The Hotel Albatross by Debra Adelaide

If you have ever thought of running a boutique hotel or B and B, The Hotel Albatross could make you think twice. Set in small town Australia, Debra Adelaide’s novel follows the trials and tribulations of the Captain and his wife when they are left trying to turn a struggling hotel into a going concern.

While the Captain manages the bars and chats to customers, his wife takes on the day-to-day chores and staffing woes. Both of them dream of escaping, but the hotel is a millstone around their necks economically and increasingly putting a strain on their marriage. In spite of all this, The Hotel Albatross is a whimsical and often humorous novel, peopled with eccentrics and lively small-town characters.


Each chapter works as a separate story – for instance, the mysterious smell of Room 101, or the incident with the difficult wedding party. This makes the book ideal to pick up for a short spell of relaxation – an undemanding read yet something of a little gem.

Reviewed by Flaxmere Library Book Chat

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The Hotel Albatross, Debra Adelaide, 1995

The Mindfulness Breakthrough by Sarah Silverton

 A popular eBook but worth waiting for!

"Mindfulness has emerged as one of the most important therapeutic practices available today, used in the treatment of depression, anxiety and many other common problems. Inspired by Eastern meditative practices, this simple yet powerful approach helps you to become fully engaged in the present moment, and in the process overcome negative thoughts and feelings.

This book explains how to practise mindfulness, using illustrated step-bystep exercises to help you understand key techniques such as breathing, relaxation, body scanning and concentration building. It also includes chapters on using mindfulness to self-treat such specific problems as depression, stress and anxiety, and relationship issues.

Practical and accessible, with a wealth of illustrated exercises, this book is the most friendly and engaging title available on the subject – one which, like a trusted therapist, guides you through your problems and questions, anticipating your needs with kindness and compassion." From the Publishers
 
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The Mindfulness Breakthrough : The Revolutionary Approach to Dealing with Stress, Anxiety and Depression by Sarah Silverton

 About the Author

Sarah Silverton is a meditation teacher working with the Centre for Mindfulness Research and Practice at Bangor University. She was trained by Professor Mark Williams of Oxford University, and by the Center for Mindfulness in Massachusetts, established by Jon Kabat-Zinn. A trained occupational therapist and counsellor, she has 25 years' experience of working with people with mental health issues and physical disabilities, including chronic fatigue.

Read about Sarah Silverton - Bangor University

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Relax: You May Only Have A Few Minutes Left by Loretta LaRoche

A remedy for anxiety and a prescription for laughter - this book is filled with practical exercises, hilarious anecdotes, and specific advice for coming to terms with today's ever-increasing stress levels.

In sections such as: I'm not afraid of heights, just widths, The need to do everything perfectly, Awfulizing and catastrophizing, Don't "should" on yourself, Worrywarts, and Lose your baggage, the author advises people not to take themselves too seriously and shows us how to live longer, happier lives using the healing power of the absurd.

LaRoche is a counsellor, by profession, who encourages people to get the most out of their life by living in the present moment and really enjoying it. This funny, witty, and light-hearted book has a lot to give and is highly recommended.  Posted by Young at Heart, Havelock North Library


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Relax, You may only have a few minutes left by Loretta LaRoche, 2007

About the Author

 "Loretta LaRoche is an acclaimed speaker, author and international stress management and humor consultant who has evoked wit and irreverent humor on her audience for over 30 years. Using humor to reframe a stressful situation, Loretta captures a new perspective on the difficult parts of life. Her teaching style, credibility and incontestable humor are integral parts to her compelling presence."  Read more at Loretta LaRoche's website

Watchers of Time

Charles Todd has a winning series with the Inspector Rutlegde books, which follow the work of a battle-scarred policeman in the years immediately after World War One. Little does Scotland Yard know that Rutledge is accompanied wherever he goes by the ghost of a fellow soldier, Hamish McLeod, who offers his own personal insight on the cases they handle.

In Watchers of Time, the town of Osterley is in shock when its beloved Catholic priest, Father James, is bludgeoned to death. The culprit is assumed to be a travelling fairground strongman, and the motive robbery. Ian Rutlegde is not so sure. And what can the connection be to the strange deathbed scene of Herbert Baker, shortly before the killing?

Digging a little deeper drags up a missing wife from the family of the local gentry, and a mysterious woman who is holidaying in Osterley but who has a secret connection with Father James. There are plenty more eccentric characters, as well as red herrings, making this a classic whodunnit. Thrown into the mix are observations on the horrors of the war Britain is still reeling from, and plenty of evocative description that conjures up the town of Osterley and surrounding countryside.   Posted by JAM

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Suspect by Robert Crais

You don’t mess with a man, or dog, who has nothing left to lose…

Maggie is a War Dog suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder after being shot multiple times in Afghanistan in an attack that left her beloved handler dead.

Chance, or fate, brings her together with LAPD cop Scott, also a survivor of a violent shooting in the line of duty. Suffering demons of his own and unable to move forward after the loss of his partner he recognises a kindred spirit in Maggie. Together they embark on a journey of recovery while investigating the shooting that changed Scott’s life forever. However nothing is as it seems and as they dig deeper it becomes hard to tell the good guys from the bad.

Another great stand alone novel from the talented Crais, who brought us the Elvis Cole and Joe Pike (move over Jack Reacher) series. If you haven’t read him yet definitely put him on your reading list.

Posted by Hastings Bookchat

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Suspect by Robert Crais, 2013

About the Author

A native of Louisiana, Robert grew up on the banks of the Mississippi River in a blue collar family of oil refinery workers and police officers. He purchased a secondhand paperback of Raymond Chandler’s The Little Sister when he was fifteen, which inspired his lifelong love of writing, Los Angeles, and the literature of crime fiction. Other literary influences include Dashiell Hammett, Ernest Hemingway, Robert B. Parker, and John Steinbeck.

Author's website: www.robertcrais.com

A Humble Companion by Laurie Graham

Laurie Graham is known for conjuring up quirky, observant chatracters with which to tell a great story. In A Humble Companion, the narrator is Nellie, whose father is a high-ranking steward in the royal household of George III, the king history describes as mad. Young Nellie, who is badly disfigured by a birthmark, is asked to be companion to Princess Sofy, one of King George's younger daughters.

The two girls form a lifelong friendship within the strictures of court. It's a fascinating time with the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution going hammer and tongs in the background, but this novel focuses on the goings-on at court, the gossip and scandal. Nellie is a sharp-tongued observer who doesn't miss much. She witnesses not only the madness of King George, but the rise of Prinnie, the Prince of Wales, through to the arrival of Victoria.

Nellie is a terrific character and her own life, her family, her ambitions and desires are just as interesting as the 'Royalties' she describes. A Humble Companion is a wonderful book for anyone interested in history, but it is also a story about friendship and loyalty across the class system.

Posted by JAM

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A Humble Companion by Laurie Graham, 2012 

True Grit by Charles Portis

“People do not give it credence that a fourteen-year-old girl could leave home and go off in the wintertime to avenge her father's blood but it did not seem so strange then, although I will say it did not happen every day. I was just fourteen years of age when a coward going by the name Tom Chaney shot my father down in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and robbed him of his life and his horse and $150 in cash money plus two California gold pieces that he carried in his trouser band.”
 - Charles Portis, True Grit

First published in 1968 and made into a movie of the same name starring the ‘Duke’ himself (John Wayne) this is the story of fourteen year old Mattie Ross and her quest to bring her father’s killer to justice.

While I wanted to read this book I also wondered whether I could cope with the style – based in the 1870s, it is written in Mattie’s voice and I thought she would be a little old fashioned and proper for my taste. How wrong was I!

The eldest child and older than her years, Mattie has long shouldered adult responsibilities in her role within the family. When her father is murdered by a man known to the family, in fact someone her father has helped, Mattie takes it in her hands to see justice done. She will either see the cowardly murderer shot or hung.

Mattie is a formidably tenacious character and I thoroughly enjoyed her single-minded determination and righteous attitude. She never lets up in her quest; facing down tough marshals, hard riding in outlaw country, facing poisonous snakes – nothing is to be shied away from to ensure the success of her mission.

Having enjoyed this book so much I then went on to see the remake of the movie by the Coen Brothers starring Jeff Bridges. I was impressed. They stayed true to the book and portrayed Mattie exactly as I had pictured her.

Posted by Hastings Book Chat

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True Grit by Charles Portis, reprint 2010

Movie trailer on Youtube

The time traveller's guide to Elizabethan England by Ian Mortimer

Having a long term interest in reading about Tudor history and historical fiction based on the time, I thoroughly enjoyed dipping into Ian Mortimer’s “The time traveller’s guide to Elizabethan England”. The book is set out somewhat in the format of a “lonely planet” guide, with chapters on topics such as the people, what to wear, what to eat and drink, entertainment and law and disorder. Although at least one review I read said that the squeamish reviewer skipped the punishment sections in the latter. The writing style is very readable but the reputation of the author makes for an authoritative book about Elizabethan society.

History students required to research women’s rights and marriage in the Elizabethan period will find the section entitled “Women”, in the chapter “The People”, a fruitful read.



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The time traveller's guide to Elizabethan England by Ian Mortimer, 2012

Blind Landing by Tony Blackman

With the delays in delivery of the 787 Dreamliner and the aircraft being grounded in several countries because of battery problems, this eBook is quite topical. Maybe not to be read on a long haul flight though!

Blind Landing is a detective mystery aviation thriller about the latest super jumbo aircraft that crashes at London Airport after a non-stop flight from Sydney. The story is woven around an aviation expert, Peter Talbert, his lawyer girl friend and the beautiful girl on the beach in Sydney who gives Peter the information he needs. The technology of the book is right up to date but the story is told in a way that makes it very readable to the non-aviation aficionado. A must read for any mystery lover. [Description on ePukapuka]

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About the Author

Tony was educated at Oundle School and Trinity College Cambridge, where he obtained an honours degree in Physics. After joining the Royal Air Force as a Maths and Physics Instructor, he learnt to fly, flew Vampires and Venoms in Germany, trained as a test pilot and then joined A.V.Roe and Co. Ltd. where he became Chief Test Pilot.

Tony was an expert in aviation electronics and was invited by Smiths Industries to join their Aerospace Board, initially as Technical Operations Director. He helped develop the then new large electronic displays and Flight Management Systems.

After leaving Smiths Industries, he was invited to join the Board of the UK Civil Aviation Authority as Technical Member.

Tony was awarded an OBE for his test flying and is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, Fellow of the American Society of Experimental Test Pilots, a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Navigation and a Liveryman of the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators.

Author's website: www.blackmanbooks.co.uk

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The Casual Vacancy by J. K. Rowling

Barry Fairbrother, Councillor, dies suddenly and there is now a casual vacancy on the Pagford Parish Council. The story revolves around who will stand for the vacancy, who will be elected and what will be the implications for the community. Rowling explores all levels of Pagford society. There are no heroes or heroines and all characters exhibit some level of human weakness.

This book is certainly aimed at adults only. There is not much in the way of hope or comic relief. I enjoyed Rowling’s writing style and appreciated her keen insight into social issues and hidden agendas. I took a while to get engrossed but then found this book thought provoking and a worthwhile read.

Posted by Mrs Brown

About the Author

Well-known for the enormously successful Harry Potter children's series of books, The Casual Vacancy is Rowling's first novel written for adults.

Read J.K. Rowling's unguarded interview with The Guardian's reporter, Decca Aitkenhead.

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The Casual Vacancy by J. K. Rowling