"Well, there’s so much to read, and I’m so far behind." Wallace Stegner
A long long time ago, when I was a little chick, not even a chick but a pink and naked thing, a scar a scrap a scrape fallen on roots and wriggling, when I was catching my death and all I knew of sky was the feel of feathers above me, the belly of black … Continue reading The Axeman’s Carnival | Catherine Chidgey
One of the online sites that came up when I duck, duck, go'd this title, suggested She and Her Cat was one of the five translated books this season that could soothe a battered soul. My soul was not feeling particularly battered (except for this seemingly endless La Niña rain!) but I definitely felt soothed … Continue reading She and Her Cat | Makoto Shinkai & Naruki Nagakawa #JPNshortstories
Last month I feature a few of the prayer/poems from Carmen Bernos de Gasztold's collection called Prayers From the Ark. These simple French poems had been rediscovered by Rumer Godden and then translated into English during the 1960's. The second collection of poems, The Creatures' Choir (1965), errs more on the side of poetry than prayers. … Continue reading The Creatures’ Choir | Carmen Bernos De Gasztold #poetry
No lights at the row, no TV. The inside of my fridge is warm already in the fuggy night. All over the estate, the sound of the Park’s ute engines charging phones and batteries. I get my Holden going to give my mobile a boost too. What a mad, mad ride Laura Jean McKay takes … Continue reading The Animals in That Country | Laura Jean McKay #AWWfiction
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
If Cats Disappeared from the World is an odd little book. I say odd because I'm not quite sure how I'm going to review it best.Obviously, it has a cute cover designed to attract the attention of any cat lover (me) and a title that would greatly concern said cat lover. I'm also a fan … Continue reading If Cats Disappeared from the World by Genki Kawamura
The run into Christmas and the silly season, leaves me tired, frazzled and depleted most years. This year I'm attempting a calmer, kinder approach. As a first line of defence I started interspersing junior fiction reads amongst my regular reads several weeks ago. I've been saving all the interesting looking ones for months now, so … Continue reading Australian Junior Fiction Catch Up
I delightful batch of dog stories have turned up at work this month. I loved all three for different reasons, but my favourite of the batch was The Tales of Mr Walker by Jess Black.Based on a true story, Mr Walker is a delightful illustrated chapter book about the Labrador Ambassador at the Park Hyatt … Continue reading Dog Stories
If I ever had any doubts about whether I was a cat person or not, The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa decided me! I defy even the most hard-hearted, adamant cat-denier to not be affected by the relationship between Nana (so named because of his tail that curled like a number 7) and his … Continue reading The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa
You know you're in for a real treat when the book you pick up starts with a letter from Alan Bennett.The Secret Life of Cows by Rosamund Young was first published in 2003 and is a lovely little book full of anecdotes about the cows (and hens, pigs and sheep) on her farm, Kite's Nest … Continue reading The Secret Life of Cows by Rosamund Young
Once Upon A Rhinoceros is my kind of picture book.As a child I dreamed of setting off into the big, wide world to explore. I've always wanted to see what there was to be seen. I couldn't wait to be grown up so that I could finally just go.Small rhinoceros has the very same dream; she … Continue reading Once Upon A Small Rhinoceros by Meg McKinlay
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
One of my recent #readathon reads was the delightfully eccentric Yours Sincerely, Giraffe by Megumi Isawa (ranslated by Cathy Hirano). When my eyes started to get tired and words began to blur on the page, the simple but fun illustrations from Jun Takabatake were just the eye candy I needed. The premise of the story … Continue reading Yours Sincerely, Giraffe | Megumi Iwasa
Kelly DiPucchio has won me over - head, heart and soul - with her two enchanting picture books about Gaston and Antoinette. They ooze charm, cuteness (but don't tell them!) and good humour.Antoinette continues the very chic tale, that began with Gaston, about these two adorably diverse dog families from Paris. Fee-fe, Foo-fo, Ohh-la-la and … Continue reading Antoinette by Kelly diPucchio
I love this series of early readers so very, very much.It's clever. It's fun. And it's a little subversive. It also follows the golden rule that a truly great, entertaining children's book is a truly great, entertaining book for adults as well.Apocalypse Meow is the fourth book in Blabey's Bad Guys series.We last saw our … Continue reading The Bad Guys Episode 4 Apocalypse Meow by Aaron Blabey
This Reading Life 