My Week: Winter blue blew into town last week. Snow fell in the Central West, Northern Tablelands and Blue Mountains. Sydney only got the icy cold wind that cut through every single layer of clothing with none of the pleasure of building a snowman.Mr Books got his first Covid shot (AstraZeneca) - no reaction. My … Continue reading Stories & Shout Outs #40
A few minutes past midnight on Tuesday, 10 September 1940, an air raid struck Mecklenburgh Square. After a mini-reading slump in April, I needed something to capture my attention and my heart. Normally I would go to some cosy crime, or pick up a Jane Austen. Instead, this time, I found myself in the warm … Continue reading Square Haunting | Francesca Wade #UKnonfiction
September 1995I wake to find a young woman sitting beside me. She is Asian. Japanese. Chinese. I don't know. Book club throws up some interesting choices. The Butterfly Man by Heather Rose was such a one. I had never heard of Lord Lucan or the mystery surrounding him. Yet when this book was nominated for … Continue reading The Butterfly Man | Heather Rose #AWW
Once the queen's head is severed, he walks away. Didn't Anne die in the previous book? And didn't we deal with the time immediately after her death already? Is this opening line a signal that a big recap is coming? Yes and no. As it turns out The Mirror and the Light is an overlong … Continue reading The Mirror and the Light | Hilary Mantel #Readalong
Lauren Mackay has created a very appealing companion book, to have to hand, whilst reading Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall trilogy. I love beautifully produced and packaged books - this is definitely one. Now that I have reread and read all three Wolf Hall books, I suspect I will not need to read them again and … Continue reading Wolf Hall Companion | Lauren Mackay #AWWnonfiction
Henry VIII | Meynnart Wewyck circa 1509 Turns out King Henry VIII wrote some poems in his spare time. Or to be more precise, lyrics, as most of his poems were also designed to be sung and played. Some of the lyrics were collated in the Henry VIII Manuscript circa 1522 along with other court … Continue reading Alas! what shall I do for Love? | King Henry VIII #poem
A new series from Europa Editions, The Passenger collects the best new writing, photography, art and reportage from around the world. There are five books in The Passenger series to date - Japan, Greece, Brazil, Turkey and India. Two more are imminent - Berlin and Paris. I'm often a sucker for good packaging, and these books are … Continue reading The Passenger: Japan
Did you make? Three mammoth books about a fascinating time in history, full of dastardly deeds, changing allegiances and power struggles. A time when loyalty was the name of the game. Treason was the crime. Death by execution the end result. We are all dying, just at different speeds. The pall of death and dying … Continue reading The End #WolfHallReadalong2021
When I met M. Hartz, he was a naturalist and dealer who ran his business affairs in a quiet way, selling minerals, insects or plants to collectors. Thankfully I read and thoroughly enjoyed Mauprat a decade or so ago. If I had started my George Sand journey with Laura: A Journey into the Crystal, it … Continue reading Laura | George Sand #FRAfiction
And reports from Bairnsdale, in the Gippsland district, indicate that Mr Nils Desperandum, of Sarsfield, will have the largest crop of apples, this year, for miles around. - INTERSTATE WEEKLY.On a hot Australian morning I read the above advertisement out to June as we sat in the low-roofed kitchen of our old home in Dandenong. … Continue reading The Pea-Pickers | Eve Langley Part 2
Long before the birth of Brona's Books, nearly 12 years ago, and long before my preschool teaching days, I read nothing but children's books. Lots of them. As often as I could, as many times as I could. Rereading favourites was the only way to feed my voracious habit. The school library could not keep … Continue reading Before Brona’s Books #1001ChildrensBooks
There is nothing new or surprising about sharing such an iconic poem at this time of year. But it has been on my mind the past few weeks. Every time we drive to the mountains, I find myself saying 'tis the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness' under my breath, combining two popular seasonal lines … Continue reading To Autumn | John Keats #Poetry
