Here is my second Monday Musings inspired by my current Japanese travels. It is, loosely, a companion piece to one I wrote three years ago on Australian literature in China. That was inspired by an article I found in Trove. This one, however, was been inspired by a program I discovered via Google, called The … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Australian novels in Japan
Month: September 2019
ABR’s Top Twenty Aussie novels of the 21st Century
Ten years after publishing its first ABR readers fan poll, the Australian Book Review asked its readers again to nominate their best Australian novels, but to keep it to those published this century. In its intro to the resultant list, ABR says that Richard Flanagan’s novel The narrow road to the deep north emerged as the … Continue reading ABR’s Top Twenty Aussie novels of the 21st Century
Favourite quotes: from Scottish novelist Sir Walter Scott’s Waverley
Finally, the third in my funny little Favourite Quotes series which I resurrected earlier this year. In August I posted a review (of sorts) of the first volume of Sir Walter Scott's first novel, Waverley, and I included a quote describing his hero's unstructured, undisciplined reading encouraged by a theory of education that sounds a bit … Continue reading Favourite quotes: from Scottish novelist Sir Walter Scott’s Waverley
Monday musings on Australian literature: Australian writers in Japan
Given I'm currently travelling in Japan, I thought I'd write a couple of Japanese-oriented posts. My first one - introductory, rather than in-depth - is about Australian writers who live or have lived (loosely defined) in Japan. An early Australian writer who went to Japan was Rosa Praed who visited Japan around 1894–95 on her … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Australian writers in Japan
Dominic Smith, The electric hotel (#BookReview)
I admit to a brief feeling of déjà vu when I started Dominic Smith's latest novel, The electric hotel, because it starts by telling us that its protagonist 85-year-old Claude Ballard has been living in the Knickerbocker Hotel in Los Angeles for over thirty years. Not another man living in a hotel like our gentleman … Continue reading Dominic Smith, The electric hotel (#BookReview)
Hobart Writers Festival 2019, Part 2: Guest post
And now for the second and final part of my brother Ian Terry's 2019 Hobart Writers Festival experience. The eagle-eyed among you will notice that this report is much shorter than yesterday's. This is because Ian went to four sessions on Saturday, and two on Sunday. Part 2: Sunday 15 September Day two dawned with … Continue reading Hobart Writers Festival 2019, Part 2: Guest post
Hobart Writers Festival 2019, Part 1: Guest post
No, I didn't go to this year's Hobart Writers Festival, but I had the next best thing - a brother who did. Not only that, but he responded positively to my request for some notes. I'll be posting what he so-called "cobbled" together today and tomorrow, which means no Monday Musings this week. I hope … Continue reading Hobart Writers Festival 2019, Part 1: Guest post
Nhulunbuy Primary School, I saw we saw (#BookReview)
A week or so ago, I wrote a post to commemorate this year's Indigenous Literacy Day. In that post I noted that the book I saw we saw was going to be launched at the Sydney Opera House that day. It was written and illustrated by students from Nhulunbuy Primary School, up on the Gove Peninsula, … Continue reading Nhulunbuy Primary School, I saw we saw (#BookReview)
Prime Minister’s Literary Awards Shortlist, 2019, announced
As you know, I don't announce all literary awards shortlists, but the Prime Minister's Literary Awards have an "interesting" history, so I plan to follow them more closely than I originally did. The press release says that over 500 books were submitted across the 6 categories, much the same as last year in fact. Last year, … Continue reading Prime Minister’s Literary Awards Shortlist, 2019, announced
Monday musings on Australian literature: Teachers in Australian novels
What's brought this on, you are probably wondering, but I can explain. Firstly, my Jane Austen group has, over the years, discussed Jane Austen from the point of view of roles and professions, so, for example, we've discussed professions like the clergy, and roles, like brothers, in Austen, and have enjoyed the research and the discussion. … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Teachers in Australian novels
Whispering Gums 