Everything Feels Like the End of the World | Else Fitzgerald #AWWshortstories

16 January 202316 January 2023 ~ Brona's Books ~ 10 Comments

We drove home along the forest road, the trees like exposed bones in the headlights, trunks bending in over the gravel track. From the first story in the collection, 'River' Everything Feels Like the End of the World is a speculative fiction short story collection 'exploring possible futures in an Australia not so different from … Continue reading Everything Feels Like the End of the World | Else Fitzgerald #AWWshortstories

Haven | Emma Donoghue #BookReview

24 September 202224 September 2022 ~ Brona's Books ~ 18 Comments

Trian's stomach growls. He's not twenty yet, still growing, and always hungry. When I first heard about Emma Donoghue's book, Haven, I thought it would not be for me. Even though it was historical fiction, it was three monks alone on an island in Ireland. The religious life holds very little interest for me, so … Continue reading Haven | Emma Donoghue #BookReview

All Summer in a Day | Ray Bradbury #USAshortstory

9 March 20229 March 2022 ~ Brona's Books ~ 23 Comments

"Ready ?""Ready.""Now ?""Soon.""Do the scientists really know? Will it happen today, will it ?" First published on the 1st March 1954, Ray Bradbury's short story came to my attention today thanks to a chat on our local ABC radio morning show. One of the presenters remembered a story she read as a child about a … Continue reading All Summer in a Day | Ray Bradbury #USAshortstory

The Living Sea of Waking Dreams | Richard Flanagan #AUSfiction

10 December 202025 May 2021 ~ Brona's Books ~ 8 Comments

I know there is a lot of love for The Living Sea in Waking Dreams out there already. It's not that I didn't love it, or even admire what Flanagan was trying to achieve, but it's not easy to read a book where you feel like you're being smashed over the head, not just with … Continue reading The Living Sea of Waking Dreams | Richard Flanagan #AUSfiction

The Last Migration | Charlotte McConaghy #AWWfiction

20 November 202017 October 2021 ~ Brona's Books ~ 14 Comments

Charlotte McConaghy has written an intense, emotional story about the effects of mass extinction in The Last Migration. I don't normally quote the back blurb of the book, but in this case it so aptly describes the book, I'm really not sure I can top it. The Last Migration is a wild, gripping and … Continue reading The Last Migration | Charlotte McConaghy #AWWfiction

The End of the World is Bigger than Love | Davina Bell #AWW

14 July 20207 September 2021 ~ Brona's Books ~ 3 Comments

I recently read an interview with Ann Patchett where see was asked about how hard it was to scrap a piece of writing that wasn't working, and to start again. The interviewer thought it might be like a little death to let go a hard-won piece of writing, but Patchett was more pragmatic. Her reply … Continue reading The End of the World is Bigger than Love | Davina Bell #AWW

The Rain Heron | Robbie Arnott #AUSfiction

10 June 202026 September 2021 ~ Brona's Books ~ 6 Comments

Thank goodness for Robbie. After a spate of so-so books and DNF's, I finally landed on this beautifully imagined, eco-dystopian tour de force from my new favourite contemporary Australian writer. My love affair with Arnott started last year, when I read his debut novel, Flames. This is a little of what I had to say … Continue reading The Rain Heron | Robbie Arnott #AUSfiction

Fathoms: The World in the Whale | Rebecca Giggs #AWWnonfiction

7 May 202022 December 2021 ~ Brona's Books ~ 7 Comments

Fathoms: The World in the Whale was a recent binge read. The weather had turned suddenly cold and it was bleak outside. Curling up on the lounge with a throw rug and a good book was the only logical response. Rebecca Giggs was the perfect companion for such a session - engaging, personable and … Continue reading Fathoms: The World in the Whale | Rebecca Giggs #AWWnonfiction

City of Trees by Sophie Cunningham

5 August 201925 May 2021 ~ Brona's Books ~ 2 Comments

City of Trees: Essays on Life, Death and the Need for a Forest by Sophie Cunningham was one of the books I took on holidays a couple of months ago (along with Richard Powers, The Overstory) to Far North Queensland on the edge of the Daintree Rainforest. Both books seemed very appropriate for the occasion. And except … Continue reading City of Trees by Sophie Cunningham

The Overstory by Richard Powers

5 June 201924 September 2022 ~ Brona's Books ~ 14 Comments

I do love to theme my holiday reads where possible. A recent week long Far North Queensland break in beautiful, sunny Port Douglas on the edge of the Daintree Rainforest, gave me a chance to finally read this year's Pulitzer Prize winning book by Richard Power's The Overstory. (I also packed a book of essays … Continue reading The Overstory by Richard Powers

The End We Start From From by Megan Hunter

4 June 2018 ~ Brona's Books ~ Leave a comment

There is a lot of space in Megan Hunter's The End We Start From. Known as a poet until now, her debut novel is written almost like a poem, but not quite. It's not prose as we know it either. It's fragmentary, somewhere in between.Stark, sparse paragraphs, poetic words, no names, just letters of the … Continue reading The End We Start From From by Megan Hunter

Circle by Jeannie Baker

15 March 2017 ~ Brona's Books ~ 4 Comments

Circle is one of those amazing, gorgeous picture books that I love and adore...right up until the very last page.But that last page does my head in every single time I read it. Before I go into the final page, let me tell you all the reasons why I love and adore the rest of … Continue reading Circle by Jeannie Baker

Children of the New World by Alexander Weinstein

23 February 2017 ~ Brona's Books ~ 2 Comments

Speculative fiction is not usually my cup of tea, but I had heard interesting things about this debut author and his book of short stories.This is part of the rave book blurb from goodreads -AN EXTRAORDINARILY RESONANT AND PROPHETIC COLLECTION OF SPECULATIVE SHORT FICTION FOR OUR TECH-SAVVY ERA BY DEBUT AUTHOR ALEXANDER WEINSTEIN.Children of the … Continue reading Children of the New World by Alexander Weinstein

This Changes Everything by Naomi Klein

16 April 2016 ~ Brona's Books ~ Leave a comment

I started reading This Changes Everything way back when in November 2015 in preparation for Cop21 in Paris. Not that I planned to go or even had any high hopes for the outcomes, but I wanted to have more knowledge about the main issues and catch up on the latest thinking about climate change.I knew this … Continue reading This Changes Everything by Naomi Klein

The Handbook: Surviving & Living With Climate Change by Jane Rawson &James Whitmore

7 March 2016 ~ Brona's Books ~ 2 Comments

Way back when, I picked up a book that changed my life.I think the year was 1989 or 1990 and the book was The Green Consumer Guide by John Elkington & Julia Hailes.In collaboration with the Australian Conservation Foundation and CHOICE magazine, the UK pair had tweeked their best-selling book for an Australian audience.At the … Continue reading The Handbook: Surviving & Living With Climate Change by Jane Rawson &James Whitmore