Addition Pb cover, Courtesy Text Publishing (SPOILERS: FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH) Looks like, feels like, is it? Chick lit, that is. Toni Jordan's first novel Addition has all the hallmarks of chick lit. The cover design with its line drawing of a female form invokes chick lit - albeit chick lit with an edge as … Continue reading Toni Jordan, Addition
Author: Whispering Gums
Alice Munro, Dimension
Alice Munro won this year's Man Booker International Prize. You probably know that she is a Canadian short story writer. I have read many of her short stories over the years, though not as many as I would like. WARNING: SOME SPOILERS! Her short story "Dimension" was published in the New Yorker in 2006, and … Continue reading Alice Munro, Dimension
Diva novels
Have YOU heard of diva novels? I haven't but Mike Ashman, the author of the article "The dawn of the diva" in the July 2009 issue of Limelight magazine, apparentlly has. He writes: The notion of the singer as victim and seductress moved into literature and, in the next 100 years George Eliot, George Moore, … Continue reading Diva novels
My mate the AktiMate
I'm late into mp3 players, mainly because I'm not all that keen on walking around with earbuds stuck in my ears. I like to engage with the world - particularly when I walk - rather than cut myself off. After all, isn't it nice to have some pockets of peace in our otherwise wonderfully connected … Continue reading My mate the AktiMate
Four time winner: Tim Winton wins 2009 Miles Franklin
Tim Winton's fourth Miles Franklin Award in 2009 for Breath means he has equalled Thea Astley's four awards.
Pramoedya Ananta Toer, This earth of mankind
Nationalism, in today's western world, is pretty much a dirty word - and yet it is the idea of nationalism which underpins Indonesian writer Pramoedya Ananta Toer's Buru Quartet, of which I have just read the first book, This earth of mankind. Toer's concept of nationalism was formed under colonial rule of his country by … Continue reading Pramoedya Ananta Toer, This earth of mankind
Favourite writers: 2, Elizabeth Jolley
Not, unfortunately, being a time-traveller, I haven't managed to see or hear Jane Austen in person. I am, however, far more fortunate in this regard when it comes to the subject of my next favourite writers post - Elizabeth Jolley. I did get to see and hear her at a literary lunch at the height of … Continue reading Favourite writers: 2, Elizabeth Jolley
Using Wikipedia
There has been a great change in the reputation of Wikipedia in the two years since I started calling myself a Wikipedian. Two years ago, whenever Wikipedia was mentioned - particularly in the media, in academic circles, by the "intelligentsia" - it was accompanied by a snide remark or derogatory tone. Suddenly, though, I am … Continue reading Using Wikipedia
Consider the floor burnt…
One of my dilettantish (you know, jack of all trades master of none) interests is dance. I did ballet for eight years as a child (not very well) and have done ballroom dancing on and off since my late teens (not very well); I have tried my hand at folk dancing, English country dancing and, … Continue reading Consider the floor burnt…
Cute but not cutesy
Cute has become a much maligned word but it originated as a shortened form of acute and meant "keenly perceptive or discerning, shrewd". This, I think, works well as a description of Sarah Watt's latest film My Year Without Sex, particularly when combined with more recent meanings of the word such as "charming". (WARNING: SOME SPOILERS) The basic premise … Continue reading Cute but not cutesy
Whispering Gums 