Elizabeth Gaskell, Lizzie Leigh AND Cousin Phillis (#BookReviews)

This year, Bill (The Australian Legend) has framed his usual January "Gen" (short for generation) week, as Gen 0. Zero? How can that be? Well, let's get it from the horse's mouth. Bill says, "I am using ‘Gen 0’ as a designation for those writers – necessarily not Australian – whose work influenced, predated or … Continue reading Elizabeth Gaskell, Lizzie Leigh AND Cousin Phillis (#BookReviews)

Monday musings on Australian Literature: the Story Factory

In last week's Monday Musings on Parramatta's inaugural Laureate for Literature, I mentioned that Parramatta had been chosen as the second location for the non-profit organisation, the Story Factory. I said I'd do a separate Monday Musings on it, and have decided it might as well be now. So, who or what is the Story … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian Literature: the Story Factory

Rebecca Campbell, Arboreality (#BookReview)

Arboreality, by Canadian writer Rebecca Campbell, won the 2023 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize. However, not being much of a speculative fiction reader, I didn't discover this book through this award. Fortunately, some bloggers I follow, like Bill (The Australian Legend), do follow this genre, and his review convinced me that this climate change dystopian … Continue reading Rebecca Campbell, Arboreality (#BookReview)

Monday musings on Australian Literature: Parramatta’s inaugural Laureate for Literature

This week's Monday Musings is one I've been waiting to post ever since I saw the announcement a month ago. This time of year is so busy and I have my traditional little suite of posts that I wanted to keep to, so this post had to wait. The announcement, as you have guessed from … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian Literature: Parramatta’s inaugural Laureate for Literature

Six degrees of separation, FROM Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow TO …

After taking a break from Six Degrees in December, I'm back at the beginning of 2024 to take part in this fun meme again. I hope you have all had a good holiday season and are ready for another year of good reading and discussing all things books. One different way of looking at books … Continue reading Six degrees of separation, FROM Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow TO …

Monday musings on Australian literature: Some New Releases in 2024

This year we start with my first Monday Musings post appearing on Tuesday! This is due to conflicting new year traditions - my Blogging Highlights post on 1 January, and my first Monday Musings being New Releases for the coming year. When 1 January is a Monday, I'm in trouble! I could have left this … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Some New Releases in 2024

William Trevor, The hill bachelors (#Review)

Well, Kim (Reading Matters) and Cathy's (746 Books) "A year with William Trevor" project is all but over, and I've only done one post - on the titular story in the little The dressmaker's child collection. The second story, "The hill bachelors" (as in bachelors living in the hills), was first published in his collection … Continue reading William Trevor, The hill bachelors (#Review)