Author: Whispering Gums

Monday musings on Australian literature: Growing up [name the aspect] in Australia

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With my Japanese trip almost over, I'm posting just a quick - but nonetheless interesting, I hope - Monday Musings this week. Some of you will have guessed what this title refers to; it's to the little recent flurry of anthologies being published in Australia in which contributors write about growing up Asian, or Aboriginal, … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Growing up [name the aspect] in Australia

Six degrees of separation, FROM Three women TO …

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It is the first Saturday of the month again, which means it's time to do the Six Degrees of Separation meme. If you are new to blogging and don't know what that is, please check our host Kate's blog - booksaremyfavouriteandbest It all starts, of course with Kate setting our starting book, and this month's is - well, … Continue reading Six degrees of separation, FROM Three women TO …

Monday musings on Australian literature: Australian novels in Japan

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Here is my second Monday Musings inspired by my current Japanese travels. It is, loosely, a companion piece to one I wrote three years ago on Australian literature in China. That was inspired by an article I found in Trove. This one, however, was been inspired by a program I discovered via Google, called The … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Australian novels in Japan

ABR’s Top Twenty Aussie novels of the 21st Century

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Ten years after publishing its first ABR readers fan poll, the Australian Book Review asked its readers again to nominate their best Australian novels, but to keep it to those published this century. In its intro to the resultant list, ABR says that Richard Flanagan’s novel The narrow road to the deep north emerged as the … Continue reading ABR’s Top Twenty Aussie novels of the 21st Century

Favourite quotes: from Scottish novelist Sir Walter Scott’s Waverley

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Finally, the third in my funny little Favourite Quotes series which I resurrected earlier this year. In August I posted a review (of sorts) of the first volume of Sir Walter Scott's first novel, Waverley, and I included a quote describing his hero's unstructured, undisciplined reading encouraged by a theory of education that sounds a bit … Continue reading Favourite quotes: from Scottish novelist Sir Walter Scott’s Waverley

Monday musings on Australian literature: Australian writers in Japan

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Given I'm currently travelling in Japan, I thought I'd write a couple of Japanese-oriented posts. My first one - introductory, rather than in-depth - is about Australian writers who live or have lived (loosely defined) in Japan. An early Australian writer who went to Japan was Rosa Praed who visited Japan around 1894–95 on her … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Australian writers in Japan

Dominic Smith, The electric hotel (#BookReview)

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I admit to a brief feeling of déjà vu when I started Dominic Smith's latest novel, The electric hotel, because it starts by telling us that its protagonist 85-year-old Claude Ballard has been living in the Knickerbocker Hotel in Los Angeles for over thirty years. Not another man living in a hotel like our gentleman … Continue reading Dominic Smith, The electric hotel (#BookReview)

Hobart Writers Festival 2019, Part 2: Guest post

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And now for the second and final part of my brother Ian Terry's 2019 Hobart Writers Festival experience. The eagle-eyed among you will notice that this report is much shorter than yesterday's. This is because Ian went to four sessions on Saturday, and two on Sunday. Part 2: Sunday 15 September Day two dawned with … Continue reading Hobart Writers Festival 2019, Part 2: Guest post