Is Reading A Dying Art?

Three times last week I was speaking to young friends and associates and they informed me that they never read books anymore. One even admitted he had never finished a book in his life. His thinking being, that any good story will ultimately be made into a movie. 'Why waste anywhere up to a week reading a book when you can watch it in 90 odd minutes in full HD with surround sound, and maybe even in 3D?' And in many respects he has a point. Is the act of reading a book a dying art? In the modern world, where we want everything yesterday, is the pleasure of escaping and being absorbed by a book over a few days a lost art?

I can still remember the furtive pleasure of being a pre-teen and reading a Hardy Boys, Three Investigators or Enid Blyton book under the covers by torchlight (with lashings of sneaky pleasure). However for many youngsters now, books have now been replaced by game consoles, computers, mobile phones and social networking. How do we encourage young children to read and rediscover the joy of books amongst the plethora of alternatives they now have for entertainment?

It is not just the process of reading I would like to encourage, I am concerned about children developing the bad habits associated with communication via facebook/twitter/mobile phones/social media. In many cases, poor literary skills can manifest themselves into poor speaking skills, which become a liability in adult life. I feel more needs to be done to encourage young minds to embrace books, and expand their minds and language skills.

One positive influence I can think of, is the state government funded Premier's Reading Challenges that are conducted in some Australian states. Essentially, each year children choose books from an extensive age-based list (compiled in co-ordination with public and school libraries), and are presented with a medal on completion of the challenge. As each year passes and the challenges mount, the medal and status gets progressively more impressive. It makes reading fun, challenging, even competitive, and something to be shared with classmates. I think methods such as these need to be explored. If it takes governments to get on board, then so be it!

We need to encourage children and young adults to read any way we can, and make reading cool again!

My Review: Whispering Death by Garry Disher

This is the 6th book in the Challis/Destry Australian (Victorian Mornington Peninsula) police procedural mysteries and a time in a book series when many authors start to run out of steam. Not so Garry Disher. In fact, in my opinion, this is the best book of the series thus far. Disher keeps his books fresh by rotating around the main characters from one novel to the next. This time Ellen Destry is overseas on a study trip and plays virtually no role in the story apart from an occasional skype conversation. In her absence, Inspector Challis is the main protagonist and Constable Pam Murphy emerges as an interesting, astute and very able sidekick.

As is customary with Garry Disher, the plot is multi-pronged, well researched and ties together like binder-twine. I also enjoy the characterisation. There are no 'larger than life' James Bonds or Dirk Pitts working at Waterloo Police Station. The police department is under-funded and undermanned. The characters that inhabit the station make mistakes, have diverse private lives, are battling their own personal demons and are fleshed out brilliantly by Garry Disher to make them interesting to the reader and durable enough to last multiple books.

If you have never read a police procedural novel before, then this is a great place to start, and despite being number 6 in the series, it is a standalone book (but read the others anyway!). Another wonderfully enjoyable crime fiction novel with absorbing and interesting characters by Australian author Garry Disher.

MY RATING: 5/5

My Review: Storm Boy by Colin Thiele

I have deviated from the Australian crime fiction genre just briefly to re-visit a book I enjoyed as a child.

Having previously lived not far from Goolwa and The Coorong, and also having been entertained by Mr Percival (from the movie) at the Adelaide Zoo as a youngster, I felt quite sentimental re-reading this book after so many years. The book was standard fare to South Australian (and Australian) schoolchildren in the 1970s and early 1980s, and upon re-reading, I was surprised how little the book had dated over the years.

For me, the book still evoked the same raw emotions as they did 30 years ago when I first read the story. I have always loved the indigenous Fingerbone Bill character (played by David Gulpilil in the movie) and the empathy and bond he shared with the young Storm Boy. They both shared an instinctive and protective love of their environment which is as relevant today as the day Storm Boy was written.

A powerful YA story packed into a short 60ish pages that is still valid today and can be read in conjunction with the equally powerful SA Film Corporation movie of the same name (and some tissues).

MY RATING: 5/5

My Review: Mosquito Creek by Robert Engwerda

Mosquito Creek is written by Dutch born Australian author Robert Engwerda. It was nominated for the 2011 Ned Kelly Best First Crime Fiction Award and is set during a wet and wild period of 1855 in the burgeoning Victorian goldfields.

In a nutshell, I enjoyed the Australian colonial goldfields setting, but was a little disappointed with the conclusion to this book. It almost felt like the author had used up his page quota and suddenly downed tools. For some reason, many of the plotlines that had sustained the book were left unresolved. Perhaps a sequel is planned.

Apart from this, the descriptions of life in a remote 1855 Victorian goldfield town were well-written and gave an insight into a turbulent time in Australian history. Massive swells of people came and went overnight as hardened men sought their fortunes. The services were poor, and the mining settlements were rife with disease, petty thieving and alcoholism. It was clearly evident from Mosquito Creek that mining was a tough occupation, seemingly at the whim of luck (or lack thereof), and the weather - be it searing heat, or in the case of this book, flooding rains. And from this viewpoint, I felt the book succeeded.

In fact Mosquito Creek wasn't really a crime fiction novel as such, but more a commentary on the tough early colonial life and the hardships that the miners endured. And I felt the book worked on this level - it was an enjoyable, interesting and absorbing read as the life experiences of the main characters were steadily revealed throughout the book. Unfortunately, it was only the unresolved and somewhat tenuous crime plotlines that ultimately left me feeling a little unfulfilled.

MY RATING: 3.5/5

My Review: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

The Book Thief is the 5th book by Australian author Markus Zusak and is set in Germany during WWII.

Hmmm, what to say about this book that hasn't already been said? - I'll keep it brief!

The book is written in an unconventional style with the narrator being Death itself - a very busy character during WWII. The book also contained small handwritten sections with illustrations and (somewhat controversially), a brief summary of contents prior to each chapter that forewarned of the events about to take place. Some people found this off-putting and I guess it is one of the reasons why this book has become so polarising.

It seems The Book Thief is either loved or loathed. I for one loved it. The unconventional style worked for me. I found the short sharp quips from Death (the narrator) added humour and occasionally a sense of direction to an otherwise very dark book. His almost flippant view of death and tragedy balanced a book that was knee deep in it. As for the chapter contents list - knowing what was going to happen in advance enabled me focus on certain events and characters and in most instances heightened the emotion.

And yes there was emotion. The lump in my throat was a permanent fixture towards the end of the book. I loved the characters, I adored the way the book was written and the plot was brilliantly conceived. An outstanding book, that will definitely require tissues.

MY RATING 5/5

My Review: The 3rd Victim by Sydney Bauer

Australian author Sydney Bauer has been labelled the 'new Grisham' and this is her 6th legal thriller featuring Boston-based criminal attorney, David Cavanaugh.

David Cavanaugh has a reputation for only representing clients he believes to be innocent, so when he gets coerced into taking the case of Sienna Walker against his will, he initially believes that he is facing a new challenge in his legal career. But there is more to Sienna Walker than meets the eye.

Sienna is accused of murdering her infant child. All the evidence is against her and the mother's guilt appears incriminating, beyond any reasonable doubt. But David soon learns that Sienna has been set-up and the murder of the young child is just the thin edge of a very dark and sinister wedge.

Knowing his client is innocent and proving it are two very separate issues for David Cavanaugh, particularly against a clever and ambitious DA, who seems to care more for his career, than discovering the truth. And so the courtroom battle begins in the quest to reveal the true chilling motives behind the crime.

At 520 pages and with a very extensive plot, and a cast of many, this book is not for the faint-hearted. At times concentration was required to keep track of the main players and plot developments, but for the most part, I found the pace of the novel to be fine. Sure, there was the occasional legal-speak or discussions of DNA analysis that became a tad laborious, however another twist in the plot, quickly piqued my interest, the suspense built, and the pages kept turning towards the surprising solution.

And the ending itself was completely unexpected. I certainly didn't see it coming. Whether it was plausible or provided a fitting solution to a very cleverly written and absorbing plot is debatable. In my opinion, once the initial surprise had subsided, I found it a little disappointing and perhaps not up to the standard of the rest of the book.

For the most part a brilliantly written legal thriller. A multilayered, intricate and extensive plot that twists and turns all the way to a surprising, albeit incongruous ending.