Tommy had intended to spend the last night at the old house sweating through three shirts and four pairs of underwear. I cannot remember the last time I devoured a book in a weekend. However, Michael Thompson has written an engaging, easy-to-read story with a fascinating premise that I couldn't put down. How To Be … Continue reading How To Be Remembered | Michael Thompson #AUSfiction
When I told Julian that I would write this book, the first intention was that it should be about my grandparents, but we agreed that it should also be an exploration of Dominic's immediate forebears to discover what influences had made him what he was, and above all to discover what in fact he was. … Continue reading A Difficult Young Man | Martin Boyd #AUSfiction
Before he left the family, my father worked as a sales representative for a pharmaceutical company. He travelled from chemist to chemist with samples of pills and lotions and pastes in the back of his Valiant station wagon. The best sales representatives visited modern chemists in the city and suburbs. My father had to drive … Continue reading Before He Left the Family | Carrie Tiffany #AUSshortstory
I would like to be a regular Quarterly Essay reader. Every time I read one, I admire the format and find the content fascinating, challenging or enlightening. It's a fairly quick and easy way to absorb a current topic, yet I rarely prioritise them in my reading schedule. Insert shrug. Although it looks like it … Continue reading Lone Wolf: Albanese and the New Politics: Quarterly Essay 88 | Katharine Murphy
Voss Readalong November 2022 Opening Lines: "There is a man here, miss, asking for your uncle," said Rose. And stood breathing. I love this opening. I can just see Rose, the hard-working, impatient, put-upon servant being asked to do something she doesn't normally have to do on a Sunday, and doing it huffily and with … Continue reading Voss | Patrick White #ReadtheNobels
Tonight’s Socceroo themed Opera House Not my usual post I know, but since 2005 thanks to Mr Books, B25 & B22 football has been a huge part of my life. This past week I’ve had to live with some tired, grumpy but ultimately very happy early morning World Cup viewers. At 6am AEST the Socceroos … Continue reading Living on a dream
Accidentally Kelly St illustrated by Briony Stewart with lyrics by Tim O’Connor from Frente! For people of a certain age, or perhaps people who had young children in 1992/93, you will remember the bubbly, joyful, effervescent pop group Frente! bouncing around our screens in colourful clothes, hair rollers and pearls. Accidentally Kelly Street was the … Continue reading A few Australian children’s books to finish off AusReading Month 2022
I confess I had not heard of the Olga Masters Short Story Award until yesterday, when I discovered that my friend Ruth Armstrong had won the 2022 prize! Her story, Sandcastles, will be published in Island Magazine in November and will appear on the Olga Masters website early next year. Miriam Webster was the runner-up … Continue reading Olga Masters Short Story Award 2022
Voss Readalong My first week of the Voss Readalong and AusReading Month was rather hectic thanks to a long weekend away. I have managed to keep on top of updating links, but not actually reading many of the posts. As this week settles back into normal, I promise to visit you all (see MASTERPOST for … Continue reading Voss Readalong – Week 2
Epigraph: In the economy of Nature nothing is ever lost. Gene Stratton-Porter The end of this quote from Stratton-Porter's Jesus of the Emerald (1923) is, "I cannot believe that the soul of man shall prove the one exception." I'm not sure where Arnott stands on the whole idea of souls, but it is clear that … Continue reading Limberlost | Robbie Arnott #AUSfiction
The Sun Walks Down | Fiona McFarlane (2022) The boy met a god by the hollow tree. ‘Go away,’ said the boy, and the god, formless, passes on in the direction of the red hill. I believe I have just read my favourite and best book of 2022. Although I am a little reluctant to … Continue reading The Sun Walks Down | Fiona McFarlane #AWWfiction
It’s that time of year again! Time to think about how many Australian books and authors you can read during the month of November for AusReading Month. Now in it’s 10th year, AusReading Month is a chance to celebrate all the things we love about Australian literature. Back in 2013, I was looking for an … Continue reading AusReading Month 2022 is coming soon…
As I've been reading so many chunksters this year, novellas have proven to be the perfect inbetween palate cleansers. The current ones are both from 2022 and both new releases. One is from Australia and one is from Pakistani writer Mohsin Hamid (on his website he says that he now spends his time between Lahore, … Continue reading #MiniReviews – the Novella edition
1950 "I'm your brother," he said, holding his cap in both hands. Book two of the Edith Trilogy, Dark Palace finished as the aftermath of WWII gave birth to the brand new United Nations. Book three, Cold Light sees us jumping forward four years to Canberra, Australia. 1950's Canberra. A city that was only conceived … Continue reading Cold Light | Frank Moorhouse #EdithReadalong
[Kumquat] Photo by Tina Xinia on Unsplash During Poetry Month, I find that poems pop up everywhere. In chapter 10 (Furnishing the Capitol) of Cold Light by Frank Moorhouse, Edith, our charming but ageing protagonist recites a couple of stanzas of John Shaw Neilson's poem, The Orange Tree. She is inspired to do so after eating a cumquat … Continue reading The Orange Tree | John Shaw Neilson #poetrymonth
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