Staff Favourites 2006 - Scotch College Library

On the Shortness of Life by Lucius Annaeus Seneca
The lawyer who became Emperor Nero’s tutor (before being forced to commit suicide by him) delivers wonderful advice to his friend, Paulinus – our lives are more than long enough, if we spend the time carefully. This thin volume, the first in the new pocket-size Penguin “Great Ideas” series, will provoke many with its lucidity and wisdom as it provides powerful insights into the importance of rigorous reasoning and living a life which is true to yourself and others.
Mr Jamie Kane
(Film and Media Teacher)

Regeneration Trilogy by Pat Barker
I found it gripping and very moving, it's very anti- establishment which I always enjoy. Quite long but anyone interested in WW1 and/or war poets, early psychology etc. would enjoy.
Mr Ian Gelling
(Admin Manager)

The Constant Gardener by John Le Carre
The setting is Kenya and the major protagonists are diplomats in the British High Commission in Nairobi. The feisty,political active wife of one of the staff has been murdered in a remote outpost while investigating links between a pharmaceutical company and the High Commission. Her husband, (“the constant gardener”) against the advice of his superiors, is determined to uncover the truth as Whitehall is in “cover-up” mode and not interested in investigating the murder. Immediately he becomes a marked man and the chase is on to find out who ordered his wife’s murder before his own demise. This is so much more than a political thriller. Most telling is Le Carre’s comment in the Author’s Note “As my journey through the pharmaceutical jungle progressed, by comparison with reality, my story is as tame as a holiday postcard”!! Page-turners aren’t usually this moving. Catch it on film where Ralph Fiennes is perfect as Justin Quayle.
Ms Suzette Boyd
(Head of Library)

Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld
I have described this novel to friends as A Separate Peace colluding with A Catcher in the Rye with occasional interruptions by Nick Carraway from The Great Gatsby. Sittenfeld’s debut novel is a four-year semester-by-semester tour of Ault, a fictional private boarding school in Massachusetts that’s populated with well- heeled boys and girls in khakis and blue blazers with flamboyantly unique names like Tab and Aspeth. The narrator, a Midwesterner named Lee, leads us through this privileged and insular world with great humour, sadness, honesty and occasional self-deception. Prep is an assured novel, brimming with lovely insights about young people, class and sexual politics. Sittenfeld can write!
Mr Nick Konstantatos
(English Teacher)

Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
This book arrived by post at my home just before Christmas 2004. It was a surprise gift from an ex-student of mine, with whom I have maintained periodic e-mail contact. He had been so moved by the book that he ordered a copy for me, despite not having seen me for over 4 years. I too was moved by the story of a frail and ageing teacher and his young protégé as they grappled with the difficult questions of life and death, though I had to wonder if my former student was trying to tell me something.
Mr Paul Adams
(Commerce Teacher)

Teacher Man by Frank McCourt
This Christmas present from my Mother-in-Law has travelled with me from England. Despite being a constant reminder of her presence all these miles from home, it has been a most enjoyable read. The Author is of course now famous for “Angela’s Ashes” and “Tis” though for most of his life he was a mere humble teacher. Crammed full with amusing anecdotes of lessons with a twist, or students who persevered bravely, or a sandwich flying across the room just before the Principal enters the room, this book is a must for teachers or students alike.
Mr Paul Adams
(Commerce Teacher)

Quentin Tarantino: The man and his movies
by Jamie Brand
From video store geek and guy on the outer, to cult director of much loved films and "darling" of Hollywood, this book is a great read for Tarantino fans.
Ms Julie Young
(Nursing Staff)

Billy by Pamela Stephenson
A very personal look at an extremely funny man. It’s tragic, insightful and full of really funny stories. A must-read for Billy Connolly fans.
Ms Julie Young
(Nursing Staff)

Woody Allen: A Biography by Eric Lax
An older biography but entertaining all the same. Traces Woody's early life, including his overbearing mother, his love of the escapism of cinema and his need to tell stories in his unique way. Illuminating and entertaining, a must-read for fans.
Ms Julie Young
(Nursing Staff)

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
by Mark Haddon
I was alerted to this book by one of my daughters who works as a speech pathologist and has an interest in children with Asperger’s Syndrome, a form of autism. Mark Haddon writes from the perspective of a 15 year old boy named Christopher, who has AS. And Haddon does it well! It is as if he has climbed inside Christopher’s mind to know exactly how he thinks and feels. The book is simple, straight-forward and easy to read and hopefully it will give the reader an insight into the world of AS – if not, then perhaps it will send the reader to search for more information on the web or at the library.
And what about the dog in question – well, that would be giving the plot away wouldn’t it?!
Mrs Jan Dunn
(Bursar’s Secretary)

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
The very real characters in this book had me engaged with their triumphs and struggles right to the end. I had to remind myself that it was fiction and not the author’s own story.
Ms Sherril Schultz
(History Department Secretary)

Just Passions: The Personal is Political
by Rhonda Galbally
This anecdotal account of life, written by an inspirational woman is engagingly nostalgic, especially for baby boomers. Galbally’s passion is to be as normal as possible, after recovering from Polio as a child. Her desire and drive to achieve a better deal for the disabled and real social change allowed her to take up some influential positions which included; founding CEO of Vic Health, as a Senior Executive for the Myer Grant Foundation and Senior Executive in Barry Jones’ Commission for the Future, finally setting up 'ourcommunity.com.au'. An entertaining read.
Mr Warwick Barry
(English Teacher, VCE Administrator)

The Triumph of the Sun by Wilbur Smith
An exciting and interesting read, mixing history with adventure and intrigue. Set in Khartoum, Egypt in 1884 when the charismatic and stoic General Charles George Gordon hold the city against the Moslem hordes led by the new religious leader the Mahdi. It traces the downfall of the British and death of Gordon, interwoven against the struggles and escapades of Ryder Courtney, a wealthy merchant, Captain Penrod Ballantyne of the 10th Hussars, a courageous philanderer and the heroic Arab leader Atalan Osman. One of those you can't put down reads and insights into history and larger than life individuals.
Mr Warwick Barry
(English Teacher, VCE Administrator)

PG Wodehouse by Robert McCrum
McCrum presents a sympathetic and, at times, fascinating biography that investigates an aloof writer who partook of Nazi propaganda while devoting himself to writing splendid English humour: his wife’s role in his career is no less interesting.
Dr Mark Collins
(English Teacher)

A History of the World in 10½ Chapters
by Julian Barnes
Witty and capricious reflections or eccentric readings of the ages, there is more truth in this than many official histories.
Dr Mark Collins
(English Teacher)

Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper Case Closed
by Patricia Cornwell
Cornwell uses her experience as a former mortuary worker and forensic investigator to put a strong case, based n circumstantial evidence, that the real Jack the Ripper was famous painter, Walter Sickert. Lots of interesting material, written in her typical ‘Kay Scarpetta’ style. A good read if a little gruesome at times.
Dr Alan Watkinson
(Director of Development)

The Great Fire by Shirley Hazzard
This is very much an adult read and despite the blurb on the back it is a struggle. If you can get over the stilted writing and lugubrious conversation of people who seem to be emotionally ruined, there is a poignant love story underneath (well, actually it is supposed to be the main purpose of the book!) set against the aftermath of Hiroshima in both Japan and Hong Kong. The evocation of Hong Kong is lovely. England after the war is well envisaged. The nature of the relationships which are all so fraught with tension also come good in the end. The first 60 odd pages took over two weeks. The rest two days! Worth persevering with.
Dr Alan Watkinson
(Director of Development)

Parvana by Deborah Ellis
About a young Afghani girl whose family become victims of the Taliban post Russian occupation. She takes on the persona of her dead brother in order to maintain communication with the community and to provide food for the remaining female members who cannot leave the safety of their home without male escort. It is a wonderful story of human resourcefulness, care and compassion with an ending providing some hope for Parvana and her family in the future.
Mrs Anne Martin
(Education Support)

The Five People You Meet in Heaven
by Mitch Albom
The Five People You Meet in Heaven is the story of Eddie’s death. Eddie, a maintenance worker at Ruby Pier, dies in an amusement park ride accident and the journey of his death sees him meeting five people whose lives he has affected during his time on earth. Eddie is surprised to meet people that he never knew in life and comforted to meet some that he did. Through this process Eddie is able to appreciate his life that he had previously felt to be meaningless. The Five People You Meet in Heaven presents a novel and intriguing possibility of what might happen when we die. At only 240 pages, this book is a small, simple, yet thoroughly enjoyable read.
Ms Leah Kelly
(Maths Teacher)

Playing the Moldovans at Tennis by Tony Hawks
This is the second of Tony Hawks’ hilarious adventures in which he undertakes to complete an utterly ridiculous and pointless task in order to win a bet. While watching a soccer game between England and Moldova, Hawks wagers that he can beat each member of the Moldovan soccer team at tennis. The loser of the bet must sing the Moldovan national anthem naked on the streets of London. This story of his quest will have you laughing out loud as Hawks travels to Moldova (an ex-Soviet state) to track down each member of the national soccer team and play them at tennis. Hawks’ other bets have involved hitchhiking around Ireland with a fridge (Round Ireland with a Fridge) and an attempt to have a top 20 hit somewhere in the world within two years (One Hit Wonderland). The endeavour with which Hawks tackles each of these seemingly frivolous challenges and his willingness to make a complete fool of himself is remarkable and wonderfully entertaining.
Ms Leah Kelly
(Maths Teacher)

The Wind-up Bird Chronicle and Kafka on the Shore
by Haruki Murakami
Two of the more surreal novels I have read. The author extends to the limit, introspection, stream of consciousness, fantasy and tangental storylines in modern Japanese settings. A page, a chapter or a hundred pages at a time (toilet, train or middle of the night) - well worth reading. Just don't look for a 'solution' or an explanation.
Mr Kieran Dempsey
(History Teacher)

Dirt Music by Tim Winton
If you are into fishing, road trips, rock music, people who don’t quite fit in, believe in luck, and want to know what living all alone on a remote island off the coast of Western Australia does to your eyes and skin, then this book is for you. A bit heavy on introspection and a little short on action, but interesting nonetheless.
Mr Sam A’Beckett
(English Teacher)

The Burgular series by Lawrence Block
Starring Bernie the burglar! The stories all tend to follow a similar vein as Bernie gets himself in and out of all sorts of scrapes, loosely surrounding an initial break-in before solving the greater mystery and explaining it "Poirot style" in a room full of miscreants. What I actually like most about the books is how they are written. The tale is largely reported through conversations with his good friend and as result is quite original and has a pleasant streak of humour running through it.
Mr Richard Bayliss
(Physical Education Teacher)

Singapore 1942 by Alan Warren
It's a model of research, balanced opinion and good writing about the highly controversial issue of why the Japanese were able to capture Singapore during World War II.
Dr Mark Johnston
(Head of History)

King Arthur in the East Riding by Simon Armitage
Simon Armitage is best known as one of Britain's best contemporary poets, but the collected essays in this slight volume - part of Penguin's 70th Birthday release - about Armitage's home county of Yorkshire are pure poetry themselves. They capture the idiom, characters and tone of everyday modern life in Northern England perfectly, often sublimely, employing a rye and mordant sense of humour.
Mr Jamie Kane
(Film and Media Teacher)

The Unlikely Voyage of Jack de Crow: A Mirror Odyssey from North Wales to the Black Sea
by AJ Mackinnon
A story of adventure; an Australian teacher leaves his school in Wales and travels through English canals, across the English Channel and through more canals in Europe. The original plan for a few weeks sailing in a mirror dinghy turns into a 12 month sojourn through many locks, trials and entertaining adventures. Supposedly a true story but should I take it as such from a pith-helmeted Geelong Grammar teacher of English and Drama?
Mr Ross Congleton
(Bursar)

The Fortunes of Richard Mahoney by Henry Handel Richardson (pseud. of Ethel Richardson Robertson)
This great Australian story is widely recognized as a masterpiece. The Fortunes of Richard Mahony, is a trilogy consisting of Australia Felix (1917), The Way Home (1925) and Ultima Thule (1929). Richardson has based her story on her father, who as a doctor came from Ireland to the Victorian goldfields in the 1850s. Richard Mahoney’s story of hardship, great wealth and success and finally the tragedy of his downfall are played out against the background of colonial Ballarat, Melbourne and rural Victoria. This is certainly on my list of 100 great reads. At 841 pages, save it up for the holidays though!!
Ms Suzette Boyd
(Head of Library)

The Big Argument by Michael J. Westacott and John F. Ashton
Westacott is a freelance writer and an agnostic while Ashton is a self-professed creationist. The two Australians team up to collect twenty four essays in a Big Argument, the authors ranging from Whitney who argues whether science has disproved God, to Sherwin who is convinced that the human body is evidence for Intelligent Design. The essays take you on a journey from ancient times, the pyramids and the Biblical times, to 9/11 and modern medical miracles. The contributors are scientists, professors, ministers, theologists, engineers, anthropologist, epistemologists and archaeologists. One thing is for sure - your thirst for the “truth” will bind you to study this book for it is compelling but not light reading. The essays will make you think and if you choose to discuss them with colleagues will no doubt create controversial discussions – just the way I like my reading to be.
Mr Atit Bhargava
(Head of Physics)

Anybody out there? by Marian Keyes
Anna is the fourth of the five feisty Walsh girls to be given her own novel by best-selling author Marian Keyes. ‘Anybody out there?’ slowly reveals the life-shattering events that have forced Anna back to a makeshift bed in her parents’ ‘good front room’ in Dublin. Desperate to resume her glamorous life in New York, the absence of Aiden is the biggest hurdle Anna has to overcome. The colourful Walsh clan provide assistance as only they can, but ultimately Anna has to rely on herself to make peace with the dramatic turn her life has taken. Another great read from the queen of chick lit.
Ms Angela Morris
(Librarian)

Slaughterboy by Odo Hirsch
This book was an interesting read set in the middle ages. An orphan with few options in life, adopted by a butcher - he learns a trade.If you like reading about the middle or dark ages, Black Death or plague topics, try Slaughterboy. I’d recommend it along with Yoss by Odo Hirsch also, or Year of wonders : a novel of the plague by Geraldine Brooks.
Miss Kris Paterson
(Teacher Librarian)

The Norton Anthology of Literature
For colleagues who like to dabble in the riches of literature in two volumes, you cannot miss The Norton Anthology of Literature, 8th edition, newly ordered for the library. Great stuff!
Dr Mark Collins
(Literature Teacher)

The Successor by Ismail Kadare
Winner of the Man Booker International Prize last year, which is the reason I picked it. I'm thrilled I did - astounding in its Kafkaesque nightmarish vision of political chicanery and twisted realities, a menacing sense of oppression and melancholy, mixed with passages of lyrical beauty. At its core lies a mystery: the eponymous Successor to The Guide (mythic leader of Kadare’s Albania) is found dead one morning after a tense political meeting. Murder? Suicide? The night is recreated through the narratives of the wife of the dead man, his daughter, and the architect of his house. Highly recommended.
Mrs Durga Kamte
(Teacher Librarian)

Incredibly loud and extremely close by Jonathan Safran Foer
Such talent abounds in this group of young Americans – Foer, Eggers, Frantzen and his partner, Nicola Krauss. (If you haven’t read “The history of love” by Krauss, give yourself a treat and look for it). Linguistically and stylistically innovative, this is the story of an endearingly precocious nine year old who is on a quest to find something important connected with his father who was killed in the September 11 attacks in New York. Oskar connects with a range of offbeat characters, and acts as the catalyst reuniting his war damaged grandparents in this deeply poignant book. You’d need a hard heart to remain unmoved at the conclusion!
Mrs Durga Kamte
(Teacher Librarian)

Gilead by Maryanne Robinson
A deeply moving novel dealing with father-son relationships. I loved the purity of the language – this is the simple narrative of a 76 year old preacher who is writing a letter to his little 7 year old son, in the awareness that he has not long to live. It is a record of his life, his family, his rift with his own father, the value he places on love and friendship – this is all he can leave to his son as he has no material wealth to bequeath to him. A quietly paced, beautifully written novel that leaves the reader with a sense of spiritual well-being.
Mrs Durga Kamte
(Teacher Librarian)

Shalimar the Clown by Salman Rushdie
I admit to being a Rushdie devotee, and found this book to be one of his finest – mainly because, in addition to the linguistic pyrotechnics expected of him, he is obviously writing about a theme close to his heart (and related to his experiences under the fatwa placed on him for 'The Satanic Verses'). Kashmir Valley, the garden of the great moghuls, home of Rushdie’s grandparents, and a place where Hindus and Muslims lived in harmony for centuries – all rudely wrecked by the division of the area into India and Pakistan. All the big themes are here: love, betrayal, loss of faith, the burdens of family and community. A grand, humanistic take on the problems caused by race and religion – of particular relevance in our current climate where the focus is on terrorism, and the fears and hatreds that breed terrorists.
Mrs Durga Kamte
(Teacher Librarian)

Old School

by Tobias Woolf

A clever conceit where the lines between truth, experience and fiction are blurred. Could it ever happen at Scotch?

I now understand why a friend recommended that I read this book. Woolf’s modern tale is set in an exclusive independent boys’ school where competition is fierce, and the pressure to conform palpable. The competition, however, climaxes in the school’s annual writing competition where the winner gets a private audience with a famous writer. Robert Frost gets the ink flowing but the real ‘bullfight’ happens when it is announced that Hemmingway is coming. Our narrator’s epiphany of self-revelation coincides with his literary success but at what cost? A clever conceit where the lines between truth, experience and fiction are blurred. Could it ever happen at Scotch?

Mr Bradley Wells

(Head of English)

The History Boys

by Alan Bennett

It is no wonder Bennett is considered one of the greatest chroniclers of our times.

It is no wonder Bennett is considered one of the greatest chroniclers of our times. His unparalleled ear for dialogue to reveal the modern dilemma in a brutal yet endearing way is beautifully on display in this, his latest play. Being fortunate enough to see the original cast production in Sydney, I purchased the script in the bookshop as I left the theatre – I was that desperate to listen to it again. Set in an English boys’ grammar school, we enter the eccentric world of the history teacher, Hector, and his class of scholars who are embroiled in the ‘competition’ to get into university. It is an extremely funny and enjoyable play but most of all it is a sobering chastener against the tyranny of educational bureaucracy, opportunism, spin and intellectual deceit at the cost of genuine learning and understanding. Most of all though this play refreshingly praises the privilege and value of the art of teaching. How could anyone not shout ‘Hear! Hear!’ to that?

Mr Bradley Wells

(Head of English)

The Ode Less Travelled

by Stephen Fry

For anyone with an interest in poetry or wishes to write their own this is an excellent start. Accessible, practical, relevant and edifying. For all ages.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, there is a touch of the ‘Blackadders’ in both tone and content about this ‘textbook’ on how to write ‘good’ poetry by Stephen Fry. Based on the premise that writing quality poetry requires hard work, training and application (just like sport, music and art etc.), Fry demystifies the rudiments of rhythm and rhyme one chapter at a time. True, at times he puts on a stern matronly voice and insists that readers complete all his exercises at the end of each chapter, but it is a gentle and loving chiding voice (again, like Matron?) which above all makes it fun. For anyone with an interest in poetry or wishes to write their own this is an excellent start. Accessible, practical, relevant and edifying. For all ages.

Mr Bradley Wells

(Head of English)

The Falls

by Joyce Carol Oates

A very unlikely romance develops.

The place is Niagara Falls, the time is 1950 . A very unlikely romance develops. Thus begins a family saga with all the essential ingredients –love, murder, corruption, secrets and above all wonderful characters. I couldn’t put it down

Mrs Mim Blomquist

(Librarian)

In Cold Blood

by Truman Capote

You’ll find no rash judgements, only an honest and intelligent search for reason, for motive and, perhaps, some answers.

Forget CSI: Miami, boys – check out the real deal. Truman Capote’s “true account of a multiple murder and its consequences” dissects, with sparse eloquence, the crimes of Perry Edward Smith and Richard Eugene Hickock upon an unsuspecting Kansan family one “Indian summer night” in 1959. Having spent over five years researching every minutiae of the robbery and subsequent slaughter of Herbert Clutter, his wife Bonnie and their two children, Nancy and Kenyon, Capote documents with an extraordinary eye for detail what seemed incomprehensible events to the sleepy residents of Holcomb and indeed the nation at large. It is a book which is at once detailed and lithe, gripping yet never exploitative, and I was relieved by the infamously flamboyant author’s conscious decision to avoid smarmy authorial intrusion. The perpetrators, the victims, the friends and relatives of the victims, the investigating officers and their wives - even the local postal depot and diner employees - all have their say, and the novel is all the more enlightening and moving for it. You’ll find no rash judgements, only an honest and intelligent search for reason, for motive and, perhaps, some answers. That these answers remain elusive is neither a disappointment nor a fault of the writing; it is merely confirmation of the often inexplicable nature of real-life violence, in stark contrast with the all-too-neat celluloid explanations for such behaviour which are offered up ad-infinitum each week on television for our (equally inexplicable?) whodunit hunger!

Mr Ryan Johnstone

(English Teacher)

The History of Love

by Nicole Krauss

This novel is about wonder, longing, the ghostly weight of the past, imagination and surviving loss. History of Love is warm, gracefully written and a joy to read!

Perhaps this fine novel should have been called “Love in a Time of Postmodernity”. At the heart of Krauss’ novel are a man who should be a grandfather (but who has lost his only son) and a teenage girl who should be a daughter (but who has lost her mother to grief after the death of her father). It should not spoil things to say the story is about the gradual pull between these two lost souls. The plot depends on a number of contrivances, but the resolution is so well judged that it doesn’t matter.

This novel is about wonder, longing, the ghostly weight of the past, imagination and surviving loss. History of Love is warm, gracefully written and a joy to read!

Mr Nick Konstantatos

(English Teacher)

Civil Action

by Jonathan Harr

I was unable to stop reading

One of the books that I read over the vacation. The saga of the residents of Woburn, Massachusetts who suffered from the effects of toxic waste being dumped onto land that was the watershed for the water that they used in their homes. For years they fought corporate America in a bid for justice and compensation. The narrative zooms in on the quixotic character of Jan Schlichtmann, a lawyer who became obsessed with the case, virtually to the exclusion of all else. The story and the book are over a decade old; however, I was unable to stop reading – much to my wife’s chagrin …

Mr Ken Wheat

(Head of Senior School)

Gilead

by Marilynne Robinson

Robinson’s novel achieves a pensive meditation on life and love, while also giving us very strong and remarkable story.

Marilynne Robinson, author of one of my favourite books, Housekeeping, has finally given us another novel after 23 years! And it was definitely worth the wait. A serene and poetic work, Gilead is narrated in beautiful and carefully measured sentences by a 76 year old preacher, John Ames, beginning in the form of a letter to his 7 year old son. Both a spiritual journal and generational family history spanning some hundred years, Robinson’s novel achieves a pensive meditation on life and love, while also giving us very strong and remarkable story.

Mr Jamieson Kane

(Film and Media Teacher)

The King of Whatever

by Kirsten Murphy

I really enjoyed this novel that won the author the 2005 Children's Peace Literature Award.

What do you do when your best mate beats you to the School Captaincy and the girl of your dreams, your older brother is studying to be a doctor and is the apple of your parent’s eye and you’ve got no idea what you want to do with your life? Joe King is coasting along studying and working part time at Coles, trying to deal with the ups and downs of life in Year 12, cementing friendships and falling in love for the first time. The second novel from the author of Raincheck on Timbuktu, I really enjoyed this novel that won the author the 2005 Children's Peace Literature Award. The Award is offered biennially by Psychologists for Peace (PFP) 'to recognise authors who promote the peaceful resolution of conflict through their work'. Murphy successfully puts across the idea that being ordinary can be OK and that being good at relationships is just as important as shining academically.

Ms Angela Morris

(Librarian)

Snapshot

by Garry Disher

It is laced with believable characters whose domestic and professional lives are convincingly conveyed.

This book is a piece of modern crime fiction, set in the Mornington Peninsula. It establishes the feel of the location effectively, and the plot has plenty of variety from suburban sex parties to the indifference of the modern bureaucrat. It is laced with believable characters whose domestic and professional lives are convincingly conveyed. Not a deep or ’great’ work – it doesn’t pretend to be – but it is a good read, and the suspense is maintained as the finale crescendos to the climax – leaving a satisfactory loose end!

Mr John Ferguson

(Director of Music)

A Cowrie of Hope

by Binwell Sinyangwe (a Zambian writer)

This was an excellent read.

This was an excellent read. If you were in ANY doubt as to the importance of education in Zambia, this book will reassure you.

Read about Nasula, as she strives to provide an education for her daughter Sula. Nasula travels to the city to sell her last sack of beans to raise the money to pay for her daughter’s education. I was moved by Nasula’s hard work and commitment to have her daughter live a better life, with the benefit of an education to be freed from poverty.

Miss Kris Paterson

(Teacher Librarian)

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

by John Boyne

It was just wonderful and dreadful

This is one of those stories that you can’t talk about too much about or you risk spoiling it for those who have not yet read it. I churned through it in two days, and was on the edge of my seat just dreading what I thought might happen. It was just wonderful and dreadful, and desperately needs discussion. Try it soon!

Miss Kris Paterson

(Teacher Librarian)

Death of a River Guide

by Richard Flanagan

The writing is truly superb, evoking Australia in the 19th century as well as contemporary Australia.

This book explores a man who is drowning in the Franklin River after being caught in rocks. As the water rises the protagonist, Aljaz Cosini, experiences visions of his family’s past, back through the 1800s up to the present time. We feel both his rising panic but also his resignation that he will die alone in the river. The writing is truly superb, evoking Australia in the 19th century as well as contemporary Australia. A must read!

Ms Keiron Jones

(Head of Year 12)

Generals Die in Bed: a story from the trenches

by Charles Yale Harrison

... one of the best first person accounts of WW1 experience ...

Generals Die in Their Beds is one of the best first person accounts of WW1 experience: stark and moving.

Dr Mark Collins

(Literature Teacher)

Beyond the Wave: A tsunami survivor’s story

by Trisha Broadbridge with Jon Carnegie

This is a sad story that has a positive and encouraging message about rebuilding a shattered life.

Surviving the deadly tsunami is something extraordinary but trying to put on paper a real story of loss and grief is something even more extraordinary. This is a sad story that has a positive and encouraging message about rebuilding a shattered life. What were the symptoms of the deadly tsunami? How long did it take to turn everything upside down? Trisha tell us her story…

Loredana Pufulete

(Library Technician)

Fat, Forty and Fired

by Nigel Marsh

It is entertaining, very funny and thought provoking. I highly recommend it to all.

A frank, hilariously funny, true account of one man's experience of losing his executive position in the corporate world (as a mortgage slave) by being retrenched, deciding to take a year off work and spend time at home with his wife and 4 children under the age of 8. It is entertaining, very funny and thought provoking. I highly recommend it to all. Easy, enjoyable reading.

Mr Tony Glover

(Science Teacher)

Somme Mud

by E.P.F Lynch

This confronting, unforgettable work is an instant classic of Australian war literature.

I am pretty hardened to descriptions of the horror of war, but I found this book intensely powerful. It is a recently-discovered memoir of the First World War and is full of matter-of-fact but very moving depictions of the heroism of ordinary Australians in that conflict. I don't think any reader could fail to be touched and impressed by it. This confronting, unforgettable work is an instant classic of Australian war literature. Bill Gammage, Australia's leading authority on the First AIF, said rightly that it compares to All Quiet on the Western Front.

Mr Mark Johnston

(Head of History)

The Catcher in the Rye

by J.D. Salinger

Salinger's characters spring from every page in lively fashion, but it is Holden's perception of them and the attitudes of his time that will draw you on.

This tale of adolescent indifference was written before its time in 1945, and years before the 'Beat Generation' became a part of American folklore in the 50s and early 60s. The story's 'hero', Holden Caulfield, seems totally out of touch with the brave new world of American power and influence, and recounts in a simple but entertaining manner the experiences of his teenage years. Salinger's characters spring from every page in lively fashion, but it is Holden's perception of them and the attitudes of his time that will draw you on. This novel won't change your life, but it is a good read none-the-less.

Mr Rob Hortin

(English Teacher)

The Right Attitude to Rain

by Alexander McCall Smith

Once again a seemingly simple, but most appealing novel by McCall Smith.

Amateur sleuth of the Scottish variety, the delightfully named Isabel Dalhousie finds herself drawn to a much younger man. She faces many dilemmas and deals with them in a gracious, gentle manner. The tale slowly draws the reader into the story of Isabel, her editing of a philosophical journal and her attempts to resolve the difficulties of friends, family and loved ones whilst facing the realisation that she is 'falling in love again'.

Mrs Lilliane White

(Vice Principal's Secretary)

Captain Alatriste Arturo

by Perez-Reverte

There is a good tale, well told, and plenty of convincing historical background.

Rather different from his previous outstanding historical-mystery novels, Reverte's 'Alatriste' series follows the adventures of Spanish adventurer Captain Alatriste (veteran of the Flanders wars) in Spain during the 17th Century. Told from the perspective of Alatriste's dependent apprentice, the novel is like a minor version of the musketeers. A good read.

Dr Alan Watkinson

(Director of Development)

Purity of Blood

by Perez-Reverte (the next novel in the Alatriste series)

This novel, again centred on 17th Century Spain, deals with the fascinating intrigues of politics, court life and the inquisition - with Alatriste and his friends caught right in the middle. Great fun.

Dr Alan Watkinson

(Director of Development)

Devil's Feather

by Minette Waters

For those who like her writing and also a very strong psychological and detective mystery, this is a must. Compelling reading, with some severely damaged characters fighting for their sanity as a hideous possible fate gradually unfolds before them all. The denouement is really gripping. Yes, there is some bad language, and the physical abuse she describes in places is pretty graphic, but it all adds to the strong reality of the novel. The characters are prickly, difficult and unstable but in the end, one comes to admire the key ones. Take the challenge!

Dr Alan Watkinson

(Director of Development)

Imperium

by Robert Harris

No, not the Hannibal guy … For any of you Roman history freaks; this is a must! It is a fictional, speculative biopic about Marcus Cicero's rise to consulship.

Mr Ken Wheat

(Head of Upper School)

The Kite Runner

by Khaled Hosseini

It gives great insight into Afghanistan during the war and how it affected its citizens and their relationships with one another.

Amir and Hassan grow up together in Afghanistan like brothers, although they couldn't be more different. Amir is the son of a wealthy businessman, a Sunni Muslim, a Pashtun. He is educated and reads voraciously. Hassan is a Sh'ia Muslim, an illiterate Hazara with a harelip. Hassan's father is a servant to Amir's father. Although the two boys are vastly different, neither of them has a mother and they spend their boyhoods roaming the streets of Kabul together. However, Amir continually uses his superior position to taunt or abuse Hassan, and one day hides in fear as Hassan is beaten mercilessly by bullies. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan sends Amir and his father to the United States, but he returns to the US as an adult during the Taliban rule to atone for his sins to Hassan. The novel is fictional yet based around real-life historical events. It gives great insight into Afghanistan during the war and how it affected its citizens and their relationships with one another.

Ms Emily Atchison

(German Teacher)

The Swallows of Kabul

by Yasmina Khadra

With the resurgence of the Taliban in parts of Afghanistan this book, first published in 2002, is a timely reminder of life for Afghanis under that repressive regime.

In this short but riveting novel we see the educated couple Moshen and his wife Zunaira struggling to retain any dignity or personal identity in their beloved city, while Atiq, the jailer has begun to question who he has become and how he might yet deliver himself from the evil that is Taliban rule. Interestingly,Yasmina Khadra is the nom de plume of an Algerian army.

Ms Suzette Boyd

(Head of Library)

Falling From Grace

by Jane Godwin

Godwin captures the unease of a boy who worries about worrying too much, whose need to like and be liked overshadows common sense.

Falling From Grace is a taut, disturbing novel. Two children go missing at Point Nepean on a night when the normally calm bay is writhing. 14 year old Kip is implicated in the disappearances, and his meetings with Ted, a bitter and confused loner, don't help. Godwin captures the unease of a boy who worries about worrying too much, whose need to like and be liked overshadows common sense. Grace is not the only child in danger and as the search for Grace builds momentum so does the fear, Godwin using clipped sentences to masterfully tighten the knots in readers' guts. Powerful descriptions of the wind, the rain and the sea add to the looming sense that if only one child dies we will be getting off lightly.

Mrs Michelle Sweeney

(Librarian)

The Silver Donkey

by Sonya Hartnett

This is language simple enough for children yet powerful enough to have me put the book aside, pause and marvel at its effect.

Not since reading Sebastian Faulk's rendering of trench warfare in Birdsong have I been so impressed and moved by an account of war. This is language simple enough for children yet powerful enough to have me put the book aside, pause and marvel at its effect.

The Silver Donkey is the story of an English soldier, war-weary and blind, desperate to return to his dying brother across The Channel. Two sisters find him in a forest in France, and with their brother concoct a scheme to help. In return the lieutenant weaves tales for them about his good luck charm, a shining silver donkey. As the lieutenant gradually regains his sight the reader reaffirms his belief in the futility of war and the naïve, instinctive wisdom of children.

This beautiful children's book will reignite a hope for peace in readers of all ages.

Mrs Michelle Sweeney

(Librarian)

No Worries

by Bill Condon

Bri has it tough. He's seventeen, just left school because he couldn't stand the sarcasm meted out by a bully of a teacher, and now has a job working night-shift in a milk factory. However his biggest challenge is dealing with his mother who has undiagnosed bi-polar disorder, and swings from bright eyed, manic ecstasy to unmitigated gloom. Add to this a crush on a girl who doesn't reciprocate the passion, and you might expect a fairly depressing story. That's not what you get. Condon peppers this novel with irreverent delights, tackling the sensitive issue of mental illness with a lightness of touch which makes it palatable. A very enjoyable read.

Mrs Michelle Sweeney

(Librarian)