This is the fourth in my occasional series of Spotlight posts inspired by Annette Marfording's Celebrating Australian Writing: Conversations with Australian Authors, and this time I'm featuring an indigenous author to coincide with Lisa's (ANZLitLovers) Indigenous Literature Week. Larissa Behrendt is the perfect subject for what is also NAIDOC Week, not only because she has a few books under her belt, … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Spotlight on Larissa Behrendt
Do you consult consumer reviews?
I am not one of those who in expressing opinions confine themselves to facts. (Mark Twain, Wearing White Clothes speech, 1907) In asking this question about consulting consumer reviews, I'm talking not only about those for books (such as on GoodReads and Amazon), but for restaurants, hotels, and all sorts of other things like clothes and … Continue reading Do you consult consumer reviews?
William Makepeace Thackeray, The luck of Barry Lyndon (#Review)
By the time I reached about the 30% mark (on my Kindle) of William Makepeace Thackeray's classic novel, The luck of Barry Lyndon, I was reminded of a monologue by English comedian Cyril Fletcher which my father had on an old gramophone record. It's about a "lunatic" (this was in less linguistically-sensitive times) who decided to write a … Continue reading William Makepeace Thackeray, The luck of Barry Lyndon (#Review)
Monday musings on Australian literature: Recent books by Indigenous Australians
Next week, from 3rd to 10th of July, Lisa at ANZLitlovers is running her now annual Indigenous Literature Week. While she usually holds it during or near Australia's NAIDOC Week in order to support that program's goal of increasing awareness and understanding of indigenous Australian culture, she does in fact accept reviews of works by … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Recent books by Indigenous Australians
Jane Austen, a moral absolutist?
In my post on the Jane Austen Festival Australia a couple of months ago, I summarised the various papers presented at their day-long symposium. One of the papers was by a Marcus Adamson and his topic was "The ever absolute Miss Austen". Adamson's paper was a challenge to fully comprehend, partly because he referenced, in a … Continue reading Jane Austen, a moral absolutist?
Dorothy Johnston, Through a camel’s eye (Review)
When should I give up saying that I don't read crime? In the last seven years, I've posted nine reviews tagged crime fiction (of which one was a guest post). Perhaps just over one a year still qualifies as not reading crime? Then again, what's the point of saying it, if every now and then I do … Continue reading Dorothy Johnston, Through a camel’s eye (Review)
Monday musings on Australian literature: My Aussie reads of 1996
Today, I'm having a bit of fun - a little trip down memory lane, in fact. I was inspired in this by Canadian blogger Debbie (ExUrbanis) who recently wrote a post on her past reads. Ever on the lookout for ideas for Monday Musings, I leapt at this one. (I do a few ideas running around my head, … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: My Aussie reads of 1996
Australian Women Writers 2016 Challenge completed
The time has come to write my annual completion post for my one challenge of the year, the Australian Women Writer's Challenge. As in previous years, I signed up for the top-level, Franklin, which involves reading 10 books and reviewing at least 6. I've exceeded this, and I plan to continue to add to the challenge, as I've done in … Continue reading Australian Women Writers 2016 Challenge completed
Anna Rosner Blay, Sister, sister (Review)
Some of the most vivid memories of my Sydney-based late teens and early twenties relate to spending time with Jewish people, business friends of my father. We went to parties in their homes, to weddings and bar mitzvahs. These were always happy, family-oriented occasions. I had crushes on the sons. I knew that most of these people had come … Continue reading Anna Rosner Blay, Sister, sister (Review)
Monday musings on Australian literature: Australian writers, loquacious?
It's a brave person who tries to characterise a nation's literature. But this is apparently what Australian-French writer Jean-Francois Vernay has done in his book A brief take on the Australian novel (published this year by Wakefield Press). I haven't read the book, but Lisa (ANZLitLovers) is currently reading it, and she challenged me to write … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Australian writers, loquacious?
