cread | read & see

I'm not sure Nick Vujicic's Unstoppable ever becomes an unstoppable read but it does steadily and assuredly build in intensity and impact so that when you do put it down on completion, it is with a sense of satisfaction and appreciation. His neat and tidy prose, indeed every single word, is weighed down with added meaning because Nick was born without limbs, other than what he calls his "little foot". It makes even the existence of this his second book seem remarkable, not to mention the spirit of hope and optimism that fill it. The sub-title for the 214 page paperback (Allen and Unwin) is The incredible power of faith in action and he sticks to his theme from cover to cover, utilising a mixture of personal testimony, inspiration, advice and the stories of people who have reached out to him or worked with him. While reading Unstoppable for this review, Nick appeared on 60 Minutes with his new wife, Kanae, and the story of how they met and eventually wed is cont...

Let's check out the books being reviewed by our neighbours around the Asia Pacific region through some of the leading national newspapers - there are a few surprises and hidden treasures. Starting with our Kiwi friends at The New Zealand Herald , The Girl Below by Bianca Zander was reviewed by Paula Green, herself an Auckland poet and children's author. "The central character, Suki Piper, returns to London after a decade in Auckland and for many reasons she occupies a world out-of-kilter." Paula loved the aptly named debut novel saying, “You might think there is a high risk of superficial stereotypes at work here (a cranky stepmother, a selfish father, a distant mother, spiteful friends). Far from it.” Zoo Time by Howard Jacobson was reviewed by John Gardner, also of The New Zealand Herald , who is pleased with the entertainment value of the cast of characters in this story of a novelist surrounded by the collapse of the literary world. “Ableman's (protago...

JK Rowling's new novel is the most pre-ordered book of 2012, and it's no Harry Potter either. (Click image to order yours.) A Casual Vacancy is a book for adults and its content is real world not fantasy. Set in the rural English town of Pagford, it's a novel about the death of a man named Barry, a parish council election with class-warfare, addiction and teen sexuality. Writer Ian Parker has read A Casual Vacancy , and has written about it in The New Yorker. He made a point of the fact that it's for adults, quoting this: “leathery skin of her upper cleavage radiated little cracks that no longer vanished when decompressed” and "...with an ache in his heart and in his balls". While these quotes demonstrate the change from writing for children to writing for adults, in some ways the writing – according to Parker – hasn't changed so much. “...but whereas Rowling’s shepherding of readers was, in the Harry Potter series, an essential asset, in The Casu...

Vegemite is an Australian cultural icon, and soon a book about the invention of this salty, black paste will be available. The Man Who Invented Vegemite documents the life of Cyril Callister, scientist and director of Fred Walker & Co. Cyril invented the spread during the early 1920s as an alternative to the British Marmite, the import of which was disrupted due to World War I. Jamie Callister – Cyril's grandson – wrote the book. A former advertising executive and builder, Jamie decided to put pen to paper in this his first book after reading through some of his grandfather's letters and documents. He believes his grandfather deserves “to be remembered as a significant and remarkable Australian.” Cyril had an ''an unshakeable belief in Vegemite, that it was good, and he persevered''. While invented as mentioned in the 1920s, Vegemite did not become the legendary icon it is today until the late 30s. Off the back of profits made from Fred Walker ...

"All over the world, brutal attacks are crippling entire cities." I began reading action novel Zoo within a few hours of reading Sweet Tooth and after a few pages was wondering if I could go on. After the tight, intense characterisation of Ian McEwan's new novel I was feeling unconvinced by the almost clumsy attempts to build the central character of Zoo , Oz. I've had this experience before. A few years ago after being captivated by the prose of Hilary Mantel in Wolf Hall I picked up Ted Dekker's Emmanuel's Veins . To be honest (sorry Ted) I couldn't read past the first few pages. Here I go again, I thought, and this time it involves one of the world's top-selling and most prolific authors, although admittedly, I was a Patterson virgin. But I lay back and thought of the readers of Cread (Creaders?) and turned another page. After a few more pages I began to accept the kind of NCIS approach to characterisation - American individualist...

Black Caviar is undefeated from 22 races throughout her career, attaining legend status with a race success record not equalled in over 150 years. A new "authorised" book, Black Caviar: The Horse of  Lifetime , document the career of this thoroughbred racehorse come Australian icon and will be available from October 1 (hardcover, 400 pages, ABC Books). Written by journalist and broadcaster Gerard Whateley, Black Caviar begins with the story of trainer Peter Moody of remote outback Queensland, who eventually came to select and guide Black Caviar to dominance. The book's foreword is written by Peter Moody himself. Black Caviar follows the superstar horse's career through to her victory on one of the most famous race tracks of all. But as for her future, the Black Caviar website reports Peter Moody as saying this week that, "Everything is very positive at this point in time. I'll chat with the owners on Saturday or Sunday week." (Click cover im...

Australian author Jessica Shirvington's fantasy series - The Violet Eden Chapters (also known as the Embrace series) - has been picked up by the US television network CW, which plans to adapt the series into a TV series in association with Spielberg's Amblin Television. Her first novel, Embrace , was published in October, 2010, by Hachette Australia followed by Entice in March 2011, Emblaze in October 2011 and this month, Endless . Following its release in Australia and New Zealand, the series has been picked up in a number of international markets.  The books have been likened to the Twilight series, but rather than teenage vampires there is a teenage angel at the centre of a battle between light and dark forces. Shirvington says the four books in the series, could potentially be followed by a fifth and sixth. The TV show is said to be in development with release expected for next season in the US. Jessica Shirvington lives in Sydney with her husband of 10 years, ...