Eleanor Witcombe, who died in October at the venerable age of 95, is not exactly a household name in Australia - but some of her work is, because she's associated with the renaissance of Australian film in the late 1970s. She wrote the screenplays for The getting of wisdom and My brilliant career. However, her writing career long … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Eleanor Witcombe
My literary week (14), lists and a celebrity
I don't really need to write a post today having written two in the last two days, but there are a couple of things I'd love to share with you, so here I am for the third day in a row. Reading group schedule First up is my reading group schedule for the first half … Continue reading My literary week (14), lists and a celebrity
Six degrees of separation, FROM A Christmas carol TO …
And suddenly it's the last Six Degrees of the year. Before we know it, everyone will be writing their top lists of the year, but I, as usual, will do mine in January, when the year is REALLY over. I like me "best books" of the year to be of the actual calendar year. I'm … Continue reading Six degrees of separation, FROM A Christmas carol TO …
Rebecca Skloot, The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks (#BookReview)
In her extensive acknowledgements at the end of her book, The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot thanks "Heather at The Book Store, who tracked down every good novel she could find with a disjointed structure, all of which I devoured while trying to figure out the structure of this book." Interesting that she looked … Continue reading Rebecca Skloot, The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks (#BookReview)
Monday musings on Australian literature: Bush Sketcher (Intro)
I was uncertain about whether to title this post The Australasian or "Bush Sketcher", but have decided on the latter. However, I will start by introducing The Australasian! The Australasian was a weekly newspaper established in 1864 by the merger of three Melbourne weeklies, and later incorporating a couple of other publications, including, in 1889, … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Bush Sketcher (Intro)
Non-fiction November 2018, Weeks 4 and 5
Well, bizarrely, I did the first three weeks from 2016 for my first Non-fiction November of 2018 post! I won't revisit those - they're similar topics to this year's anyhow - but I'm back on track for this post. Non-fiction November, if you haven't guessed, involves celebrating non-fiction for the month, with each week focusing on … Continue reading Non-fiction November 2018, Weeks 4 and 5
Katharine Susannah Prichard, Christmas tree (#Review)
Commenting on my recent post on Katharine Susannah Prichard's short story "The bridge", Prichard biographer Nathan Hobby, pointed us to an online version in Trove of her short story, "Christmas Tree", which he describes as the best of her early work. It's about farmers, droughts and banks. Seemed very appropriate (to us in Australia right … Continue reading Katharine Susannah Prichard, Christmas tree (#Review)
Monday musings on Australian literature: University of Canberra Book of the Year 2019
I have written about the University of Canberra's Book of the Year initiative, twice - in 2012 when it was initiated, and again in 2014, when I checked to see whether the program was continuing. I am thrilled to say that earlier this month I heard the announcement of 2019's book, so the program continues … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: University of Canberra Book of the Year 2019
Katharine Susannah Prichard, The bridge (#Review)
Time for another post on a short story available online, but not, this time, from the Library of America. Indeed, it's not even American, but one of our own - Katharine Susannah Prichard's (KSP) "The bridge". As far as I can tell it has been published at least three times: in 1917 in the Weekly … Continue reading Katharine Susannah Prichard, The bridge (#Review)
Emily O’Grady, The yellow house (#BookReview)
Although Emily O'Grady's debut novel The yellow house won this year's prestigious The Australian/Vogel's Literary Award for unpublished manuscripts by authors under 35, I wasn't sure at first that I was going to like it. I think this was because I was feeling I'd read a surfeit of books this year about young people living challenging lives … Continue reading Emily O’Grady, The yellow house (#BookReview)
Whispering Gums 