As I've done in recent years, I decided to start a little Monday Musings sub-series drawing on researching Trove to get a picture of Australian literature a century ago, that is, in 1925. One of the things that popped up as I started this year's Trove trawl was the existence of an active community of … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: on 1925: 1, Literary societies
Month: June 2025
Elizabeth Strout, Olive Kitteridge (#BookReview)
Elizabeth Strout's Pulitzer prize winning novel Olive Kitteridge has been around for 17 years, but it's only now that I have managed to read it. And that's because my reading group scheduled it as our June read. It's not that I didn't want to read it - I really did - but other books kept … Continue reading Elizabeth Strout, Olive Kitteridge (#BookReview)
Miles Franklin Award 2025 shortlist
For some reason, I haven't posted on the Miles Franklin Award shortlist for a few years, probably partly due to timing because I often travel in the southern hemisphere winter. However, I have time to post on this year's shortlist that has just been announced, and, what's more, I have read or will read more … Continue reading Miles Franklin Award 2025 shortlist
Monday musings on Australian literature: Forgotten writers 12, Catherine Gaskin
Of all my Forgotten Writers posts, this one is the most questionable because I'm not sure she is completely forgotten. For baby-boomer and I think some Gen X readers, Catherine Gaskin was a household name. Just ask Brona who reviewed her 1962 novel I know my love, and said in her post that she'd read … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Forgotten writers 12, Catherine Gaskin
Charles W. Chestnutt, Uncle Wellington’s wives (#Review)
Charles W. Chestnutt's long short story is the second in the anthology Great short stories by African-American writers sent to me by my American friend Carolyn. I have come across Chestnutt before, in the Library of America's Story of the Week program, but they haven't published this one and I haven't written about him before. … Continue reading Charles W. Chestnutt, Uncle Wellington’s wives (#Review)
Monday musings on Australian literature: Names and naming
In yesterday's post on Percival Everett's James, I didn't discuss the issue of naming. I should have, however, as it is a significant aspect of the novel, so much so that the novel ends on exactly that point. Throughout the novel, James, who is called "Jim" by the "massas" (aka masters) if they bother to … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Names and naming
Percival Everett, James (#BookReview)
Well, let's see how I go with this post on Percival Everett's Pulitzer Prize winning novel James. I read all but 30 pages of this novel before my reading group's meeting on 27 May. I was not at the meeting as I was in Far North Queensland, but I wanted to send in some notes, … Continue reading Percival Everett, James (#BookReview)
Six degrees of separation, FROM All fours TO …
Well, this Six Degrees I am in the wilds of north Queensland, somewhere in Cape York. I scheduled this two weeks ago, as I was expecting reception to be poor. I hope to visit your chains, but if I don't for a few days, you will know why! Now, let's just get going ... but … Continue reading Six degrees of separation, FROM All fours TO …
Kim’s Triple Choice Tuesday
Back in 2010, Kimbofo (as I like to call her from her sign on/login name) started a blog series called Triple Choice Tuesday in which she asked "bloggers, writers and readers to share three books that have had a meaningful impact on them". She saw it as a "fun way to highlight great books, discover … Continue reading Kim’s Triple Choice Tuesday
Monday musings on Australian literature: Forgotten writers 11, Nancy Francis
Like my last forgotten writer, Ruby Mary Doyle, today's writer, though also a prolific contributor to newspapers in her day, has slipped into the shadows. Neither Wikipedia nor the Australian dictionary of biography (ADB) contain articles for her, but the AustLit database does and Zora Cross, writing as Bernice May in The Australian Woman's Mirror, … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Forgotten writers 11, Nancy Francis
Whispering Gums 