My name is Kayla and I'm a TAFE student just finishing up doing work placement at the City Council/Orange City Library and I was asked if I'd like to write a book review, so I chose this book.

Remember Me is simply based on the true story of Mary Broad aka Mary Bryant. Mary was a convict who was transported to Australia and Lesley Pearse's story is a detailed and touching, hindsight view of Mary's journey. It begins with Mary on the boat introducing herself and why she was convicted. It then goes on about the friends that she makes, enemies, life on the convict ship, her pregnancy which no one seemed to know who the father was, the years she spent at Botany Bay, her struggle to escape with her husband and children and then be captured once again and how she managed to gain her freedom. I found this story to be very insightful, entertaining and even educational. For me, it got me even more interested into the history of Australia and I wanted to learn more about convicts. I'd recommend this book to mature ages and those who can handle reading very descriptive, heartfelt, physically & emotionally challenging storied where the protagonist, such as Mary in this book, go through defeats and hurdles and still manage to keep their survival instinct alive all the way through. I give this book 9.5 out of 10 because it basically kept me thinking about it months after I'd read it. Not a lot of books can do that.

I have placed a suggestion to purchase this at Orange City Library.

The latest Pageturners read Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen is being made into a film starring Robert Pattinson (think Twilight) and Reese Witherspoon (Legally Blonde etc.)

Cast:
Reese Witherspoon … Marlena Rosenbluth;
Robert Pattinson … Jacob Jankowski;
Christoph Waltz … August Rosenbluth;
Hal Holbrook … Jacob Jankowski (older);
Paul Schneider … Charlie;
Tim Guinee … Diamond Joe.

Pageturners book discussion group enjoyed the cleverly written book – it is two stories in one (and make sure you read the prologue) and it generated much discussion about old age, going to the circus as children, seeing Elephants, life during the US Depression and described as part love story, adventure, fairytale and a book of contrasts from the change in time to the characters. There was some criticism of the portrayal of mental illness but overall it was a good story that propelled you along to a satisfactory ending.

Sara Gruen is an award-winning technical writer and a transplanted Canadian who moved to the States in 1999 for a technical writing job. Two years later she got laid off, and instead of looking for another job, she decided to take a gamble on writing fiction full-time. Fortunately, the gamble paid off. Her dream is to spend her life facedown in the ocean, coming up just long enough to eat a piece of fish, write a chapter, and go back in the water.

What would we do without post it notes? The text “When the Pelican Laughed” by Alice Nannup (pictured) was returned after the HSC English paper on Friday. And the Librarians had a little chuckle as it was resplendent in coloured stick on notes marking the quotes to be remembered. This comparative text was an excellent choice for the Belonging theme.

We wish the 2010 HSC students all the best for their exams. In Cowra many students have come into the library to borrow texts, study in one of our three quiet student study areas and get some extra tutoring. At home many more have used our online services including the cwl catalogue, NSW.net resources and yourtutor. These can be accessed using your library card at www.cwl.nsw.gov.au

If in need of help with study at any age or are just looking for a quiet place to hideaway (and study) visit your library and the Central West Librarians will be happy to assist you.

Miles Franklin, born Stella Maria Sarah Miles Franklin, on 14 October 1879 and died 19 September 1954, was an Australian writer and feminist who is best known for her autobiographical novel, My Brilliant Career, published in 1901. Franklin travelled to the USA in 1906 and worked in a secretarial and editorial capacity for Alice Henry in the National Women's Trade Union League. She then moved to England and served as a nurse in Europe during the First World War. She returned to Australia in 1933 with an established literary reputation. Other novels, plays and essays include My Career Goes Bung, Old Blastus of Bandicoot, All That Swagger and Back to Bool Bool. She has had a long-lasting impact on Australian literary life through her endowment of a major literary award known as the Miles Franklin Award. You can read The Diaries of Miles Franklin edited by Paul Brunton for a revealing insight. Our Classics Book Club has also been discussing her works with the Cowra group meeting on Tuesday 26 October from 12.30pm – 1.30pm to talk about My Brilliant Career.

Howard Jacobson (pictured)is named the winner of the 50,000 (pounds) Man Booker Prize for Fiction for The Finkler Question, published by Bloomsbury. The London author and columnist has been longlisted twice for the prize, in 2006 for Kalooki Nights and in 2002 for Who's Sorry Now, but has never before been shortlisted. The Finkler Question is a novel about love, loss and male friendship, and explores what it means to be Jewish today. The other shortlisted authors for the award were: Peter Carey – Parrot and Olivier in America; Emma Donoghue – Room; Damon Galgut In a Strange Room; Andrea Levy – The Long Song; Tom McCarthy – C. The Man Booker Prize promotes the finest in fiction by rewarding the very best book of the year. The prize is the world's most important literary award and has the power to transform the fortunes of authors and even publishers….
For more information go to the Book Prize website: http://www.themanbookerprize.com/ and read this article about the prize:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/oct/12/howard-jacobson-the-finkler-question-booker