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Showing posts from June, 2013

Review: The Secret Lives of Emma: Beginnings by Natasha Walker

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Smut. Pure smut. Fortunately, the first in a serious of novels about a woman named Emma who values sensuality above all things, doesn't pretend to be anything more than what it is. We know this isn't a romance. We know that we're not reading a heavily romanticised account of BDSM. We're reading a sexually charged novel about a thirty-something housewife who seduces the eighteen-year-old boy who lives next door. The writing focuses heavily on actions and body parts. (Make of that what you will.) In all honesty, this book probably would have passed me by had it not been for an article that I read I read in Adelaide's Sunday Mail a few weeks ago, which not only revealed the true identity of the author, but hinted that the book might, in some ways, be far more awesome than the many erotic novels that have been published or republished since Fifty Shades hit the best seller lists mid-last year. Natasha Walker, is actually a pseudonym for John Purcell the hea

Review: Gameboard of the Gods by Richelle Mead

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Today I did something that normally, I never do before posting a review on a new release book. I stopped by Goodreads and read what other reviewers were saying before I posted my own review. Now I remember why I never do this. Reading other people's reviews can sometimes unduly influence my work. And in this instance, I felt myself wanting to start with this:  Dear Reviewers. Richelle Mead may have written a series about vampires in the past (two if one is to count Bloodlines as a separate series,) but this does not mean that she owes you any more vampires. Ms Mead is a very talented lady and she can write about any subject matter that she pleases. I'm sure she's thrilled that you enjoyed her previous work and has spent her royalty payments wisely. However, that does not mean that she automatically owes you vampires. If you were nearly as a loyal readership as you claimed to be, you would accept the authors desire to grow and develop as a writer and her wish to ta

Happy Birthday Garfield

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I'd just like to take the opportunity to wish Garfield a very happy birthday and Jim Davis a very happy thirty-five year anniversary for the comic. All the best, Mate.

Just because it's cold today ...

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And because I really have to praise Snoopy for his inventiveness.

Review: Intuition by Jayne Fordham

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Intuition is the first book in the Elite series and tells the story of a young psychologist, Olive Morgan, who has a rare talent. Olive, it seems is able to see the memories of anyone that she comes into contact with. And when Sydney is rocked by a terrorist attack, Olive discovers that her talents are being sought be the government who want to put together a elite team of people, each of whom have a unique talent, to help discover who has made the attack and why. I purchased Intuition a few weeks ago, as I was looking for something different to read that was one, set in Australia, and two, featured characters who were young but not necessarily teenagers. And while I was reading some of the posts over at the Australian Bookshelf I saw the page for Intuition and thought that it fitted my requirements nicely. (For those of you who don't know, Lauren Murphy who runs the Australian Bookshelf blog sometimes writes under the pseudonym of Jayne Fordham.) On the whole, I fou

Friday Funnies: Wise Words From Peppermint Patty ...

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As some of you are no doubt aware, I had my heart broken last year thanks to an unrequited love. And you know, I've thought about it, blogged about it, thought about it some more and blogged about it and tried to come up with all kinds of complicated answers to what felt like quite complicated questions such as how and why. And, then, I discovered through reading a Peanuts comic that the answer to my problems was quite simple all along:

Little Red Riding Hood: A Philosophical Approach

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Last Saturday, I had the privilege of attending the wedding of an old friend of mine. Flamy and I were pretty good friends throughout the "bookends" of high school--we met and chummed up in year eight, got separated after a war between mutual friends, and eventually became good friends in year twelve and have stayed in touch in the thirteen years following the graduation ceremony that neither of us bothered to attend. Anyway, it was wonderful to see her marry a totally awesome guy and see both start their new lives together. I was also lucky enough to be the single lady who caught the bouquet. Funnily enough, it was only as I was leaving the wedding that I realised something odd. It was a year to the day that my heart had been broken, quite possibly intentionally, by an unrequited love. And not only that, but I had gone through an entire wedding without thinking about the idiot once. (But hey, why spoil someone's special day by thinking about that idiot?) Anyway, th