That Veronica and I were given keys and told to come early on a frozen Saturday in April to open the school for the Our Town auditions was proof of our reliability. I was in desperate need of some comfort and joy in my reading life. The past few months my reading has been full … Continue reading Tom Lake | Ann Patchett
beautiful town. 2010 My mother had a book she liked to read to me as a child. She must have discovered somewhere that it's good to educate your child. She must have encountered that fact amongst a haze of other facts at the time. She might have once seen a mother and daughter on a … Continue reading Nothing Special | Nicole Flattery
When the Moon rose in the Third Northern Hall I went to the Ninth Vestibule to witness the joining of Three Tides. This is something that happens only every eight years. I'm really not sure how I can write a review for this story that will do the reading experience justice. Piranesi was the book … Continue reading Piranesi | Susanna Clarke
There are lots of ways to start a story, but this begins with a chicken. One of the many strings to Risbridger's bow, is food writer. She has written a children's book, edited a poetry anthology as well as numerous other journalistic efforts, but food writing seems to be the things she keeps going back … Continue reading Midnight Chicken | Ella Risbridger
My mother was blue, a pale blue mixed with the colour of ashes. I find myself drawn to memoirs that dive deep into difficult, complicated mother-daughter relationships. It's a dynamic fraught with push me/pull me tensions. Tensions that seem to only evolve with time. Is it possible to work them out? Come to terms with … Continue reading Nothing Holds Back the Night | Delphine de Vigan
In the mornings after breakfast I walk past a small marble plaque propped against the high wall flanking the road. The short stories in Jhumpa Lahiri's Whereabouts were originally written in Italian. Lahiri then translated them into English. Lahiri moved from the US to Italy in 2011 with her husband and two children. They live … Continue reading Whereabouts | Jhumpa Lahiri
Have you ever wondered how many times a day you say thank you? This week I have been determined to catch up on some of my outstanding book reviews. Don't judge me for focusing on the easier, slimmer ones! I promise I will one day soon, very soon, write up my thoughts on The Pea … Continue reading Gratitude | Delphine de Vigan
It had stopped raining. Okay, I'm now a Niall Williams convert. This is Happiness is a delight of a book, from start to finish. Full of wonderful, poignant story-telling and rich, humorous characterisation. It is proudly Irish, with glorious descriptions of the weather and the matter-of-fact grimness and poverty of everyday life in County Clare … Continue reading This is Happiness | Niall Williams
Marie Curie is one of my personal heroes. Ever since my Year 12 science depth-study on her, (which incidentally helped me to top the class and receive my one and only first-in-class medal) I have been constantly drawn to her story. As part of my depth-study research, I read Ève Curie's bio about her mother, … Continue reading Marie Curie & Her Daughters | Imogen & Isobel Greenberg
In the year of our Lord 1894, I became an outlaw. What a hoot! Outlawed by Anna North was the perfect summer holiday book. Light and easy to read, with an interesting premise and an uncomplicated storyline. And a great cover! The story opens in late 19th-century America, though not quite the Old West we … Continue reading Outlawed | Anna North
I had no idea that Bill Hayes was working on another scenes of New York book that would focus on the March-April Covid-19 lockdown of 2020. If I'd known, I may have experienced fewer angsty days of my own, knowing that Bill was going to somehow make it all right! It’s a little like losing … Continue reading How We Live Now: Scenes from the Pandemic | Bill Hayes
I had no intention of reading Such A Fun Age. The premise sounded mildly appealing/interesting: When Emira is apprehended at a supermarket for 'kidnapping' the white child she's actually babysitting, it sets off an explosive chain of events. Her employer Alix, a feminist blogger with the best of intentions, resolves to make things right. But … Continue reading Such A Fun Age | Kiley Reid #USfiction
I loved both The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns so my hopes were high for Hosseini's latest book. I wasn't disappointed. And the Mountains Echoed is a story of loss and abandonment.Loss of family, country, face, life, health, identity, home and memory are experienced by different characters at different times. This loss informs … Continue reading And the Mountains Echoed | Khaled Hosseini
I never thought I would find myself regaling my family and friends with tales of apple seeds, tulip mania and the merits of marijuana around the dinner table. I never thought I would chat with friends over a glass of wine about Prohibition, cider production and Johnny Appleseed. The Botany of Desire: A Plant's-Eye View … Continue reading The Botany of Desire | Michael Pollan
Last week I attended a night of Ideas at the House with Michael Pollan - the venue Sydney's beautiful Opera House - the topic 'How to Eat'. In preparation I read In Defence of Food, started The Botany of Desire and checked out his website. Thanks to my research I didn't really learn anything new … Continue reading Michael Pollan on How to Eat
This Reading Life 