'All over the country, brooding on squatters' verandahs, or mooning in selectors' huts,' so A. G. Stephens wrote in the Bulletin in 1901, 'there are scattered here and there hundreds of lively, dreamy Australian girls whose queer uncomprehended ambitions are the despair of the household. They yearn, they aspire for they know not what...' I … Continue reading Friends & Rivals | Brenda Niall #AWWbiography
Sydney, 1971The American family rented the house without having seen it - how could they have, halfway around the world? - so they did not know what it meant. Tablo Tales is a new Melbourne-based imprint in the hands of Jemma Birrell (some of you might know of Jemma as the Artistic Director of the … Continue reading A Dream Life | Claire Messud #AUSnovella
It has never been my way to say much about my private life. Autobiographies are by their nature completely different beasts to biographies. In a biography, the researcher is keen to unearth the 'real' person, to dig deep into archives, letters, journals and other people's memories. Mostly this is done respectfully to honour the subject's … Continue reading Myself When Young | Henry Handel Richardson #AWWautobiography
Eve Langley (1904 -1974) is an enigmatic figure in Australian literary history. One of the (many) reasons why Eve Langley is considered enigmatic is her writing. There was a LOT of it, but was it fiction or was it autobiographical? And how is it possible to tell the difference when the author deliberately leads you … Continue reading Eve Langley and The Pea Pickers | Helen Vines #AWWbiography
When we left the hotel it was raining, a light, fine rain, as can sometimes happen in Tokyo in October. Cold Enough for Snow by Melbourne based author, Jessica Au, was the inaugural winner of The Novel Prize, a new biennial award established by Giramondo (Australia), Fitzcarraldo Editions (UK) and New Directions (USA). The novella will … Continue reading Cold Enough For Snow | Jessica Au #AWWnovella
April 1939: The wisteria was heavy with blossoms; the roses scrambled around the windows of the old French farmhouse. Joyce Morgan's biography of Elizabeth von Armin, The Countess From Kirribilli, is an utter delight from start to finish. I could just leave that thought there and be done with this post. But, of course, I … Continue reading The Countess From Kirribilli | Joyce Morgan #AWWbiography
Three scary monsters - racism, misogyny and ageism - roam through this mesmerising novel. Its reversible format enacts the disorientation that migrants experience when changing countries changes the story of their lives. With this suspenseful, funny and profound book, Michelle de Kretser has made something thrilling and new.Which comes first, the future or the past?Back … Continue reading Scary Monsters | Michelle de Kretser #AWWfiction
In a basement bar on a university campus, a boy and a girl hold each other, their limbs loose with alcohol. First, an apology for being pretty absent in blogger land lately. I'm keeping up with AusReadingMonth posts (just) and that's about it. Post scheduling errors, computer updates that end up requiring some IT input … Continue reading Love & Virtue | Diana Reid #AWWfiction
For those of you who know me well, you will know this is not my usual fare. But, I do like to research poems that have been used as epigraphs in the books I'm reading, or by authors I'm curious about. Obviously I am curious about all things Rumer Godden, at the moment. Rumer Godden … Continue reading Prieres Dans L’Archen | Prayer’s from the Ark #poems
Week 2: (November 8-12) – Book Pairing with Katie at Doing Dewey: This week, pair up a nonfiction book with a fiction title. It can be a “If you loved this book, read this!” or just two titles that you think would go well together. Maybe it’s a historical novel and you’d like to get the real … Continue reading Nonfiction November – Week 2
The women at the heart of this story come from all walks of life. In 1990 a study of 2000 Australian women, aged between 45 to 55, was undertaken to provide a 'wide-frame snapshot of women's health in this phase of life (menopausal transition)'. It was designed to last for five years. One of the … Continue reading Secrets of Women’s Healthy Ageing | Cassandra Szoeke #AWWnonfiction
My dear son James has given me a task for my last years, or months, or whatever time I have left beyond the many years I have lived so far. Sometime in April or May last year, I was given an advance reading copy of Kate Grenville's A Room Made of Leaves. I was very … Continue reading A Room Made of Leaves | Kate Grenville #AWW
Brona (This Reading Life) 
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