If you go looking for advice on how to write a book review on the web, you won't be looking for long. There are hundreds of sites which provide such advice or offer courses on how to do it. Reviewing 101 is alive and well out in cyberspace. Much of the advice, though, is step-by-step … Continue reading How to write a (book) review!
Author: Whispering Gums
Alan Bennett, The lady in the van
It is a truism that truth is stranger than fiction, and Alan Bennett's The lady in the van is one work that proves it. It is strange - and wonderful - that a woman could have lived the way the eponymous lady did for as long as she did, and it is equally strange - … Continue reading Alan Bennett, The lady in the van
Longlist for 2010 Miles Franklin Award announced
Without further ado, here are the twelve who've made it to the 2010 Miles Franklin Award longlist: Allington, Patrick Figurehead Carey, Peter Parrot and Olivier in America Castro, Brian The bath fugues Doust, Jon Boy on a wire Foster, David Sons of the rumour Foster, Deborah The book of Emmett Guest, Glenda Siddon Rock Hartnett, … Continue reading Longlist for 2010 Miles Franklin Award announced
Dorothy Porter, The bee hut
The most powerful presence is absence (from "Egypt") The above lines open Australian poet Dorothy Porter's The bee hut, a collection of poems mostly writen in the last five years of her life. The lines are prophetic ... and they appropriately open a collection which deals very much, though not exclusively, with the tension between life … Continue reading Dorothy Porter, The bee hut
A light interlude, but will Desert Book Chick approve?
I have nearly finished my next book/s and so a review will be coming up any moment now, but in the meantime I thought I would post this photo: Now, the thing is, Desert Book Chick recently wrote a post on the Five Things that turn her off (some) book blogs - and one of them … Continue reading A light interlude, but will Desert Book Chick approve?
Richard Appleton, Appo: Recollections of a member of the Sydney Push
I wanted to start my review of Richard Appleton's memoir, Appo: Recollections of a member of the Sydney Push, with a mention of its evocative cover, but I now see that my friend Lisa, at ANZLitLovers, has already done this, so I'll start more boringly with definitions instead! According to Wikipedia, the Sydney Push was a left-wing intellectual … Continue reading Richard Appleton, Appo: Recollections of a member of the Sydney Push
Kate Chopin, A respectable woman
Besides Jane Austen's works, there are only a few novels that I have read more than once. One of these is Kate Chopin's The awakening. I was trying to think of an adjective to describe it or my feelings upon reading it, but couldn't think of anything that wasn't clichéd. The best way to convey … Continue reading Kate Chopin, A respectable woman
A Day on the Green, with Diana Krall (et al)
Last night was my second "A Day on the Green" concert held at the beautiful Centennial Vineyards in Bowral. The first was January 2009 when I attended the stupendous - there's no other word for it - Leonard Cohen concert. That really was a concert to end all concerts. Last night's concert though was no … Continue reading A Day on the Green, with Diana Krall (et al)
Post-impressionism redux
It was almost 30 years ago to the day that I attended my first exhibition of post-impressionist art. That was in London: it was Post-Impressionism at the Royal Academy of Arts, 1979-80, and we went on March 9, 1980, the last day of my first European trip. Last night, March 4, 2010, we went to … Continue reading Post-impressionism redux
The Diagram Prize for the oddest title of the year
I know you've been waiting for it: the longlist for the Bookseller/Diagram Prize is out - and in fact was out in early February. You can find it in the Guardian article here. As no doubt some of you know, this prize began in 1978 as a way, says the Wikipedia article to which I've linked, … Continue reading The Diagram Prize for the oddest title of the year
Whispering Gums 