I was going to write my Case for post this week, but I think now that I'll leave it to January. Life is a bit too busy right now to put proper thought into presenting my case (though I've pretty much decided which book it will be!) So, instead, since various media outlets are starting … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: RN presenters’ pick reads of the year
Author: Whispering Gums
The Griffyns end the year on, hmm, a macabre note
Only the Griffyn Ensemble could put together a concert that included Arvo Pärt and Bob Dylan, that started with eerie sounds from a tape and ended with mysterious knockings and bumpings from who knows where to the strains of Silent Night. Intrigued? Then read on ... This year the Griffyns' theme has been Fairy Stories - loosely … Continue reading The Griffyns end the year on, hmm, a macabre note
Who’s watching our e-reading behaviour?
I was intrigued to read in The Guardian app this morning that Kobo has released a report on patterns in e-reading that they have gleaned from more than 21 million Kobo readers (the devices and, therefore, the readers!) across the world! The report says that retailers had been reluctant to share the data they had been gathering … Continue reading Who’s watching our e-reading behaviour?
Monday musings on Australian literature: Prime Minister’s Literary Awards
I've written about the Prime Minister's Literary Awards before - more than once in fact, as you will see if you click on my link. They were created in 2007 by our then new Labor Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd. What heady days they were. These were, at the time, Australia's most lucrative literary awards, and … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Prime Minister’s Literary Awards
Helen Garner, This house of grief: The story of a murder trial (Review)
Well you might ask why you would want to read a book about the trial of a man accused of murdering his three sons by driving his car into a dam and escaping the car himself? Indeed, Helen Garner was asked why she would want to attend such a trial - and write about it. … Continue reading Helen Garner, This house of grief: The story of a murder trial (Review)
Monday musings on Australian literature: The case for …
Back in February, the online journal, The Conversation, about which I've written before, started a occasional series they call The case for .... They described it simply as ... If you had to argue for the merits of one Australian book, one piece of writing, what would it be? That's very open-ended and I did … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: The case for …
Delicious descriptions: Eimear McBride is not all grim
Reactions to Eimear McBride's A girl is a half-formed thing, which I reviewed recently, vary greatly. It is, overall, a bleak read and its style is idiosyncratic, which makes it a double whammy. So, for example, it has been called "brutal" (by Sunday Times Ireland) and a "joyous thing" (by Michael Cathcart, RN's Books and Arts Daily). … Continue reading Delicious descriptions: Eimear McBride is not all grim
Eimear McBride, A girl is a half-formed thing (Review)
I try very hard when writing reviews to avoid clichés and superlatives, like, say, "achingly beautiful" or "masterful". But I think I'm going to use one for Eimear McBride's multi-award-winning debut novel A girl is a half-formed thing when I describe it as "searing". I can't think of a more apposite word. Yet I fear it too … Continue reading Eimear McBride, A girl is a half-formed thing (Review)
Monday musings on Australian literature: The Voss Literary Prize
Did the title of this post grab your attention? It grabbed mine so dramatically when I came across it that I immediately abandoned my plans for today's post - they can wait - to tell you about it. The first thing to say about it is that it's not what you think, if indeed like me … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: The Voss Literary Prize
Art meets Literature at In the Flesh
I'm pushing it really with my heading, as for many the literary aspect of the National Portrait Gallery's In the Flesh exhibition would be a passingly noticed sideline, but for me it added significantly to my enjoyment. It helped of course that I found the following in the first room: It is not time or opportunity … Continue reading Art meets Literature at In the Flesh
Whispering Gums 