My second post in this Trove Treasures subseries shared some arguments against novel reading. I do have a pro-novel-reading post, but today I thought I'd go a bit lighter - I think it's lighter! - and some of the ideas I came across discussing the impact of novel reading on health. Novel-reading disease I found … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Trove treasures (3), Novel reading and health
Reading
Monday musings on Australian literature: Trove treasures (2), Anti novel reading
Recently, I started a new Monday Musings sub-series, Trove Treasures. That first post concluded on a rear-admiral reading novels while waiting for a court martial, and I said that my next post "might be one on novel reading and men". I still plan to do that, but I've decided to first share some of the … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Trove treasures (2), Anti novel reading
Robbie Arnott, Limberlost (#BookReview)
Where should I start my discussion of Robbie Arnott's third novel, Limberlost? Perhaps with the epigraph. It's by Gene Stratton Porter, and says, "In the economy of Nature, nothing is ever lost". I have posted on Porter - on her essay, "The last Passenger Pigeon". She was, says Wikipedia, an author, nature photographer, naturalist and … Continue reading Robbie Arnott, Limberlost (#BookReview)
Monday musings on Australian literature: Trove treasures (1), Reading novels
During my Trove searches for specific topics, I come across - serendipitously - other articles that are interesting and worth sharing. So, I have decided to create an occasional sub-series called Trove Treasures. My first group comprises some random little pieces, particularly jokes, that I've come across about reading novels. Humorous snippets The interesting thing … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Trove treasures (1), Reading novels
Anthony Doerr, Cloud Cuckoo Land (#BookReview)
There was a collective cheer from the four librarians in my reading group when one of our members read Anthony Doerr’s dedication for his latest novel, Cloud Cuckoo Land. It goes like this “For the librarians then, now, and in the years to come”. Thank you Anthony! Cloud Cuckoo Land, at over 600 pages, is … Continue reading Anthony Doerr, Cloud Cuckoo Land (#BookReview)
Sandy Gordon, Leaving Owl Creek (#BookReview)
I do enjoy receiving books from non-profit independent publisher, Finlay Lloyd. Their books are physically distinctive, being longer and narrower than the norm, and they have a stylish, minimalist, design, which makes them lovely to look at and hold. They also appeal content-wise because Finlay Lloyd consciously, it seems to me, publishes books that regardless … Continue reading Sandy Gordon, Leaving Owl Creek (#BookReview)
Reading highlights for 2022
Regular readers of my blog will know two things about my end of year reading highlights post, but I'll reiterate them here: I always do my list right at the end of the year when I have read (even if not reviewed) all the books I’m going to; and I do not do a list … Continue reading Reading highlights for 2022
My reading group’s favourites for 2022
As I've done for a few years now, I am sharing my reading group's top picks of 2022. This is, after all, the season of lists, but also, I know that some people, besides me, enjoy hearing about other reading groups. I'll start, though, by sharing what we read in the order we read them … Continue reading My reading group’s favourites for 2022
Lucy Neave, Believe in me (#BookReview)
Mother-daughter stories - in fiction and nonfiction - seem to have been particularly popular in recent years. Lucy Neave's second novel Believe in me is one of these, but just this year I've read several others, including Larissa Behrendt's novel After story and Jane Sinclair's hybrid biography-memoir Shy love smiles and acid drops. Their trajectories … Continue reading Lucy Neave, Believe in me (#BookReview)
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)
Whispering Gums 