The Prince: Faith, Abuse and George Pell; The Quarterly Essay by David Marr

Wow. This is everything you ever wanted to know about Pell, and in particular how and why the Catholic church is such a hotbed of paedophilia and has been covering it up for so many decades. David Marr has done his usual meticulous research and the essay is gripping reading. One terrifying quote: ‘ Forty years after the DLP collapsed under the weight of its own irrelevance, the Movement will have one man in the curia and another in Canberra. Pell is about to live the dream of every prince of the church: to be the spiritual adviser to a national leader.’

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

This may verge on chicklit but it is lovely chicklit. It’s written from the point of view of a man with Aspergers who is seeking love through what he calls The Wife Project. Then he meets Rosie, who fulfils none of the criteria… and of course the rest is inveitable. But it is such fun and there are plenty of laugh aloud moments, something that is increasingly rare these days. The character of Professor Don Tillman is extremely endearing and the rest of the cast are typically flawed but wonderful human beings. I loved this book though it’s over before your know it!

Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel

Following on from Wolf Hall, this continues the story of Thomas Cromwell, the most powerful man in the kingdom after Henry VIII. It’s a great read, involving and well researched, and very human. I have become quite interested in Cromwell now and would actually like to read something serious about him, because I get so absorbed in the story with these historical fiction novels that I cross the line all the time and believe it all!