With my Review TBR pile teetering on the brink, I decided to call in a favour from Mr Gums, and handed him Lisa Kenway's debut novel, All you took from me, thinking it might be up his alley. Now, a word about Mr Gums. He is an engineer by training, and not the world's biggest … Continue reading Lisa Kenway, All you took from me (#GuestThoughts)
21st century literature
Melanie Cheng, The burrow (#BookReview)
You may have heard the announcement by Sean Manning, of Simon & Schuster’s flagship imprint in the US, that he will “no longer require authors to obtain blurbs for their books”. Australian media academic Julian Novitz discussed the decision in The Conversation in a piece titled "Brilliant, moving, thought-provoking! Simon & Schuster is dispensing with book … Continue reading Melanie Cheng, The burrow (#BookReview)
Monday musings on Australian literature: Prime Minister’s Summer Reading List, 2024
In early December last year, I started looking out for the Grattan Institute's Prime Minister’s Summer Reading List for 2024. But somehow, although it was published on their website on 9 December, I missed it. I have no idea how, because I went to their website, but maybe I was a day or two too … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Prime Minister’s Summer Reading List, 2024
Andrew O’Hagan, Caledonian Road (#BookReview)
When my reading group started back in 1988, most of us were time-poor mothers so we had a rule-of-thumb that our books could not be longer than 350 pages. Those days, however, are long gone, and some time ago we agreed that our January (aka summer) read could be a BIG book. Last year, for … Continue reading Andrew O’Hagan, Caledonian Road (#BookReview)
Gideon Haigh, My brother Jaz (#Review)
When I posted my first review of the year - for Marion Halligan's Words for Lucy - I apologised for starting the year with a book about grief and loss. What I didn't admit then was that my next review would also be for a work about grief and loss, Gideon Haigh's extended essay, My … Continue reading Gideon Haigh, My brother Jaz (#Review)
Marion Halligan, Words for Lucy (#BookReview)
For my reading group's tribute to Marion Halligan last year, I had planned to read one of her older novels, Wishbone, which I did (my review), and her last book, the memoir Words for Lucy, which I didn't. But, I have now. I guess a book born of a mother's grief for a daughter who … Continue reading Marion Halligan, Words for Lucy (#BookReview)
Sherman Alexie, War dances (#Review)
Sherman Alexie's "War dances" is the fourteenth and last story in the anthology, Great short stories by contemporary Native American writers. It is also the longest story in the book, and the most intriguing in form. Sherman Alexie Anthology editor Bob Blaisdell introduces Alexie as "born in 1966, of Coeur d'Alene and Spokane heritage", meaning … Continue reading Sherman Alexie, War dances (#Review)
Sonya Voumard, Tremor (#BookReview)
As I've previously reported, Sonya Voumard's short memoir, Tremor, is one of the two winners of this year's Finlay Lloyd 20/40 Publishing Prize. Earlier this month, I reviewed the fiction winner, P.S. Cottier and N.G. Hartland's novella The thirty-one legs of Vladimir Putin. Now it's Voumard's turn, with her book on living with a neurological … Continue reading Sonya Voumard, Tremor (#BookReview)
PS Cottier and NG Hartland, The thirty-one legs of Vladimir Putin (#BookReview)
Earlier this month, I posted on a conversation with the winners of the 2024 Finlay Lloyd 20/40 Publishing Prize, P S Cottier and N G Hartland, who wrote The thirty-one legs of Vladimir Putin, and Sonya Voumard, who wrote Tremor. On the surface, these books look very different, but conversation facilitator, Sally Pryor, found some … Continue reading PS Cottier and NG Hartland, The thirty-one legs of Vladimir Putin (#BookReview)
Margaret Atwood, Widows (#Review)
Marcie's (Buried in Print) MARM (Margaret Atwood Reading Month) event is now seven years old, but this is only my second contribution. I read a reasonable amount of Atwood before blogging, and since then have let her slide somewhat, though I have reviewed a couple of books here. You can't read it all - but, … Continue reading Margaret Atwood, Widows (#Review)
Whispering Gums 