As I've written before, Muse Canberra, a restaurant-cum-bookshop or vice versa, offers a wonderful program of book events, year after year. I don't get to many, but today I attended a conversation featuring Tasmanian author Heather Rose with local journalist Sally Pryor. The participants Heather Rose has written three children's books and five novels, of … Continue reading Heather Rose in conversation with Sally Pryor
21st century literature
Elisa Shua Dusapin, Winter in Sokcho (#BookReview)
French Korean writer Elisa Shua Dusapin's award-winning debut novella, Winter in Sokcho, was published when she was just 22 years old. As the title conveys, it is set in Sokcho, a tourist town in the Republic of Korea near the border between the two Koreas. In fact, when the Korean peninsula was divided into two … Continue reading Elisa Shua Dusapin, Winter in Sokcho (#BookReview)
Monday musings on Australian literature: Vietnam War fiction
Having just posted on Biff Ward's The third chopstick, and with the 50th anniversary of Gough Whitlam's election (which set in train our final withdrawal from the war) being imminent, I felt now seemed an appropriate time to devote a Monday MusingsAustralian fiction about the war. Ward's book is nonfiction, but here I want to … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Vietnam War fiction
Biff Ward, The third chopstick: Tracks through the Vietnam War (#BookReview)
Biff Ward's The third chopstick was my reading group's October selection. It's the second book by Ward that we've done, the first being her memoir, In my mother's hands (my review), about growing up with her academic father, the historian Russel Ward, and her mentally ill mother, at a time when mental illness was shameful … Continue reading Biff Ward, The third chopstick: Tracks through the Vietnam War (#BookReview)
Telltale, Carmel Bird and me
In my recent post on Carmel Bird's bibliomemoir, Telltale, I hinted that there could be another post in this book. There could, indeed, be many, but I must move on, and I must not spoil the book for others. However, given many blog-readers enjoy personal posts, I've decided to share a few of my particular … Continue reading Telltale, Carmel Bird and me
Carmel Bird, Telltale: Reading writing remembering (#BookReview)
Finally, I have found something to thank COVID for - Carmel Bird's Telltale. Best described as a bibliomemoir, Telltale may never have been written if Bird had not been locked down with her extensive library. What is a lively mind to do in such a situation? I can think of a few options, but what … Continue reading Carmel Bird, Telltale: Reading writing remembering (#BookReview)
Kim Vanessa Scott, Growing up … Katherine style (#BookReview)
Growing up .. Katherine style is the second self-published book I have reviewed from this Katherine-based artist and writer, the first being her book about some of Katherine's historical housing, Katherine's tropical housing precinct 1946-1956. There are a few reasons why I have broken my no-self-published-books rule. One is that both books had some Northern … Continue reading Kim Vanessa Scott, Growing up … Katherine style (#BookReview)
Tom Gauld, Goliath (#BookReview)
It's probably just me, but I hadn't heard of Tom Gauld until a member of my little volunteer indexing team sent me a link to some of his "cultural" cartoons in The Guardian. I was immediately enchanted. And then, he lent me one of Gauld's graphic novels, the above-named Goliath. Being primarily a textual person, … Continue reading Tom Gauld, Goliath (#BookReview)
Julian Barnes, Elizabeth Finch (#BookReview)
Julian Barnes’ Elizabeth Finch is a curious book. It’s my fourth Julian Barnes, and the third I've read with my reading group. In 1995 we read A history of the world in 10 1/2 chapters, and in 2012 it was his Booker Prize winning The sense of an ending (my review). (I have also read … Continue reading Julian Barnes, Elizabeth Finch (#BookReview)
Audrey Magee, The colony (#BookReview)
Irish novelist Audrey Magee's second novel, The colony, was my reading group's August book, and it proved an excellent choice. Literary and highly readable, with vivid characters and a sophisticated exploration of its subject matter, The colony engaged us on all levels. It was longlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize (and may yet be shortlisted. … Continue reading Audrey Magee, The colony (#BookReview)
Whispering Gums 