It was while my reading group was discussing Niall Williams' This is happiness that a certain penny finally dropped, and it happened like this. My reading group's practice is to start our meetings with each of us sharing our first impressions of the chosen book. The first three at this meeting said they had trouble … Continue reading Niall Williams, This is happiness (#BookReview)
Monday musings on Australian literature: First Nations children’s picture books
NAIDOC Week 2026 started yesterday, and as has become my tradition, I am devoting my NAIDOC Week Monday Musings to celebrating First Nations writers in some way. Each year has a theme, and for 2026 it is "50 Years Deadly", celebrating five decades in which NAIDOC Week has celebrated the voices of First Nations communities. … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: First Nations children’s picture books
Six degrees of separation, FROM Yesteryear TO …
Tomorrow, July 5, is the start of this year's NAIDOC Week in Australia. This year's theme is 50 Years of Deadly, commemorating 50 years of NAIDOC, but I'll do more on that in my traditional NAIDOC Week Monday Musings. Meanwhile, I have decided to dedicate this month's #SixDegrees to First Nations writing. If you don't … Continue reading Six degrees of separation, FROM Yesteryear TO …
ACT Literary Awards 2026
Last night, I attended the presentation of the ACT Literary Awards (as I have attended for the last few years). These awards are made by Marion (previously, the ACT Writers Centre), and were again emceed by CEO, Katy Mutton, and Board Chair, Emma Batchelor. The dress code was "Smart Casual to Creative Cocktail Attire". Ms … Continue reading ACT Literary Awards 2026
Monday musing on Australian literature: A view from 1946
A few years ago, I wrote several Monday Musings posts about Australian literature from the 1920s to the 1940s, including one titled A view from 1930. It looked at the ideas of two critics of the time, HM Green and Nettie Palmer. Today, I am sharing some ideas presented in one article written in 1946 … Continue reading Monday musing on Australian literature: A view from 1946
Claire Keegan, Antarctica (#BookReview)
I promised in my post on Claire Keegan's novella Small things like these, that a review of Antarctica would be coming soon, and I like to keep my promises, so here it is. First, though, I must say I'm thrilled to have had this unexpected opportunity to spend time with Keegan whose So late in … Continue reading Claire Keegan, Antarctica (#BookReview)
Miles Franklin Award 2026 shortlist
2025 was one of my best years for some time in terms of the Miles Franklin shortlist. When it was announced, I had only read one of the six novels, Michelle de Kretser's Theory & practice (my review). However, by the end of the year I'd read three, having read two more with my reading … Continue reading Miles Franklin Award 2026 shortlist
Monday musings on Australian literature: Quarry noir
I started my post on Tech noir with the comment that the genres and sub-genres just keep on coming, and I have another one that I've been saving up for you - quarry noir. I read about it some months ago - in The Conversation - and have been saving it up. Its time has … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Quarry noir
Monday musings on Australian literature: Sports romance
Last February, I wrote about Romance novels in my "supporting genres" Monday Musings subseries. Today's post could be seen as an extension of that post, in that it is about a Romance subgenre, Sports Romance. I have to admit that I had never heard of this sub-genre until a couple of days ago when a … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Sports romance
Claire Keegan, Small things like these (#BookReview)
Very occasionally my reading group makes a book-scheduling boo-boo, and it happened this year when we chose Irish writer Claire Keegan’s So late in the day: Stories of women and men for our May read. This book, which comprises three of Keegan’s short stories, “So late in the day”, “The long and and painful death”, and … Continue reading Claire Keegan, Small things like these (#BookReview)
Whispering Gums 