In an attempt to get back into blogging about individual books again, I have decided to revive the 'favourite' format I was using pre-pandemic. I'm not sure why I stopped as I found it a useful way to focus my thoughts on what I had been reading. H is for Hawk is part nature writing, … Continue reading H is For Hawk | Helen Macdonald #GBRnonfiction
The very first thing I want to know is how does Emily pronounce her middle name? Does she say it as it looks, 'saint john', or does she use the English pronunciation 'sinjin'? I have no idea, or any good reason, why it has taken me so long to get around to reading this terrific … Continue reading Station Eleven | Emily St. John Mandel #CANfiction
I learnt something new this weekend. Whilst listening to a podcast with David Mitchell about his latest book, Utopia Avenue, he was asked about a not-yet-published book, called From Me Flows What You Call Time. It turns out this is a book he was invited to write by artist Katie Paterson for her Future Library … Continue reading The Future Library Project | Katie Paterson #SCOartist
Smile and Sisters have been two very popular books at work with 11-14 year old girls. Now I see why. Raina Telgemeier has created two very personal, engaging stories from two significant events in her pre-teen years. Smile details her rather horrific orthodontic work, while Sisters not only features her relationship with her younger sister, … Continue reading Smile & Sisters by Raina Telgemeier
Dark Emu Black Seeds challenges the orthodoxy of how Australia was settled and what the settlers actually saw when they arrived. To the victor goes the spoils...as well as the right to write history their way. Reading E.H. Carr's What is History? during my first year at Uni was the first time I had cause … Continue reading Dark Emu Black Seeds: Agriculture or Accident? by Bruce Pascoe
Sometimes the perfect book lands on your doorstep at exactly the right time. This past month or so has been pretty ordinary. The loss of a much loved family member to cancer has left us all exhausted and numb. I'm sure many of you know the drill we've been through lately. The shock, followed by … Continue reading The Murderer’s Ape | Jakob Wegelius
This slim, stylish short story has got under my skin. I wasn't really expecting it to - before, during or immediately after reading it. But somehow, two days later, Springtime has subtly tiptoed into my imagination and opened up a whole host of possibilities. The power of de Krestser's story is in her descriptions and … Continue reading Springtime: A Ghost Story | Michelle de Kretser #AUSnovella
So, yes. I am a woman of a certain age. I don't quite know how I got to this age so quickly. I still think of this age as being my mother's age, not mine. Nevertheless, here we are. For the past couple of years I have been in the over 45 age bracket! Me! … Continue reading You’re Still Hot To Me | Jean Kittson #AWWnonfiction
For the first time in a very long time, two Christmas books have made this year's CBCA shortlist. Little Dog and the Christmas Wish by Corinne Fenton and Robin Cowcher is shortlisted for the Crichton Award for New Illustrators.Tea and Sugar Christmas by Jane Jolly and Robert Ingpen is shortlisted for the Eve Pownall Award … Continue reading Christmas comes to the CBCA
One of the things I love about the new Stella Prize is that it encourages me to read authors & books that I might otherwise overlook.Heat and Light had slipped under my radar last year, but when it was shortlisted I did a little research and found some very interesting reviews.I dived in with great … Continue reading Heat and Light by Ellen Van Neerven
One of the many pleasures of being a bookseller, is meeting the authors and attending their book launches. I've known about this little gem based on real life events in Albury, NSW for a while now.Loretta lives locally and a year or so ago, she popped into our bookshop to discuss publication options and, eventually, … Continue reading Stand Up and Cheer by Loretta Re
Is it history, is it fiction, is it memoir?As it turns out, Euphoria is a little bit of each. Euphoria is a story loosely based on the life of Margaret Mead. And when I say, life, I actually mean one small section of her life.And when I say loosely, I mean very! King writes about … Continue reading Euphoria by Lily King
Another day; another verse novel. This time set in Queenland with more of a YA feel to it.Gap won the 2013 Queensland Literary Award for Jessen as Best Emerging Author.A few years ago I would never have thought that verse novels were my thing. But thanks to some fabulous Aussie children's writers like Steven Herrick … Continue reading Gap by Rebecca Jessen
Ahhhhh! The sigh of satisfaction after finishing an extraordinary, quirky, thought-provoking book is a blissful sound indeed! At the start I had no expections for Ceridwen Dovey's Only the Animals. My aversion to talking animal stories is well documented! The cover also intrigued & repelled in equal measure. And for the first 2-3 stories I … Continue reading Only the Animals | Ceridwen Dovey
Nora Webster was the book that gave me back my reading mojo, as well as being the book I read during the Dewey 24 hour readathon last weekend. Nora is a gentle, insightful interior journey. Told entirely through Nora's eyes, we experience her feelings of grief and loss after the death of her husband. We … Continue reading Nora Webster by Colm Tóibin
bronasbooks.com 