Words can be problematical when it comes to expressing our response to literature, indeed to any of the arts. We are uncomfortable, for example, using the word "enjoy" to express our response to anything that is dark. This is understandable, and yet I think "enjoy" is a perfectly okay word for something that has engaged … Continue reading Johanna Bell, Department of the Vanishing (#BookReview)
Women writers
Stella Prize 2026 Longlist announced
As I say every year, I don't do well at having read the Stella Prize longlist at the time of its announcement. In recent years the most I've read at the time of the announcement has been two (in 2019). Last year I'd read one. I have read 9 of the 13 winners to date, … Continue reading Stella Prize 2026 Longlist announced
Monday musings on Australian literature: Turning 50 in 2026
No, not me, much as I wish it were! I'm talking books. Today being the day after International Women's Day, I thought to feature women in this week's Monday Musings. But how? Then I remembered that somewhere last year I'd seen a list of books turning 50, so decided to take inspiration from that and … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Turning 50 in 2026
Aaron Fa’Aoso and Michelle Scott Tucker, Spirit of the crocodile (#Bookreview)
Aaron Fa'Aoso and Michelle Scott Tucker's Spirit of the crocodile is a children's/YA book, which makes it atypical reading for me. However, I'm not averse breaking my rules occasionally, and so I made an exception for this book - mainly because of its collaborative authorship and its setting. Aaron Fa'aoso and Michelle Scott Tucker have … Continue reading Aaron Fa’Aoso and Michelle Scott Tucker, Spirit of the crocodile (#Bookreview)
Monday musings on Australian literature: Forgotten writers 17, Beatrice Grimshaw
Of all the writers I've researched for the AWW project, Beatrice Grimshaw is among the most documented, with articles in the Australian Dictionary of Biography (ADB) and Wikipedia, among others. And yet, she is little known today. This post, like most of my recent Forgotten Writers posts, draws on the one I posted on AWW. However, I … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Forgotten writers 17, Beatrice Grimshaw
Samantha Harvey, Orbital (#BookReview)
Samantha Harvey's Booker Prize-winning novella, Orbital, is one of those novels you want to keep by your side after you've finished it, hoping that its calm beauty and quiet provocations will stay with you just that little bit longer. And here, in this opening sentence, I am channelling the "you" voice that she slips into occasionally … Continue reading Samantha Harvey, Orbital (#BookReview)
Adeline F. Ries, Mammy: A story (#Review)
Adeline F. Ries's short story "The scapegoat" is the sixth in the anthology Great short stories by African-American writers, which my American friend Carolyn sent me. Like the previous author, Emma E. Butler, Adeline F. Ries is barely known. Adeline F. Ries The biographical note at the end of the anthology, like that for Butler, … Continue reading Adeline F. Ries, Mammy: A story (#Review)
Monday musings on Australian literature: Trove treasures (16), Garrulity and Gracelessness in AusLit
(Courtesy OCAL, via clker.com) Another post in my Monday Musings subseries called Trove Treasures, in which I share stories or comments, serious or funny, that I come across during my Trove travels. Today's story popped up during my research for a post on Beatrice Grimshaw for the Australian Women Writers blog. It stunned me, and … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Trove treasures (16), Garrulity and Gracelessness in AusLit
Helen Garner, Chloe Hooper, and Sarah Krasnostein, The mushroom tapes (#BookReview)
Chances are I'm not telling you anything when I say that The mushroom tapes is about an Australian murder trial that took place over two months in the middle of 2025. However, if you don't know, this trial concerned a woman named Erin Patterson who was accused of murdering three relatives and attempting to murder … Continue reading Helen Garner, Chloe Hooper, and Sarah Krasnostein, The mushroom tapes (#BookReview)
Elizabeth Gaskell, Mary Barton (#BookReview)
My reading group has a tradition of choosing a "big" book for our January read. We also like to do a classic each year. This year the two coincided when we chose Elizabeth Gaskell's first novel, Mary Barton, as our 2026 starting book. I have read several Gaskell novels and stories - plus Nell Stevens' … Continue reading Elizabeth Gaskell, Mary Barton (#BookReview)
Whispering Gums 