Holiday Reading

 

I went on a holiday!
It was indeed fabulous and many, many books where consumed. I always attempt to only read for entertainment on a holiday and the following are a some of those books (super entertaining).  Vanishing Point is a great stand alone page turner from Val McDermid. I had not read her for a while and oh how comforting it is in her hands. A child disappears from his adopted mother at the airport.

Whilst in the midst of my reading frenzy I  read Broken Harbour, I love Tana French always a good story teller and this one about the perfect family, the husband and children found murdered the wife clinging to life is no exception.

 

The Twelve follows on where The Passage left off. Just as entertaining and unputdownable, if you have a few days to indulge yourself in this great tale of Virals and the fight to defeat them just do it. It will be in The Sun on the 16th of October only a few more sleeps. Amazing airplane read.

Nick Earls is on the way (soon)

Only 9 more sleeps! Only 9 more sleeps until the fabulous Nick Earls visits us in Yarraville,

Hooray! Hooray! Hooray!

Monday 23rd July6.00pm for 6.30 come and have a drink with us to celebrate "Welcome to Normal"

and very good it is too!

So Many Books So Little Time (still)

Incredibly this Blog has been totally ignored by the Bloggers ie me, whoops, I was so busy reading loads of great books here are a few.

Billy Lynn's Long Half Time Walk, Ben Fountain – A US platoon returns from Iraq after an act of heroism this is a great anti-war book for our times, funny and tragic.

Tiger in Eden, Chris Flynn – I finally got to this great book only after being urged to do so by a Sun Bookstaffer, the story of a young man hiding in Thailand from his past and the troubles in Ireland. This is a great tale of the road to redemption loved it.

Fifty shades of Grey - EL James – Of course I just had to know why the fuss, to me it was a Mills and Boon with lots of sex and plenty of spanking, I will leave the reading at just the one, I mean how many ways can a girl get spanked?

You Deserve Nothing- Alexander Maksik – I loved this tale set in a high school for foreign students in Paris. A much loved teacher, passionate and committed falls for a gorgeous young student who is intent on seducing him. The consequences are really not great but this book is.

My Hundred Lovers -Susan Johnson  I Loved this so much I have to keep on telling everyone. It is such a well written and absorbing book. I could not put it down these short chapters of memories spoke to me, kept me awake and turning those pages.

Yarraville is very Generous

(Not actual present wrapped at Sun Bookshop)

Thanks Yarraville today we donated an IPad to Yarraville Special Developmental School.  They are great educational tools for children with disabilities. We could only do this due to the generosity of our customers who donated money for Gift Wrapping at Christmas. On April 21st we will again be raising money for Yarraville Special Developmental School  with a bound proof lucky dip on our birthday.

Is What you Eat from Where you Are?

The Field Guide to Victorian Produce

The Locavore Edition

This stunningly (and locally and eco-friendly) printed field guide is about being a Locavore, maybe you haven't heard of this term (spell check certainly has not!) but a Locavore is someone who tries to eat locally. So this neat little book can help you do more of that, eat things grown within walking distant (omg!) of your house or community or suburb. Maybe not walking distance but would't you prefer, for example, to have some lovely Ross Creek Garlic from your very own state of Victoria than some mysterious internationally produced garlic? I think it is worth some (food for) thought!

There are other interesting morsels scattered through the book,  an interview with Stephanie Alexander, and an article titled 'I Don't Buy Food From Strangers' which makes me feel sort of excited... Imagine only buying food from people you knew, who had grown the food, all on their own. 

The guide has 105 grower profiles, 179 producer profiles, food trails and maps for regions in Victoria and beautiful illustrations to keep you visually pleased while scouring for the best of the best in fair Victoria.

Yum!

by Molly

Pop-Up Parks and Books

Okay so we are trying to not think about the sad day that our PopUp Park disappears and just enjoy it completely whilst it is still here. Look out any lunchtime and you are sure to see some Sun Bookshoppers with a sandwich in one hand and a book in the other. This week I was catching up on Lauren Olivers' Delirium, it's great teen fiction, from this U.S. writer who will be at the Younger Sun Bookshop for afternoon tea on Thursday 29th of March at 4.30pm, come on down. A few weeks ago you could have seen me absorbed in Christopher Morgans' wonderful Currawalli Street . Christopher, one of Yarravilles own, will be at the Sun Bookshop Wednesday 21st of March where Yarraville's Queen of Rock Rebecca Barnard will be launching Currawalli Street.  Hitting it with a bottle of plonk I believe. I whiled away a bit of summer reclining in a deck chair and page-turning my way through Paddy O'Rielly's funny, moving tale of a single mother in country Victoria. The Sun Bookclub is lucky enough to have Paddy come along and discuss The Fine Colour of Rust with us Wednesday 28th of March at 8pm. Crikey its all too much fun and you are all invited . Ps read The Cartographer Peter Twohig has not turned up in the hood yet but his funny, page turning tale of  the city we all know, looked at in another era is a corker.

At Last Proof of a Winner

So now that the whole holiday thing has come to an end we thought you might like to see a photo of the fabulous Shaun. Shaun won our annual Christmas Competition a whole window full of books.
Hooray for Shaun he is one lucky Yarravillian.

Crikey its all going on here in the hood, Yarraville is truly pumping as the Pop-Up park gets underway, families and happy folk everywhere. Deckchairs umbrellas and grass. Between the Sun Bookshop and the Younger Sun. No longer do we take our lives in our hands whilst delivering stock. Oh Happy days.

Win Books!

This is not really our window ours is a little smaller with less books, but a very nice window all the same

Our famous Win Window Competition begins today. Come on down to the bookshop, purchase a book and go into the running to Win, Win, Win books from our Summer reading Christmas Thingo! Very Exciting!

Exploding Bookseller!

Okay so we have in the shop now Hard Cover copies of Erin Morgenstern's 'The Night Circus'. Hard Cover at only $32.95, yes you read correctly! 'The Night Circus' is a great fantasy romance for those who do not  love fantasy, people like me for example. There are actually so many new and fabulous reads waiting for you just inside our doors at the moment, it can be a little overwhelming. Its a bit like a degustation meal the delicious morsels just keep coming, try Hippstermattic, so funny. How about one of the loads of the Vintage Classics or Penguin modern classics, cheap yet so so good! The Drop by Michael Connolly or Ian Rankin's newest The Impossible Dead.What about a book on Jerusalem, either James Carrolls' Jerusalem,Jerusalem or Simon Sebag Montefiores' Jerusalem. True Crime, Essays, Art, Cooking, Science. Too much stop I might explode.

1Q84

This mighty tome is absolutely flying out our door. 

We have to agree with the blurb -

1Q84 is a magnificent and fully-imagined work of fiction – a thriller, a love-story and a mind-bending ode to George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four. It is a world from which the reader emerges stunned and altered.

Have you picked up yours yet?

Too Many Books Too Little space

Well November is here for Booksellers as books run in the door and there are giant piles all over the shop. In fact we are finding it a little scary just where do these books fit? Shop little, books many. Trying to fit in the reading requirement of a bookshop life between receiving books has been hard too but I have managed a few. Blood by Tony Birch a moving road story of a young boy, the sister he will protect at any cost and their neglectful mother, I shed a tear. The much hyped The Night Circus -Erin Morgensten which really is a magical love story written with great imagination. Death and the

Spanish Lady- Carolyn Morwood a great mystery set in Victoria during the Spanish influenza epidemic in 1919, the first in a 3 book series it was a treat to read. The Marriage Plot -Jeffrey Eugenides what a fabulous tale of a love triangle, growing up and semiotics. Squeezed in The Sisters Brothers -Patrick DeWitt This Booker short listed book really is such a great, violent, western. The story of 2 hitman travelling across America to do a job is a complete page turner.Ate a great meal at the Corner Shop'snewest venture Brain in Williamstown Smoked eel to die for.

Cooking the Books Launch

A Kerry Greenwood launch is always a joy to be involved with.  Deb Cox and David Greagg were the launchers and the book was sung into launch by about 25 choristers  singing beautifully in Latin. Thanks to Kerry for her stamina when book signing and to all the Kerry fans who made the morning fabulous.

Bookclub

The Sun Bookshop bookclub was lucky enough to have Adrian Hyland come along last month. People battled school holidays and foul weather and were not disappointed by this fascinating  man and his brilliant book. Kinglake 350

Missed Connections

I've been reading Sophie Blackall's Missed Connections blog for a long time now and it is extremely exciting to now have her book in our hot little Sun Bookshop hands!

Sophie takes the sweet, the strange, the very romantic 'missed connections' and sets them against her ethereal, imaginative and beautiful illustrations.

Here's what she says about what she does:
 Messages in bottles, smoke signals, letters written in the sand; the modern equivalents are the funny, sad, beautiful, hopeful, hopeless, poetic posts on Missed Connections websites. Every day hundreds of strangers reach out to other strangers on the strength of a glance, a smile or a blue hat. Their messages have the lifespan of a butterfly. I'm trying to pin a few of them down.

We also love Sophie's illustrations for the very excellent Ivy and Bean books - in stock now over in the Younger Sun.

Go look at Sophie's blog.

William one night Adrian the next.

Well tonight at the Sun was a great success with the very funny and entertaining William McInnes with his pal  Andrew Gilbert launching Worse Things Happen at Sea.. William and his wife Sarah Watt have written a beautiful funny and moving book of their lives and their family. Great photographs by Sarah and fabulous words from them both. Wednesday night (tomorrow) at the Sun we are so lucky to have Adrian Hyland at our Bookclub 8pm where we will be discussing Kinglake 350, his incredible personal and informative account of the events on Black Saturday. The week finishes up on Saturday with the unstoppable Ms Kerry Greenwood's newest Corrina tale, Cooking the Books being launched at 11.00am Saturday morning.. As always you are welcome just let us know for catering. Thanks to all you bookshoppers who support our great events.

Barry Hall in the House

A veritable stadium of Barry Hall fans have gathered at the Sun Bookshop today to get their hats, shirts and especially their books signed by the former Bulldogs player.

Characters and Risotto

Well this gorgeous book landed in the shop last week and is selling like hotcakes. Why? Because it is very gorgeous and fabulously interesting. Characters (why is it so hard for me to spell that word?) is a fabulous look at signage and typography in and around Melbourne, including the gorgeous Sun Theatre sign pre restoration. Don't trust the index on this one it is actually on page 190. We have an added interest here at the Sun because one of Yarraville's own characters and our long time customer, sometimes handy man and pal Warren Kirk has photographs featured in the book, very exciting.

Don't miss Warren's Photograph of the man with his Jesus trolleys just past the index, the lucky last one in the book. Saturday saw The Help which was great and just like when I read the book, I cried and ate chocolate, also made an asparagus risotto from Jamie Oliver it was a really excellent recipe and tasted like Spring.

More events than you can poke a stick at!

Well it is certainly event time here at the Sun Bookshop get out your diary and start putting aside some time for the following. Saturday 24th of September we have ex Doggies player Barry Hall signing his memoir Pulling no Punches. Put your scarf on and head down at 10.00am. Then the very exciting launch of William McInnes and Sarah Watt's beautiful, funny and moving book, the story of their lives together and with their children Worse Things happen at Sea on Tuesday 27th at 6pm you are all welcome but book for this as it is an event exclusive to the Sun . Our bookclub meets September 28th at 8pm this time we are reading the powerful Kinglake 350 and we are so lucky to have author Adrian Hyland coming along. Saturday October 1st at 11.00am sees Kerry Greenwood's fantastic new Corrina title Cooking the Books being launched, book as Kerry's launches are always popular. Then on Wednesday October 5 we are selling books for Sydney comedian Mandy Nolan at Aqua y Vino call them to purchase tix 9687 9006. Finally at 1.30pm, Saturday the 8th Claire Saxby's beautiful childrens picture book The Carrum Sailing Club will be launched. Whew after that I will be having a fab Latin american meal at Los latinos in Maidstone where I went to for the first time last week and had incredible Fajitas yum, I can not wait to go back.

National Bookshop Day Text Prize Winner

Yes finally got it together to put this photo of our happy winner of these great Text titles on the website. Personally can vouch for 3 of these great reads