"Well, there’s so much to read, and I’m so far behind." Wallace Stegner
From the window of a hotel room in Paris: a view of rooftops, the brown river, a cobblestoned street, one corner of a scaffolded, burnt-out church. It is a morning in March 2020 and the air holds a breath of warmth. The sky is a pale, hopeful blue. I love it when a book takes … Continue reading The Sitter | Angela O’Keeffe
We both sat up in bed. 'What was that?' ‘I think it was a motorbike starting up,’ I said, unsure exactly what sort of sound had ended my dreaming. ‘It sounded like a gun to me,’ said Jan. I didn't mean for Womerah Lane: Lives and Landscapes to take me over a year to read, … Continue reading Womerah Lane: Lives and Landscapes | Tom Carment
My name is Alison Porter and I began my life, in 1958, in Bridport, Dorset. My parents had grown up in Dorset, and their parents before them. My dad worked in the local bank and my mum did repairs and alterations for a nearby dressmaker. My brother, Michael, was four years older than me. We … Continue reading Alison | Lizzy Stewart #GraphicNovel
Throughout Poetry Month I am on the lookout for serendiptious poetic moments in my reading and my daily life. It's rather surprising how and where a poem will suddenly present itself. Perhaps not surprising to find a poet or a poem in a book, but a recent visit to The White Rabbit Gallery threw up … Continue reading Bao Guang | Roses Made From Water #poetry
The abandoned hotel comes into view. Derelict, windswept. Who is Mette Jakobsen and how is it I have never heard of her before? In 2011 she wrote The Vanishing Act about a young girl growing up on a small snow covered island. In October of the same year, a brief story called The Island appeared … Continue reading The Wingmaker | Mette Jakobsen #AWW
I once told you, Jeffers, about the time I met the devil on a train leaving Paris, and about how after that meeting the evil that usually lies undisturbed beneath the surface of things rose up and disgorged itself over every part of life. Second Place was my very first Rachel Cusk. Her work has … Continue reading Second Place | Rachel Cusk #GBRfiction
Mr Books and I recently enjoyed a roadtrip through rural Victoria and NSW to visit relatives we hadn't seen for over a year. The journey between Echuca and Rutherglen allowed us to see two of the silo art installations popping up in various country towns across the two states in recent years. Jimmy Dvate has … Continue reading Parrots | Rex Ingamells #1936Club
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
Sometimes you read a book, or discover an author, that opens up a new world to you. Or a world that you knew existed, but one that doesn't really intersect very often with your own every day, ordinary life. A Month in Siena by Hisham Matar was one such book and one such author. It's … Continue reading A Month in Siena | Hisham Matar #NonFiction
Mirka & Georges: A Culinary Affair is a beautiful book and hard to define. Is it an art book? Is it a biography? Or is it a recipe book? I guess the subtitle that Harding & Morgan chose gives us a clue to their intentions - that food is the central idea around which the … Continue reading Mirka & Georges: A Culinary Affair by Lesley Harding & Kendrah Morgan
Sometimes a reading experience is not as straight forward as you might first think. There are some books that demand more of the reader. The Death of Noah Glass by Gail Jones was one of those books for me. I feel a little guilty about confessing that this was my first Gail Jones. One of … Continue reading The Death of Noah Glass | Gail Jones #AWW
April is #Zoladdiction month and this year Fanda is encouraging us to find the art in Zola's writing. This year I'm reading La Curee (The Kill) which is set in Paris during the mid 1860's at the height of the Haussmannisation of Paris. Napoleon III, the self-styled Emperor of the Second Empire 'pursued a policy … Continue reading #ZolaStyle – The Bois de Boulogne in La Curee
I can't believe that readers past and present have complained about the (lengthy) Waterloo scenes in Les Miserables!Actually, yes I can.Battle scenes are not for everyone. Jumping back in time and breaking the narrative flow also annoys many readers. The sudden appearance of the writer in the story can also disconcert. But this is Victor … Continue reading The Battle of Waterloo the Victor Hugo Way
Zoladdiction with Fanda @Classiclit is underway once again.For all the details please check out her Masterpost, but it's pretty simple really:read and enjoy all things Zola during the month of April.I've now read three Zola's thanks to Fanda and Zoladdiction.Nana was my first experience with Zola. It left me reeling and wanting more.Germinal was so good … Continue reading Zoladdiction 2018
I had a rather unexpected, almost obsessive response to Jonathan Jones' installation at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney last year. It touched me in ways that I'm still finding hard to catch and define. My fascination kicked in at several levels: the fire the architecture the history the cultural aspect the loss the healing the … Continue reading barrangal dyara (skin and bones) Jonathan Jones
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