That day was no different than any other. High school was as cruel as ever. Many teenage stories are ultimately about belonging. It's something we all want, of course - to belong to someone or something, to feel connected to a group, a family, a tribe who makes us feel like we're not alone, like … Continue reading The Color of the Sky is the Shape of the Heart | Chesil #JPNfiction
I know I make my people uncomfortable, and embarrass even those who come to hear me sing. It has been a while since I have read a book that I have underlined as much as I have underlined Kim Scott's Benang. It's up there, for me, with The Pea-Pickers and Moby-Dick as being a slow, … Continue reading Benang: From the Heart | Kim Scott #AUSfiction
I had to remind myself of the exact definition of elegy as I was reading Ayad Akhtar's latest novel, Homeland Elegies: A Novel. In a promotional video on the Little Brown publishing page, he mentioned this book was not only about that longing for the home country that his parent's generation felt, but an elegiac … Continue reading Homeland Elegies | Ayad Akhtar #USAfiction
I'm loving Japanese literature more and more. The modern stuff in particular, appears deceptively simple, but as you read, and for weeks afterwards, you become aware of layers of meaning. The Convenience Store Woman is no exception. On the surface it appears to be a light tale about the life of a young woman who … Continue reading Convenience Store Woman | Sayaka Murata
Following on from my recent post featuring several fabulous Australian junior fiction titles, I thought it was time to venture further afield to see what the rest of the world (or at least the US, UK and Japan) were doing in this field.The Afterwards is a new story by U.K. poet A. F. Harrold, illustrated … Continue reading Junior Fiction – the rest!
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 fell in love with Karen Foxlee's writing in 2014 when I read and loved Ophelia and the Marvellous Boy.A Most Magical Girl confirmed her ability to move me with her words. So much so, that I acquired her YA backlist to read...one day...!So I was thrilled to discover recently that she had a new … Continue reading Lenny’s Book of Everything by Karen Foxlee
I have a vague recollection of seeing the 1984 movie version of The NeverEnding Story in my late teens. It was a bit too juvenile for my sophisticated, desperate-to-be-grown-up self at that time, so other than a shaggy white flying dragon and a boy clinging to its neck, I remember nothing. And felt no need to … Continue reading The Neverending Story by Michael Ende
My first experience with Yates was way back in 2012 when I read Young Hearts Crying. It was so depressing, I haven't been able to try another one until now!I love the covers that Vintage have selected for all their Yates books, they capture the melancholy and dissatisfaction that seems to infect all of his … Continue reading Cold Spring Harbor by Richard Yates
After returning home from our trip to Japan, I wasn't ready to let it go, so when I finished Memoirs of a Geisha, I turned straight to this glorious historical fiction set in Korea and Japan for solace. Not that Pachinko was a comforting read as such. There was tragedy, sadness, grief, loss and war. … Continue reading Pachinko | Min Jin Lee
I like to think that I have taken my 'what to read whilst travelling' choices to an inspired level of brilliance, but I really outdid myself with our recent trip to Japan. Reading Murakami in Japan now feels like the ONLY place to read Murakami!Not only does the usual Murakami weirdness make sense when you're … Continue reading Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
The Shepherd's Hut is Tim Winton's much anticipated latest novel. I am a fan, but with reservations. I loved Cloudstreet and Dirt Music but hated The Riders (it has the dubious honour of being one of my very first DNF books). Breath was good but a bit blokey and Eyrie was okay, but a bit … Continue reading The Shepherd’s Hut By Tim Winton
The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree has been attracting my attention for several months now, however it took its recent longlisting for this year's Stella Prize to finally make me pick it up. I'm nothing but a Stella groupie!The cover alone might have been enticement enough (a collage of three of Azar's art works), but … Continue reading The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree by Shokoofeh Azar
Basically I wanted to see what all the fuss was about.I knew that Kaur was an Instapoet success with millions of followers which had spawned two books of poetry and invitations to numerous writer's festivals around the world. I knew she appealed to young people and that she was single-handedly turning them onto poetry. Our … Continue reading The Sun and Her Flowers by Rupi Kaur
The Guggenheim Mystery is the follow up story to Siobhan Dowd's 2007 The London Eye Mystery. Dowd sadly died of cancer at the end of 2007. She had been contracted to write two Ted Spark mysteries, but other than selecting the title of book two, she died before planning any of it.The Siobhan Dowd Trust (established … Continue reading The Guggenheim Mystery by Robin Stevens
bronasbooks.com 