's hungry and scared. Her homework is due. Even worse, her dad is the teacher. With only her keen archery skills to keep the zombies at bay, Tamsyn searches the ruins of England for an answer. There's a cure in America, but it might just doom them all… 

  

Janeen Brian - I'm a Dirty Dinosaur
From award-winning author Ann James and illustrator Janeen Brian comes this gorgeous rhyming picture book about a naughty little dinosaur who loves to get dirty. Bright simple illustrations and rounded corners perfect for the very young. Stomp, splash, slide, dive . . . .
This little dinosaur just loves mud! 

  

Katrina Germein - My Dad Still Thinks He's Funny

Dad is back by popular demand.

Following the international success of the best selling children’s picture book ‘My Dad Thinks He’s Funny’ Dad returns with even more winning material and it seems that Dad STILL thinks he’s funny.

When I say I feel like a milkshake, Dad says, “You don’t look like one.”

When I suggest chicken, Dad says, “That’s fowl.”

Just in time for Fathers’ Day and packed full of familiar dadisms and amusing one liners, ‘My Dad STILL Thinks He’s Funny’ is set to become another laugh out loud favourite.

Jackie Barreau - Through a Mother's Eyes 
A glimpse into how one mother has learnt to cope with the loss of her two sons, and support a third child through a rare genetic condition. This book deals with the subject of grief and loss, and features a collection of poems, interspersed with quotes and breathtaking images. It will inspire and move you, as you are taken on an incredible journey of love, hope and courage

 

  

Book Review - Burial Rites by Hannah Kent

Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I gave this book five stars because it was a very enthralling book. I loved the story of Agnes and I really wanted to find out what what actually happened that fateful night. If you are looking for a fast paced book then look elsewhere. The draw to this book is not the adventure but the gradual unveiling of the truth behind the murders. I loved how the family Agnes was placed with interacted with her. Hannah has written a beautiful book and captures the essence of this time and place. You just about feel the cold snow, smell the dung fires and fell your belly hunger from not eating.

Hannah has drawn from real life sources and while a few characters are fictional, most of these people existed and lived how Hannah described. A very interesting read and I couldn't put it down. I am very keen to read Hannah's next book when it is written and released.

View all my reviews

We have a competition at the moment to win a copy of Burial Rites here 

Hannah Kent Interview and Competition

On Thursday 9th of May, we had in store the marvelous Hannah Kent. She was signing copies of her book 'Burial Rites' for us and I thought this would be a great opportunity to get an interview with her. Hannah being the lovely person she is, agreed to answer a few questions.

                                           

Tarran - How long ago did you start writing Burial Rites?
Hannah - A long time ago. It was when I went over to Iceland for a student exchange program ten years ago that I first heard of Agnes and her story. Later when I was doing my PHD that gem of an idea became a novel. I researched for three years then it was about 6 months to write Burial Rites.
Tarran - How did you find out about the case?
Hannah- My foster exchange family told me about how the last person in Iceland to be executed was a woman when we were traveling one day in the first few months I was there. We went over an unusual natural landscape and there were three hills, and that is where Agnes was executed.
Tarran - Was the manuscript rejected before it was accepted?
Hannah - No, because the book won the Unpublished Manuscript Award then that got the publishers interested. I found an literary agent and they handled the rest. There was a rights auction overseas.
Tarran - What do you like to read?
Hannah - Mainly literary fiction, but I have started to read a bit of crime. I am reading Stigg Larrson at the moment. My favourite author though is Margaret Atwood.
Tarran - Have you got a name for your computer?
Hannah - No names for the computer. I photos of the area I am writing about and I have a clipping - you are not rude, on there. Also there is stickers from Eurovision that I put on there when I came home after a night out.
Tarran - How long does it take you to write a manuscript?
Hannah - Six months if I know the material, but it will generally take up to three years with research and then writing.
Tarran - What is next?
Hannah - I can't say too much but it will be set in Ireland in a similar time frame and will be even more loosely based on a real crime/trial again.
Tarran - Do you like writing about crime trials? Is that why you picked another one for your second book?
Hannah - I didn't know I would pick another one, but I heard about this case and an idea came for the story. It fascinates me, not so much the crime, but the psychological aspect of the whole thing.

I would like to thank Hannah for answering my questions and for coming in to sign for the store!!  Please support a local author and a brilliant one at that! We have a competition to win a signed copy of Hannah's book. Simply tell us in 25 words or less in the comments section on this page what is the most fascinating crime case in history you have heard about. Competition closes 25th May 2013 and only open to Australian residents.