I don’t know about you, but book reviews and recommendations from friends and family are the main way that I choose the next book I am going to read. There is truly no better way to pick a book that’s going to entertain you. This page is dedicated to providing an ever-changing range of helpful reviews of popular, and not so popular, fiction and non-fiction titles. So why not take 5 minutes to read through what a few of our customers have to say about the last book they read. Just scroll through the book reviews or click on the book you're interested in below.

Current Book Reviews: Cold Comfort Farm (Stella Gibbons); True Evil (Greg Iles); The Gypsy in the Parlour (Margery Sharp); The Almost Moon (Alice Sebold); A Thousand Splendid Suns (Khaled Hosseini); Curveball (Bob Drogin); The Washerwoman's Dream (Hilarie Lindsay); Monsoon Rain and Icicle Drops (Libby Southwell & Josephine Brouard); The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini); My Story (Dave Pelzer); Middlemarch (George Eliot); The Embers of Heaven (Alma Alexander); The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown); and The World from Islam (George Negus).

If you would like to contribute to this section of the website please send your book review to ambire@optusnet.com.au. Book reviews should be no more than 400 words and should include: the book title; author; a brief overview; your overall opinion of the book; and your name.

Cold Comfort Farm - by Stella Gibbons

Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons was a sensation when it was released and has just been reprinted. And yet, I had a very hard time finding it in the Perth shops. Obviously it just walks off the shelves - and this is because it is one of the funniest books ever written.

If we pick our comfort books to suit our crisis (as my friend Liz believes) this is the book to read when the people in your life seem determined to lead 'rich emotional lives'. Cold Comfort Farm alters forever your ability to throw yourself wholeheartedly into a good row! Suddenly you find yourself remembering scenes in the books and your own words and gestures begin to feel hollow. You are left with the choice of continuing to yell and hoping that you will once again know that overmastering feeling of 'I am right'…or of just giving up the battle to maintain your emotions at high pitch.

"A babel broke out, in which Aunt Ada could dimly be discerned beating at everybody with the Milk Producers' Weekly Bulletin and Cowskeepers Guide and shrilly screaming: "I saw it…I saw it! I shall go mad…I saw something nasty in the woodshed…something nasty…"

This is, of course, one of the most famous lines ever written! And as you read the book you realise what a superb and dangerous wordsmith Gibbons is. She is able to make words do anything – and all in the name of being funny!

She wrote this book very young and like so many of the best books it is a 'two idea' book (many writers report that one good idea can just sustain a book, but two good ideas together produces magic). The first idea was of a book about one sane person in a crazy family, for this was her own experience. The second was of satirising books like the rural melodramas of D. H Lawrence. If you feel the need to take life less seriously, this is a wonderful choice!

Written by: Jo Jackson King (excerpt from ABC Radio series about Comfort Books)

True Evil - by Greg Iles

How well do you know your partner????? Apparently Dr Chris Shepard doesn't know his beautiful wife that well until Alex Morris an FBI agent gives him some news that makes him start to second guess his relationship. Anyway you just know how the story is going to end but I have to tell you that this was one of those books I couldn't put down despite knowing the end. A thriller book so brilliantly written that I really don't want to give to much away in this review.

Written By: Joanne Vujasinovic

The Gypsy in the Parlour - by Margery Sharp

This week's recommended comfort book was written by an English 'lady' novelist, Margery Sharp. When I began to research this writer I was astonished to discover how very famous she had been. Five of her books have become films and many of her children’s books are still in print. The Rescuers, now a Disney film, was one of hers. She seems to have been a 'lady' all her life. Certainly, as an adult, she lived at an exclusive address where she wrote at a mahogany desk, her feet on a petit point stool, eating (daintily one imagines) cherry cake.

The Gypsy in the Parlour is the story of how a well-meaning and interfering child, operating from all the wrong conclusions, still manages to save a family she loves very much from the 'gypsy in the parlour'. It is some of the best written light comedy you'll find (but you need to look in second-hand shops for it) and it's full of love and hope.

Written by: Jo Jackson King (excerpt from ABC Radio series about Comfort Books)

The Almost Moon - by Alice Sebold

I had previously read her two other books which I quite enjoyed but I cannot say the same for this book. The relationship between Clair Knightly and her daughter Helen was quite distressing and very sad. A mother who never leaves the house unless under hordes of blankets and quite clearly suffers from a mental illness, a father who tries to create a perfect family by making wooden figurines and ends up committing suicide and Helen who just wanted her mother to love her but ultimately kills her. I found this a rather uncomfortable book to read. Perhaps the characters in the book were almost too real and showed how much of an impact mental illness has on those who simply love them.

Written By: Joanne Vujasinovic

A Thousand Splendid Suns (Khaled Hosseini) and Curveball (Bob Drogin)

I must admit to not being a lover or even an avid reader of books however after a very enjoyable visit by Amber (and Nathan) she sparked my interest and so I hit the local library. As I don't have a favourite genre or author the task was quite daunting and I left empty handed, and so I searched the internet for critics choice and soon my hunger for books had been satisfied with a total of four books purchased. I have now read two books in a matter of one month which is quite amazing so thank you Amber.

'A Thousand Splendid Suns' by Khaled Hosseini is a story of two women in Afghanistan and how their paths and lives become one. The story is quite breathtaking as it journeys through the troublesome periods that we have all heard about in this war torn country. The book gives us insight into their lives as young unsuspecting children, one who dreams of being welcomed into her fathers home and the other who has a perfect family, until they reach their tormented teenage years when they are both sent to marry an older man. This book was brilliant.

'Curveball' by Bob Drogin was simply titled on the internet as a "must read". Upon receiving the book and reading the back cover I thought there was no way I would ever get through a "heavy going" political book. How wrong was I. This book I simply could not put down and in short it tells you the story of an Iraqi defector who made his way to Germany and basically lied about what was going on in Iraq. The levels of departments in the US government who decipher the information and ultimately decide that they should go to war was fascinating if not a little bit scary as to who is making the decisions. This book does not focus on Saddam Hussein himself but more about the defector and how Germany protected him the US departments to the UN and US inspectors who all visited Iraq to find the weapons of mass destruction. If you ever had any doubts or are a person who stands by the US decision to enter Iraq I urge you to read this.

Written By: Joanne Vujasinovic

The Washerwoman's Dream - by Hilarie Lindsay

Winifred Steger lived an extraordinary life that spanned almost a century and a number of continents. When she died in Australia in 1981, Winifred left behind a treasure trove of published semi-autobiographical serials and novels as well as unpublished diaries, letters, and radio and television interviews. Through these documents and some secondary sources, Hilarie Lindsay has been able to piece together the threads of hardship, heartache, joy and sheer determination that were the life tapestry of a remarkable woman.

Winifred left England as a child with her father - her mother walked off the ship just before it left - to begin a new life on the Darling Downs of Queensland. When her mother refused to board the ship to Australia , the role of home-maker and sometimes bread-winner on her father’s prickly pear infested land fell to Winifred. As her father increasingly turned to alcohol to dull the emotional and physical pain, Winifred began to use her mind and the pen as her weapon. While still in her teens, she had a couple of short stories published in Life magazine, bringing some desperately needed money, but perhaps just as importantly, a sense of self-worth which was to help Winifred maintain her strength and dignity through the remainder of her life.

From a loveless and violent marriage to an intimate, happy union, to a marriage of mutual convenience and finally to single parenthood, Winifred’s life was an emotional roller-coaster. From skivvy to washerwoman to hawker to camel driver to author and confidante of kings, queens and religious leaders, Winifred's resilience and strength of character is remarkable. Her adoption of the Muslim faith brought both solace and anger at what she saw as discrimination against women. The accounts of Winifred’s pilgrimage to Mecca and her trips to India and Afghanistan reveal a determined and forthright woman who was not prepared to surrender entirely her British world view.

Hilarie Lindsay has presented Winifred’s life as accurately as the surviving evidence has allowed. At the same time, she has brought the remarkable story to life by creating characters Winifred may have met and put words in their mouths they may have uttered. There were times when I wondered if Winifred really did have some of the adventures attributed to her. It’s possible that her fertile imagination may have been at work on the pages of her autobiographical writings. We’ll never know – but it doesn’t matter. The Washerwoman’s Dream is a thoroughly enjoyable and informative book!

Written By: Chris Weckert, Customer

Monsoon Rain and Icicle Drops - by Libby Southwell and Josephine Brouard

Monsoon Rain and Icicle Drops is the true story of Australian woman Libby Southwell. Taking you to places that most of us only ever dream of visiting, Southwell invites readers to share in her amazing world adventure and her emotional rollercoaster ride. Living and working in Australia , Libby is enjoying a loving relationship and a vibrant social life when her world is turned upside down with the tragic deaths of three of her young friends. Unable to function, Southwell leaves Australian shores to find answers and rediscover her passion for life.

Her adventure begins in humid Sri Lanka working herself into the ground until her emotions catch up with her. Needing a break she travels to India – soaking up the culture and hiking into remote areas. From India to Tibet where she emotionally breaks down and a Tibetan Lama welcomes Libby into his spiritual world. Working through the language barrier they sign to each other to gain understanding. The Lama offers her guidance and prayer. After this spiritual encounter, Libby is left feeling like the weight of her grief is beginning to lift. The next leg of her world tour lands her in Mongolia where she lives the nomadic life of the Mongolians – experiencing yet another unique culture. To complete her voyage, she travels to France to take part in a meditative retreat.

Her travels helped her heal and rediscover the joy of life and she is now able to return to her work in Sri Lanka where she begins organising an elephant polo tournament. Christmas looms and her boss invites her to join his family on the island of Serendip . Christmas day passes with the normal traditions, but on Boxing Day 2004 the group are relaxing and enjoying a swim when a huge wave devastates the shores of Serendip and Sri Lanka , changing Libby’s world yet again. Well worth the read, if only to hear about some of the extraordinary places Libby visits.

Written By: Natalie Dalziel, Customer

The Kite Runner - by Khaled Hosseini

A great read, the imagery is stunning and the story is compelling. Although fiction, it is so well written that it could be mistaken for an autobiography. The underlying story of the fall of Afghanistan and what happened to the country following the revolution, seen through the eyes of an Afghan is riveting in itself.

Written By: Marilyn Scott, Customer

My Story - Dave Pelzer

Recommended to me from dozens of friends and family who unanimously praise it, this book is truly one of the most compelling stories I have ever read and proof that reality is infinitely more shocking than fiction. My Story is an omnibus edition of three true stories that form a trilogy and were originally published as separate books - A Child Called ‘It’; The Lost Boy; and A Man Named Dave. Written by David Pelzer, this is his emotional account of one of the worst documented child abuse cases in American history.

In the first book, we see David as a very young boy growing up in a loving family much like yours and mine. His story quickly takes a brutal turn when the burden of looking after too many children, combined with the absence of Dave’s father, the memories of her own harsh childhood, and alcohol abuse, cause his mother to suffer a gradual mental breakdown. His mother’s love soon changes to uncontrollable wrath and David is singled out as the evil child. What follows is a tragic and disturbing journey through what can only be considered one of the darkest childhoods ever put on paper. David is treated like a slave, referred to as ‘it’, excluded from the family, and made to live in a freezing basement on a stretcher bed. He is forced to run to school and is deprived of food, sometimes not eating for days on end. He is not allowed to bathe and wears rags for clothing. His mother physically abuses him on a daily basis and gets bizarre pleasure out of tortures such as making him drink ammonia. By the time David is rescued, he is near death.

The second book sees David placed in a foster home. We see him battle with the scars of his childhood and attempt a difficult transition into mainstream society. He is bumped from foster home to foster home and struggles to find his place. Though free from his mother’s presence, he still fears her power.

In the third book we see David become an adult and slowly break free of his mother’s control. Dave locates his father and attempts to rekindle their relationship. He gets his career on track and starts a family of his own. And, after a relationship breakdown and some bumpy patches he finally finds true love. We also learn of David’s transformation into a motivational writer and public speaker, and the amazing work he does and is still doing for child abuse victims in America.

Though a story about Dave’s remarkable life the book also gives us an insight into the lack of child protection laws and services that existed at the time. During the 60s, society believed and accepted that things that happened in the home should stay in the home. Foster parents, foster homes and foster children were ostracised and treated as second class citizens. It is remarkable that Dave was rescued, let alone able to eventually lead a normal life.

David Pelzer is by no means a literary genius, but he has managed the difficult task of presenting a harrowing story clearly and without prejudice. Dave doesn’t ask us to feel sorry for him and he doesn’t ask us to hate, or judge his mother. But he does want us to learn from his experience and value the things that most of us take for granted – like a loving family. I highly recommend this book to all readers. It is at once one of the most horrifying, yet inspirational books on the planet.

Written By: Amber Cross, Owner/Operator, Ambire Secondhand Books

First thing’s first – I’m a Jane Austen girl. Her timeless novels form the backbone of my reading experiences. Those of you who are familiar with Austen and Eliot’s work will understand that being an Austen girl, it took me a little while to crave the taste for Eliot’s writing. Actually it took me about 5 false starts, but on the 6th attempt to read this classic novel, I was well and truly hooked.

The book is set in the provincial English town of Middlemarch in the early 1800s and it is here that we meet the two central characters, the first being Dorothea Brooke. Dorothea is a beautiful, virtuous young lady whose seeming purity of soul is admired by all those who know her. Dorothea dreams of leading a heroic life and feels she will best attain this by marrying Mr Casaubon - an elderly, stodgy scholar who Dorothea believes is destined for greatness. Dorothea does indeed marry Mr Casaubon, but she soon becomes stifled by his constant study and lack of use for her.

I have to say that I initially disliked Dorothea. I found her almost manic desire to marry Casaubon quite irritating. However, the book soon shows us that despite Dorothea's best laid plans, she is just as misguided and flawed as the rest of us. As a consequence, by the end of the book Dorothea had found her way under my skin and I found myself cheering her on and championing her transformation.

The second dominant character of the book is Tertius Lydgate, a young and ambitious doctor whose affliction for the heroic matches Dorothea's in strength. Lydgate comes to Middlemarch with big plans to change the way medicine is practiced in the region, and early on is very successful. But like Dorothea, Tertius' hasty marriage begins to backfire and his vision soon begins to crumble, as does his life, around him.

Though the book centres around these two characters, it is the support cast that makes this novel so addictive - it has a true sense of community. Whereas Jane Austen is primarily focused on a small number of central characters, Eliot manages to interest us in a whole community of people. We see how the lives of seemingly unimportant characters impact upon the lives of the ones we love, and we see how a community has the uncanny ability to shape people. The narrative is rich, filled with both suspense and drama. It's so delicious, it's almost edible. This is trully one of the best books I have ever read and deserves its' place among the classics.

Written By: Amber Cross, Owner/Operator, Ambire Secondhand Books

The Embers of Heaven - by Alma Alexander

This novel is a rich, magical epic of romance and Japanese revolution. Told through the eyes of Amais, this young girl lives a quiet peasant life until her mother dies and her father is forced to sell her and her sister to a Geisha house.

As a young child Amais was taught the secret language of jin-shei and its customs by her grandmother – a knowledge that enabled chosen women to magically weave their own fate. After her sale she loses this excellent link with her past but retains the knowledge that she is somehow special. As she grows into womanhood she becomes torn between two worlds – that of her birth right and that she has come to know.

Amais rises to become the most fabled and expensive Geisha due to her unusual blue eyes and her virginity is sold off to the highest bidder for a record price to a man she detests – a strange Doctor who likes to keep virgin blood samples. Geisha must never fall in love with their clients, but there is one man that has held a special place in Amais' heart since childhood. However, it seems that fate will keep them apart.

Eventually Amais tries to reinvent the women’s country, her birth right and bring back the secrets of jin-shei, but the Golden Rising revolution storms through history and seems intent on destroying all that was once valuable, gracious and beautiful including the secret knowledge Amais has sworn to protect and restore to the world.

This book is beautifully written, absorbing and gives an excellent insight into the life of Geisha and their customs. Highly recommended.

Written By: Lorinda Lombardelli, Customer

The Da Vinci Code – by Dan Brown

It was with grave trepidation that I picked up The Da Vinci Code. As a general rule, and excluding the classics, I normally refuse to read any books that are so universally praised – there’s bound to be an anti-climax. But after much pressure from my market customers I caved to the persistent “You have to read The Da Vinci Code” comments. As most of the literate world has read the book, I’m not going to bore you with the storyline, but I will give you my reasons for thinking it fairly overrated.

For me the book started off well. I was lured into its’ intrigue and enjoyed the ambience that was created by the books’ setting and artistic backdrop. But after the first couple of chapters my concentration wavered as I became increasingly disappointed by the predictable plot. For a book that is described as a brain-teaser and a page-turner with endless twists and turns, I felt incredibly let down. Let’s be honest – do we really need a world-class cryptographer to recognise a Fibonacci sequence? Last time I checked it was part of the NSW High School Maths Curriculum. Nor does it take a Harvard symbologist to recognise Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man. Add all this to the fact that I knew what was going to happen 10 pages before it actually happened and in my eyes you have a bit of a fizzer that, quite frankly, was a little insulting to the intelligence.

The mundane plot aside, I also found the lead characters lacking any real personality. Dan Brown focuses so much on the plot that he fails to develop either Robert Langdon or Sophie Neveu – they are merely transporters of the story – a way to move the plot along. The real characters of the story are Da Vinci, Opus Dei, The Priory of Sion and religion itself - which is all well and good but hardly groundbreaking. You only have to turn the clock back to the early 1980s and a controversial book called Holy Blood, Holy Grail (by Baigent, Leigh & Lincoln) to see that stories about this very subject matter have been circulating for centuries.

Some might think I’ve been too harsh. So to calm the masses I will acknowledge that the book was competently written and that it’s a much better read than some of the other “crap” out there. But in my view the only thing that makes the book so captivating for readers is the subject matter. People go wild over anything that questions the basis of religion. I guess we have to thank Dan Brown for at least encouraging many people who haven’t read a book for years to pick one up again.

Written By: Amber Cross, Owner/Operator, Ambire Secondhand Books

The World from Islam – by George Negus

I’m ashamed to say it, but other than a brief study of the Arab-Israeli conflict in High School, my knowledge of Islam is extremely limited. Like most of us, I rely entirely on the television and tabloid media to provide a frame of reference for this complex part of the world. And like all media, it’s difficult to separate the sensationalism from the actual facts. So when I came across a copy of this book I was keen to give it a go and find out what one of Australia’s most respected journalists, and one that I have great admiration for, had to say about the issue.

The book is not a history of the Muslim world – actually it’s far from it. The tag line on the back cover reads – “Not everything, but a hell of a lot of what you always wanted to know about Muslims, but no one got around to telling you.” And that’s exactly what the book delivers. Negus presents his information through a series of colourful anecdotes that he has written over 25 years of travel and reporting from this region. Along the way we meet some interesting characters who make up Negus’ extended Islamic family and we share in the ups and downs of their lives.

Somehow Negus manages to demystify many things that seem foreign to residents of the Western world – the burka, Ramadan, insh’allah (god willing) and the Qur’an (or Koran). And surprisingly, what becomes most clear in this book is that despite the obvious differences in religion and culture, the Muslim world also shares many similarities with the West. We are not as different as we may think!

During one period of his travels throughout Islam, Negus was accompanied by his young son. It was Negus’ numerous accounts of his son’s reactions to some of the more terrifying and violent events that have occurred in the area that I found most interesting. Seeing these events through the eyes of an innocent child who is unaffected by political scare tactics really puts everything into a simplified perspective. We learn that Muslims are human - just like us - and that they want the same things out of life – a happy family and a safe home.

The real beauty of this book is that Negus manages to provide a rational and balanced account of the Islamic world. In the September 11 aftermath, governments are hell-bent on instilling a fear of Muslims and terrorism amongst their constituents. It is refreshing to listen to a voice of reason. Negus declares with unabashed certainty that “more than 99.99% of Muslims are not, repeat not, terrorists”, and after reading this book I agree wholeheartedly. Negus has certainly managed to illuminate this young mind with his human insight.

Written By: Amber Cross, Owner/Operator, Ambire Secondhand Books