Amy | Lost in a Good Book

Giraffe Problems by Jory John

10 Jan 2020 Leave a comment

by Amy in 5 Stars, The Picture Book Corner Tags: children's picture book, five stars, jory john, lane smith

Published: 25th September 2018
Publisher: Random House Books
Illustrator: Lane Smith
Pages: 42
Format: Picture Book
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ – 5 Stars

Can you guess what’s making this giraffe self-conscious? Could it be…HIS ENORMOUS NECK Yes, it’s exactly that–how on earth did you figure it out?

Edward the giraffe can’t understand why his neck is as long and bendy and, well, ridiculous as it is. No other animal has a neck this absurd. He’s tried disguising it, dressing it up, strategically hiding it behind bushes–honestly, anything you can think of, he’s tried.

Jory John is back with another fabulous book. Giraffe Problems is a brilliant book that much like Penguin Problems, has a giraffe who is unhappy with his absurdly long neck. This seems to be his only problem, but John explores this singular issue with humour and style.

The narrative is hilarious. The short sentences and the quick words sound just like the complaints of the key character, all beautifully presented in and around Smith’s illustrations. There are no rhymes, but you don’t need them as John writes a great story that reads like a funny list of complaints and grievances by Edward and the annoyance as he interacts with those around him.

There are more words to the story as it goes on and you see how this poor giraffe has tried to cope with his long, long, super necky neck. There are beautiful moments too and I loved the interactions with all the various animals he comes across.

Smith’s illustrations deserve attention on their own. The dark earthy colours on the page bring out the feeling of nature and the expressions and actions on the animals are realistic but have a comical tone as well. The design of each page enhances the story because it makes you move your eyes around to follow the words, or rotate the book or open a flap. It adds another level of interaction beyond only reading the words on the page.

I loved the surprises at the end, sweet but still having that humour seen throughout. It is a wonderful example of understanding the benefits to being different and what may be a problem for you, may be a solution to someone else. I love Penguin Problems and I am a huge fan of Giraffe Problems as well. I am looking forward to seeing what other ideas John comes up with because I’m sure it will just as delightful.

You can purchase Giraffe Problems via the following

QBD | Booktopia | Book Depository

Dymocks | Wordery | Angus and Robinson

Fishpond | Amazon | Amazon Aust

Long Lost Review: The Wrong Girl by Zoe Foster

09 Jan 2020 2 Comments

by Amy in 4 Stars, Long Lost Reviews Tags: #llr, aussie, aussie books, Long Lost Reviews, zoe foster, zoe foster blake

Long Lost Reviews is a monthly meme created by Ally over at Ally’s Appraisals which is posted on the second Thursday of every month. The aim is to start tackling your review backlog. Whether it’s an in-depth analysis of how it affected your life, one sentence stating that you only remember the ending, or that you have no recollection of reading the book at all.

Published: 26th February 2014
Publisher: Penguin Australia
Pages: 304
Format: Paperback
Genre: Romance
★ ★ ★ ★ – 4 Stars

Lily is a producer on a successful cooking segment for a daily morning show. The new chef has just arrived on set and he is drop dead gorgeous. And despite everything – the sabbatical that Lily and her flatmate Simone are taking from men, the fact that Jack is a work colleague – Lily falls head over heels for him.

And while Lily battles her feelings, her flatmate Simone breaks their pact and starts dating some guy from her wholefoods shop. That guy turns out to be Jack. Up close, Lily bravely watches on as romance blossoms between Simone and Jack. Or does it? They don’t seem to have much in common, apart from their striking good looks. And Lily and Jack just seem to get each other. Is that the same thing as falling in love? And could she ever dream of betraying a friendship? Lily has to make some difficult decisions about work and home, and realises that if she doesn’t take life by the scruff of the neck, she is the one who’ll be picked up, shaken and dumped.

I really loved this book. I had it sitting on my shelf for years and I finally got around to reading it in 2017 and I have to say I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. It was made into a TV show but I can’t bring myself to watch it because based on a cursory glance at the first few episode summaries it clearly changes a few things I absolutely loved about the book so I haven’t watched it. I’m sure it is still good in its own right but I want to preserve my book memories.

The blurb makes the story sound more like unrequited love than I believe it initially to be. Naturally, after having sworn off men, the perfect one walks into Lily’s life, but what I loved was that Lily and Jack’s relationship doesn’t start off perfectly. She takes a while to warm up to him and their friendship and work/life banter is much more enjoyable than having them get together. Yes Lily starts to get a crush on Jack, but it doesn’t consume her or become to focus of the novel, her determination to further her career is the focus of her days and Foster balances her work and her downtime really well so Lily’s whole life is encapsulated without having every tiny detail and event laid out.

I loved that Foster didn’t go the jealous friend/unrequited love route she could have done. Yes it is there in the tiniest instance, but Lily is so in denial over her feelings for Jack initially she never pines over Jack being with someone else, nor does she obsess over him like a lovesick puppy. It was really refreshing and I loved the different approach to having her feelings be the be all and her job and life be brushed over while she spent her time thinking about him.

So much of everything is done wonderfully in this. The right balance of fun, seriousness, and romance. I love Lily as a character, she is young but growing up, she knows what she wants and has a goal in mind, but she also has a little fun as well. I definitely think a reread of this is in order because I remember it being such a wonderful read filled with the surprises and delights to entertain while also feeling real and having an emotional impact.

AWW 2020 Challenge

07 Jan 2020 2 Comments

by Amy in Australian Women Writers Tags: #aww2020, australian women writers challenge, aww, aww 2020

Australian Women Writers Challenge Blog

A new year brings another chance to participate in the Australian Women Writers Challenge. Riding my high from my win last year I am starting my goal strong; to read 40 books and review 35. I think this is a huge challenge because I think I got lucky last year but I am also hopeful I could use this opportunity to read more Aussie women in a bid to hit this mark.

If you have always wanted to try this challenge or are looking for a new reading challenge to partake in, then head to the Australian Women Writers website and sign up. You do not have to dive in to reading 40 books if that’s daunting, the set levels start as low as reading four books by Aussie women, or if you like you can set your own goal. The AWW community is wonderful and filled with support and if you are ever in need of ideas or new titles to find then it is a wonderful place to start.

The challenge runs from 1st January to 31st December so there is plenty of time to complete your goal whatever number you pick, and you can sign up at any time during the year until the end of November.

Celeste The Giraffe Loves to Laugh by Celeste Barber

03 Jan 2020 Leave a comment

by Amy in 4 Stars, Australian Women Writers, The Picture Book Corner Tags: #aww2020, australian women writers challenge, aww 2020, celeste barber, children's picture book, four stars, matt cosgrove

Published: 25th October 2019
Publisher: Scholastic Australia
Illustrator: Matt Cosgrove
Pages: 24
Format: Picture Book
★ ★ ★ ★ – 4 Stars

Celeste was a friendly, happy little giraffe. She had a kind heart and she made others laugh. But Celeste sometimes worried that she wasn’t enough. It seemed like other animals did much cooler stuff. Join Celeste the Giraffe on her hilarious journey as she finds out what it is that makes her unique.

Barber’s story is about Celeste the giraffe who is happy and friendly but worries she isn’t enough. Thus starts her journey trying new things to become cooler. It reminded me a lot of Macca’s Makeover, which I am going with it’s ok since Matt Cosgrove actually illustrates this book so he must not mind.

Celeste tries all the things her friends do in order to try and become cooler including roaring like a lion, running fast like a cheetah, or making a splash like a hippo. Barber’s story flows with a steady rhythm and the rhymes are creative, but the story is completely enhanced by Cosgrove’s accompanying illustrations.

The illustrations are typical Cosgrove – adorable, brightly coloured, and whimsical, but there is still a unique feel that doesn’t look like his typical Macca design. This gives Barber a look of her own and a style unique to her book while still being utterly adorable.

I love Cosgrove’s work so the illustrations are the real winner here. I enjoyed the story too, it’s fun and clever, not to mention great to read aloud. The formatting helps with tone and emphasis as well; the varying font styles and different sized words help get the right tone and humour across to gain the full effect.

This is a great story about using your own unique skills and talents to help other people and not to want what others have because you think they’re better. A good message for kids and told in a fun and colourful way.

You can purchase Celeste the Giraffe Love to Laugh via the following

QBD | Booktopia | Book Depository

Dymocks | Angus and Robinson

Fishpond | Amazon | Amazon Aust

2020 Goals

01 Jan 2020 4 Comments

by Amy in Rambles Tags: 2020 goals, goals, rambles

2020 has arrived and so the start of a new year of blogging goals commences. I’ve already looked back at the poor attempt I made with last year’s goals and instead of learning from that I am going to be bolder and reach wider because I have learnt nothing.

Some of these goals are ones I have thought about through the year and am going to strive and make them part of my reading habits. They aren’t completely extravagant, but even a small achievement in these areas is a win because at least I’m doing something good for myself and for the reading community.

All of these are my attempt to read more widely, more diversely, to spread the love, discover new reads and read the books, genres, and authors I love. Because reading and blogging isn’t just about making goals it is about reading good books, these are just the tools I am using to find and experience these good books. As long as I give it my best these goals can’t really be failed (some can but that is a whole other thing). As I enter my seventh year of this blog (what even is happening about that!) I am growing and evolving once more like a little blogging Pokémon and that can only be a good thing.

Read More Young Adult

There always seems to be more and more published every week while I am still catching up on those published in 2015. I want to try and read more of the YA books I’ve heard so much about, seen on my shelves every day, and bought with speed to own upon release only to never read it.

Read More #LoveOzYA

Adjacent category of the above is to hone in on our Aussie YA corner. Not only am I super keen to see if the #LoveOzYA team release another bingo (hopefully not waiting until October to do so), but in the meantime I want to discover all the Aussie writers have to offer.

Finish series

I will admit, this is my evergreen goal, but imagining the satisfaction of finishing a series is something I need to dream about to achieve this goal.

Finish a whole Bingo Game

I have done it once, I failed last year but if I remind myself I have done it once, it will also make me read these genres and stories I don’t read often which is usually how a card gets unfinished. Hopefully mixing up my card this year and doing more challenges will help as well.

Be more active on other blogs to share the love.

Despite being online and not actually face to face I still get a lot of anxiety interacting with people online but sharing a love of books and reading should hopefully push me out of my silently stalking mode into commenting and sharing the love a bit more around the blogging community.

Read more off my own shelf

A small part of me actually thinks I’ll achieve this where I have failed every other year because I keep adding books to my shelves and seeing these titles I’ve also wanted to read for years. I only need to pick them up. Maybe if I start, it will be a habit I won’t easily break. That or guilt myself into keep going. The key is to connect the books on my shelves to those in challenges or other goals because if I only used my shelves I have no doubt I’d fill every box and every goal and every genre required.

Looking at the list I think that is a decent approach to this 2020 year. If I use these as guidelines to other things I will hopefully be able to achieve them in a small way. I am already looking forward to seeing how far I can go. Do you have any reading goals you want to achieve this year?