The extraordinary Ron McCallum is my guest this week

Dear Friends,What a drenched, wild week! My thoughts are with all those who have been caught in the flooding and hit by the storms and rising rivers.

I'm delighted to welcome Professor Ron McCallum as my guest on Thursday Book Club this week. Senior Australian of the Year and the former Dean of Sydney University Law School, Ron has been blind from birth. Carrying with him a sense of wonder and excitement at the world, he's the sort of person that makes you smile even when, well, there's an unrelenting tempest outside. I hope you can zoom in at 8pm on Thursday to meet him and hear about his memoir Born at the Right Time. Here's the link to join us at Thursday Book Club:  https://us04web.zoom.us/j/8521042343.
In the meantime, a clarification. As earlier revealed, on 31 March I will, indeed, be interviewing the wonderful Debra Oswald about her new novel, The Family Doctor , a gripping read about a doctor grappling with a moral dilemma: is it ever permissible to take a life in order to save another? The tickets for our online event, presented by BAD Sydney Crimes Writers Festival, are not free - as I promised last week - but are, instead, a bargain at $10. In exciting news, I have two free tickets to give away. To be in the draw, simply reply to this email with your book recommendation.
  NEWS

Debra Oswald is a two-time winner of the NSW Premier’s Literary Award and creator of the successful TV series Offspring. Her latest novel, The Family Doctor, is a gripping contemporary thriller about whether a good person can justify taking a life to save a life.

As part of the BAD All Year program brought to you by BAD Sydney Crime Writers Festival, I'll be talking to Debra Oswald about The Family Doctor.

Book your ticket here to watch the event online.

EVENT: Debra Oswald in Conversation with Suzanne Leal

WHEN: On Wednesday, 31st of March 2021 at 6:00 PM

TICKETS: $10

WHERE: Zoom (Online Platform)

Join the inaugural RACS Book Club to discuss The Kabul Peace House, by Mark Isaacs. All proceeds from ticket sales support the work of the Refugee Advice & Casework Service.

Host Jan Fran will lead a panel discussion and Q&A with special guests:

Mark Isaacs, acclaimed author, refugee advocate and activist
Maryam Zahid, Founder and Director of Afghan Women On The Move
Arif Hussein, RACS Senior Solicitor

Wednesday 21 April, 7.30-8.30pm via Zoom.
All proceeds from Book Club ticket sales will support the work of RACS. You can book your ticket here.

I’ll look forward to your company at Thursday Book Club this week.

What is Thursday Book Club? Thursday Book Club is a relaxed, friendly book club connecting readers online. Each Thursday we meet on Zoom from 8 - 8.30pm. There are no scheduled books to read: we simply chat about books we like and books we’re reading. Every now and then, I invite a guest writer to join us.

This week, Professor Ron McCallum will be my guest.

In his memoir, Born at the Right Time, Ron explains how, despite being blind from birth, he became the first in his family to attend university and went on to become the Dean of Sydney University Law School and Senior Australian of the Year. I'm so looking forward to talking to Ron about his life, family and achievements.

Join us this week to be in the running for our Thursday Book Club giveaway.
Zoom in as you can – it doesn’t matter if you’re late or have to leave early. Just join my Zoom conference room between 8pm and 8.30pm on Thursdays by clicking on this link: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/8521042343

If prompted, here are the details to manually enter:

Meeting ID: 852 104 2343

Password: 886196

Thursday Book Club Recommendations

My Recommendation

Born at the Right Time by Ron McCallum

Your Recommendations

Alia N

The Dressmaker's Secret by Rosalie Ham
The Dressmaker's Secret by Charlotte Betts
The Dressmaker's Secret by Karen Dickson
The Dressmaker's Secret by Kellyn Roth

Barbie R

Concealed by Esther Amini
Kate Kelly by Rebecca Wilson
Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám translated by Edward FitzGerald

Helen R

The Rising Man by Abir Mukherjee
Into the Woods by John Yorke

Noela A

Heysen to Heysen – Selected Letters of Hans Heysen and Nora Heysen by Catherine Speck

Ravi S

The Moroccan Daughter by Deborah Rodriguez
The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny
Help Yourself by Curtis Sittenfeld

Take care,

PS. Would you like me to drop in to your book club?

If your book club has chosen to read The Deceptions or The Teacher’s Secret, I’d be delighted to attend your meeting by Zoom (whether your group is meeting online or gathering together in person) to answer any of your questions. To schedule a date, please email me here.