Back in March, when Covid news was dominating every airway and program, I turned to Angela Thirkell's High Rising for some light relief and old-fashioned comfort. So when I spotted A Literary Christmas over at In the Bookcase, I knew that another trip to High Rising was imminent. Christmas at High Rising is a collection … Continue reading Christmas at High Rising | Angela Thirkell #ALiteraryChristmas
It all started with a 12 days of Christmas book tag. Although, not really. However, it's as good a place as any to start. The lead up to Christmas is pretty hectic for me. I work right up until the last minute, in the busiest week, in the busiest month of my work year. If … Continue reading The 12 Days of Christmas
Feeling very grateful, right now, that Tarissa @In the Bookcase is hosting A Literary Christmas this year. It made me search my shelves for something Christmassy that I hadn't read yet. It led me straight into the delightful and utterly charming arms of Beatrix Potter. I confess that I did not read any of the Peter Rabbit … Continue reading The Tailor of Gloucester | Beatrix Potter #ALiteraryChristmas
It has taken me a while to finish The Salt Path by Raynor Winn, not because I wasn't enjoying it, but simply because it became my walking backpack book. It was the perfect choice. It was a slim paperback (i.e. lightweight). It was about going for a very long walk. It was non-fiction and … Continue reading The Salt Path | Raynor Winn #UKNonFiction
I had no idea that Bill Hayes was working on another scenes of New York book that would focus on the March-April Covid-19 lockdown of 2020. If I'd known, I may have experienced fewer angsty days of my own, knowing that Bill was going to somehow make it all right! It’s a … Continue reading How We Live Now: Scenes from the Pandemic | Bill Hayes
I cannot believe the last time I sat down to write a Covid Chronicle was back in July.Melbourne was at the beginning of it's second wave, while the rest of the country held it's collective breath. Would the outbreak spread? Would we all have to go into another lockdown?Numbers steadily increased around the three hotspots … Continue reading The Covid Chronicles #9
A number of years ago I joined in this meme that takes the first line of each month’s post over the past year to see what it tells you about your blogging year.I do like an end of year wrap up post that helps me to reflect on what I've read. A Year in First … Continue reading A Year in First Lines
Annabookbel has posted her annual My Life in Books meme. It's a fun way to finish the reading year and a nice opportunity to look back over all the books read during 2020.The rules are simple: using only books you have read this year (2020), answer these prompts. Try not to repeat a book title. … Continue reading My Life in Books – the 2020 edition
I had the pleasure of hearing Ceridwen Dovey talk about her latest book, Life After Truth at a recent work event (the YouTube recording of the event can be found here). By the time she had finished speaking, I knew this would be my next read.I'm not sure why I've found it so hard to write … Continue reading Life After Truth | Ceridwen Dovey #AWW
I know there is a lot of love for The Living Sea in Waking Dreams out there already. It's not that I didn't love it, or even admire what Flanagan was trying to achieve, but it's not easy to read a book where you feel like you're being smashed over the head, not just with a … Continue reading The Living Sea of Waking Dreams | Richard Flanagan #AUSfiction
My Week:An ordinary few days as my hayfever symptoms ramp up another notch.Enjoying our mini-wine bottle Advent calendar - a lot!Restacked my TBR piles into a semblance of order and jettisoned a few old ones I will never read now.I Am Reading:The Living Sea of Waking Dreams | Richard Flanagan | 65% doneMy Love Must … Continue reading Stories & Shout Outs #35
2020 was the year of many things. Some planned and expected, like the War and Peace chapter-a-day readalong. But many things unexpected and impossible to plan for as well. Who knew that Plague-Lit would become a thing? Or that I would waste one whole perfectly good reading month by feeling weird and distracted about a certain virus to … Continue reading 2021 Here We Come!
