Today I went to the National Library of Australia's Flight of the Mind conference - and, well, my mind took flight! The conference title comes from Virginia Woolf: The old problem: how to keep the flight of the mind, yet be exact. All the difference between the sketch and the finished work. Today's program focused … Continue reading Flight of the Mind: Day 1, Summary
George Orwell, Bookshop memories
I do like to read a bit of Orwell every now and then - and for that reason, though I have other books of his to read in my TBR pile, I recently bought his essay collection, Books v. cigarettes, in Penguin's delightful Great Ideas series. I blogged about the first essay a couple of months ago. … Continue reading George Orwell, Bookshop memories
Snow gums
Give me a home among the gum trees (from song by W. Johnson and B. Brown) Every Australian should have a gum in their yard somewhere! Pretty well every home I've lived in, and I've lived in a few, has had one in the yard or in the street just outside. My current home, in … Continue reading Snow gums
Favourite writers: 3, Thea Astley
I love its densely woven grammar, its ingrained humour, its uncompromising politics, and its undimmed outrage at human folly, stupidity and greed (Kerryn Goldsworthy on Thea Astley's writing) and Great story, great characters ... Stylistically, however, this book is like a very handsome, strong and fit woman with too much makeup on ... This kind … Continue reading Favourite writers: 3, Thea Astley
The gritty viewing gets grittier…
A few months ago I wrote a post called A day of gritty viewing. Since then I've blogged about more gritty Australian films: Disgrace, Beautiful Kate, and Balibo. And these aren't the only gritty films to have been produced in Australia this year. The latest to hit the cinemas, though, is Blessed (directed by Ana … Continue reading The gritty viewing gets grittier…
Price Warung, Tales of the early days
Okay, I admit it, I have convict ancestors (plural even!). Consequently, I was particularly interested to read Price Warung's 1894 collection of short stories, Tales of the early days, when I discovered it was part of the Australian Classics Library recently published by the Sydney University Press. My convicts include John Warby who, with another labourer, … Continue reading Price Warung, Tales of the early days
Kangaroo in the suburbs
A propos of nothing really, but our lovely afternoon has just been made more lovely by the arrival across the road of: I could write now about the role of kangaroos in Australian culture ... but I think I'll just leave it at this. (PS For those interested in such things, it's an Eastern Grey … Continue reading Kangaroo in the suburbs
Library for a fiver!
In May 1940, Professor Walter Murdoch (of the University of Western Australia) wrote three articles in The ABC Weekly arguing that, with £5, you could give yourself "a liberal education in so far as books can give it". It takes three articles for him to list and justify his selections which are grouped under categories: Fiction, History, … Continue reading Library for a fiver!
Jonathan Safran Foer, Everything is illuminated
He invented stories so fantastic she had to believe. It's hard to know where to start writing about Jonathan Safran Foer's Everything is illuminated, so I'll just start with a brief description of the plot. It concerns a search in the Ukraine by "the hero" (aka Jonathan Safran Foer) for the woman (Augustine?) who, he … Continue reading Jonathan Safran Foer, Everything is illuminated
Booker Prize 2009
I received a voucher a couple of weeks ago for 25% off a 2009 Booker Prize shortlist book. What to buy? Hard choice as I hadn't read any of them - I know, I know, how can I call myself a reader but, really, I am not driven to read shortlists per se. Awards are … Continue reading Booker Prize 2009
Whispering Gums 