"Well, there’s so much to read, and I’m so far behind." Wallace Stegner
Marley was dead, to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about it. The register of his burial was signed by clergyman, the clerk, the undertaker, and the chief mourner. Scrooge signed it. Adam Burgess has begun a new reading practice that he is calling the Contemplative Reading Project. In many ways it corresponds very … Continue reading A Christmas Carol | Charles Dickens #ALiteraryChristmas
In October there were yellow trees. Then the clocks went back the hour and the long November winds came in and blew, and stripped the trees bare. Early in 2022 I read Small Things Like These for the first time. Sadly I was in a bleak blogging phase at the time and all I could … Continue reading Small Things Like These | Claire Keegan
Some people HAVE to finish every single book they start. I'm looking at Mr Books here! I used to be like that, but that was before I started working in a bookshop. In fact, I can think of only two books I bailed on pre-bookshop. One was Gillian Mears' Grass Sister, which was given to … Continue reading #MiniReviews – the DNF edition
Geneva, on the night of October 15, in the year of 1931...Edith and her friend, Jeanne, found themselves in the dining room of the Hôtel des Bergues - Geneva's best - wining and dining in a grand, exuberant, and stately manner. One of the things I fear most when reading a series is the lengthy recap. In … Continue reading Dark Palace | Frank Moorhouse #EdithReadalong
Chapter 1: How Edith Campbell Berry Ate Six Courses and Practised the Seven Ways in the Dining Car on the Train from Paris to Geneva On the train from Paris to Geneva, Edith Campbell Berry, at twenty-six, having heard the gong, made her way to the first sitting and her first lunch in a railway … Continue reading Grand Days | Frank Moorhouse #EdithReadalong
There was a time, and it was many years ago now, when I had to stay in hospital for almost nine weeks. When planning my summer holiday reading, I wanted a mix of books. I wanted short stories, I wanted some Australian authors, particularly Gen IV Australian Women Writers, I wanted a Japanese book, a … Continue reading My Name is Lucy Barton | Elizabeth Strout
*Spoiler alert* 'But I put it to you, my lord, that prize-money is of essential importance to the navy. The possibility o, however remote, of making a fortune by some brilliant stroke is an unparalleled spur to the diligence, the activity, and the unremitting attention of every man afloat.' So says Sir Joseph Blaine, the … Continue reading HMS Surprise | Patrick O’Brian #Readalong
I am standing next to Bridie and she is singing too loudly. Amanda Lohrey recently won her first Miles Franklin Award for her novel, The Labyrinth. Ever since the announcement, her short story essay in Secrets (1997) has been on my mind. Last weekend, I sat down to reread it. Secrets came into my possession … Continue reading The Clear Voice Suddenly Singing | Amanda Lohrey #AWWessay
No one who had ever seen Catherine Morland in her infancy, would have supposed her born to be a heroine. I was thrilled when Adam announced that he was planning to reinstate his Austen in August reading event. I have reread all my Austen's multiple times, of course, but I have more than one edition … Continue reading The Annotated Northanger Abbey | Jane Austen & David M. Shapard #CCspin
At first dawn the swathes of rain drifting eastwards across the Channel parted long enough to show that the chase had altered course. Post Captain begins with peace being declared. This is a not necessarily the happy occasion the modern reader might think it is. As Jack explains to an uncomprehending Stephen, It's the others … Continue reading Post Captain | Patrick O’Brian #Readalong
When I started reading Patrick O'Brian's Master and Commander in the first week of January, it was almost 17 years to the day, since I had read it for the very first time. During my first 2004 read, I found the nautical terminology challenging. However, by the time I had finished all 20 and a … Continue reading Master & Commander | Patrick O’Brian #Readalong
When the Classics Club originally asked this question in August 2012, I waffled on a bit about my love for all things Jane Austen, but eventually I came to the conclusion that my favourite classic of all time was Persuasion by Jane Austen. Eight years later, it is hard to counter this. Persuasion is a story … Continue reading My Favourite & Best Classics
Goodness! What a read. Or more accurately, a reread. I bought my Penguin edition of One Hundred Years of Solitude on the 3rd April 1996 in Sydney. At a guess, it must have been the Easter school holidays and I was visiting my sister, who lived in Coogee, for a few days. I cannot remember … Continue reading One Hundred Years of Solitude | Gabriel Garcia Márquez #NobelPrize
Photo by LAUREN GRAY on UnsplashShelf Life is a new personal meme to help me in my ongoing attempt to declutter my bookshelves.It's more than a Marie Condo of my books though.It's aim is to reflect, honour and let go as many books as possible.Most likely, in the next 12 months or so, Mr Books … Continue reading Shelf Life #1
The Artsy Reader Girl is the new host of the weekly meme Top Ten Tuesday. Each week she nominates a topic to encourage those of us who love a good list to get all listy. This week it's all about Books I Could Re-Read ForeverMy Top Ten Re-Reads: Re-reading is something I've done ALL my life. … Continue reading Re-Read Forever
This Reading Life 