Sue: Anna Karenina 

This time last year I was reading Anna Karenina by Tolstoy.

It’s a big book and a challenging read, and I may not have made it through if I had been battling the text rather than listening to the audiobook.

 

Anna Karenina is a pretty bleak tale about the downfall of a society woman in 19th century Russia.

 

What impressed me most about this novel was Tolstoy’s obvious sympathy and understanding to Anna’s predicament. Anna struggles with motherhood, pregnancy and birth. Her affair with Vronsky leaves her outcast from society, separated from her son and completely dependent on Vronsky for everything. This leads to her suffering crippling depression and her eventual suicide.

 

Anna Karenina is terribly sad but, unfortunately, still terribly relevant.

 

Imogen: The Secrets of Droon

I’m going to be throwing back a little farther than Sue. I’m throwing all the way back to 2009, when I was reading the secret of Droon books by Tony Abbott.

I wouldn’t highly recommend these books to many people, as they are children’s books, but they are quite enjoyable and a great read.

 

When I think of books I’ve read in the past, this series immediately jumps into my head. It made a huge impact on me and how I saw reading. Now I was quite young when I read these, so in school we had to sit down for ‘reading time’ and many of me peers felt the same about books as they do today; skim, scan get it over with. I was one of the only kids who brought my own book, but I do have to say it did leave me scared that one of my favourite books was written by Tony Abbott. But thankfully it was written by Tony Abbott

(It was written by the second man, I was scared that the books were written by the Australian politician on the left)

 

These books are a fantasy ride that many kids will enjoy, sparking up their imagination and a love of reading.