Last week I indulged in a little walk down the red carpet with Jane Austen called Austen on Screen. I quickly realised it was going to take more than one post to adequately explore my love affair with Austen on the screen. The Pride and Prejudice adaptations were so numerous and I found I had … Continue reading Austen on Screen Take 2
There are so many versions of Jane Austen's books available to watch on the big and little screen, that it would take more viewing time than I currently have to do justice to all of them. But over the years, I've given it my best shot! Today's post is all about Pride and Prejudice and … Continue reading Austen on Screen
The Child in Time was my latest book club read and one of McEwan's earlier works that I had yet to read. For this particular book club gathering we agreed to extend the meeting to include a viewing of the BBC movie starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Kelly Macdonald. I thought it might be interesting to do … Continue reading The Child in Time by Ian McEwan
Lady Susan is an epistolary novel written around 1794 when Austen was in her late teens (although it was not published until 1871).Lady Susan, herself, is an amoral, self-serving coquette, but it's hard not to love her just a little bit. She has a happy knack of twisting the facts to suit herself and an … Continue reading Lady Susan by Jane Austen
Last week Mr Books and I went to the movies for the first time this year!I know! How did that happen? How can our life be so busy that we don't make time to go the movies anymore? Surely having adult children living at home means less work and running round? And more to time … Continue reading The Ministry of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy
Published posthumously in 2015, Our Souls At Night is a beautiful, gentle love story between two elderly neighbours, who bravely decide to seek comfort in the arms of each other every night rather than being sleepless and alone.I first came across this book thanks to the rave reviews on our ABC's Bookclub program last month. … Continue reading Our Souls At Night by Kent Haruf
Usually, I prefer to read the book before I see the movie, but in this case, our long hot summer got the better of my good intentions.I recently escaped the heat by watching Brooklyn and Carol back to back in our local cinema.Both movies were fabulous for very different reasons and I came away determined to … Continue reading Carol by Patricia Highsmith
Usually, I prefer to read the book before I see the movie, but in this case our hot summer weather beat me to the punch. Last weekend was hot, humid and very unpleasant. My family of boys were absorbed by all things pre-season soccer, so I escaped the heat and the testosterone and sought out … Continue reading Brooklyn by Colm Tóibin
Corinne is unable to host the Gone With the Wind discussion for chapters 21-30, so I have put up my hand to help out. I've been loving my reread of GWTW & enjoying the group discussions immensely, so I was keen to ensure the group had somewhere to touch base until Corinne could regroup on … Continue reading Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (chapter check-in)
Reading Vera Brittain's memoir about her years as a VAD nurse during WW1 was a far more intense and bittersweet experience than I first anticipated. I have tried to write this review several times this week but I've struggled to find the right tone. Testament of Youth is a sombre book and my attempted … Continue reading Testament of Youth | Vera Brittain
In preparation for rereading A Christmas Carol I thought I'd like to see a couple of movie adaptations as well. Somehow I've managed to reach my mid-40's without ever seeing one!Last night we watch Scrooged (1988) starring Bill Murray.Scrooged portrays a modern day Scrooge as a young, successful but ruthless TV executive.Made in the "greed … Continue reading Scrooged – the Movie
I decided to reread S&S for this year's Austen in August.To give my reread structure & direction I decided to compare Jane Austen's Sense & Sensibility with some of it's adaptations and movies.This post will focus on the original novel (1811), the Emma Thompson movie (1995) & Joanna Trollope's modern interpretation (2013).The first, very obvious, big … Continue reading Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
I've enjoyed highlighting and remembering all the Australian classics I've read over the years in preparation for November's AusReading Month.And Flashback Friday has been a great motivator to get me to do one a week at least - thanks Lisa.This weeks FF needs no introduction...well not in Australia anyway.Not only is Picnic At Hanging Rock … Continue reading Picnic At Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay
This weeks Friday Flashback is a modern day classic that regularly features on school reading lists and 'must-read' Australian books lists.It won the CBCA award for older readers back in 1981.And it was made into a movie in 1986 (see below).Ruth Park wrote novels for adults and children. She was born in New Zealand but moved to Australia when … Continue reading Playing Beatie Bow by Ruth Park
I put off reading The Hunger Games for most of 2009. The blurb on the back was challenging - a reality TV show where all the teenagers had to kill each other off! I don't think so. But then my stepson got the book for Christmas - he devoured it in 2 days. My husband … Continue reading The Hunger Games | Suzanne Collins
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