I knew, when Kim (Reading Matters) and Cathy (746 Books) announced their "A year with William Trevor" project, that I had a little book containing some William Trevor short stories but, could I find it? Nope. It was a little book after all. And then, voilà, just the other day while I was doing my … Continue reading William Trevor, The dressmaker’s child (#Review)
Miles Franklin Award 2023 longlist
I haven't posted a Miles Franklin longlist for a while, but when I saw today's come through with its intriguing mix of titles, I decided it was time to do one again. The longlist Kgshak Akec, Hopeless kingdom (UWAP) Robbie Arnott, Limberlost (Text) (my review) Jessica Au, Cold enough for snow (Giramondo) (my review) Shankari … Continue reading Miles Franklin Award 2023 longlist
Monday musings on Australian literature: Hilary McPhee Award
I'm on a roll! That is, this week's Monday Musings is another post on a lesser known literary prize. I'll probably stop here for a while, but I came across this one in my notes, and thought, why not? The award is the Hilary McPhee Award (obviously, given the post title!) and is managed by … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Hilary McPhee Award
Jane Austen on travel
It's been some time since I posted on Jane Austen, but currently my local Jane Austen group is repeating the slow reads we did a decade or so ago when her novels had their 200th anniversaries. Last year, we did Sense and sensibility, and right now we are doing Pride and prejudice. There are different … Continue reading Jane Austen on travel
Monday musings on Australian literature: Melbourne Prize for Literature
Having posted on a literary prize last week - the ACT Book of the Year Award - I decided that I may as well do another one, and give us a break from my recent run of historically-focused Monday Musings posts. This week's award is another geographically limited one, the Melbourne Prize for Literature. This … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Melbourne Prize for Literature
Six degrees of separation, FROM Hydra TO …
Oh my, oh my, I have not written a post since Monday. I am so focused on downsizing and packing, and everything else involved in selling a home, that I'm not getting much time for anything else - and when I do finally get time, all I want to do is fall asleep on my … Continue reading Six degrees of separation, FROM Hydra TO …
Monday musings on Australian literature: the ACT Book of the Year Award
I think it's time I dedicated a post to the Book of the Year Award made in my own jurisdiction. I briefly introduced it back in 2018, and then wrote recently about its 2022 shortlist. But today, I want to document it a bit more thoroughly. (For the record, the 2022 winner has now been … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: the ACT Book of the Year Award
Maggie O’Farrell, The marriage portrait (#BookReview)
I have mentioned Author's Notes a few times recently, because I have read a few works of historical fiction. Maggie O'Farrell's latest novel, The marriage portrait, is another historical novel and so here I am again talking Author's Notes. The marriage portrait, as you probably already know, is based on the life of Lucrezia de' Medici, … Continue reading Maggie O’Farrell, The marriage portrait (#BookReview)
Stella Prize 2023 Winner announced
The 2023 Stella Prize winner was announced tonight and, for the second year in a row, it's a poetry collection ... Sarah Holland-Batt's The jaguar Darn it! I nearly bought it last weekend when I was at the National Library but with my move and having stuff everywhere, I put it back down again and … Continue reading Stella Prize 2023 Winner announced
Monday musings on Australian literature: Trove treasures (6), Why waste time reading novels?
My next Trove Treasure is not, strictly speaking, Australian, because it features the English humorist Jerome K. Jerome. But, I found it reported in multiple Australian newspapers, which means that many Australians probably read it, and that makes it at least a bit relevant here. The first one I found was in The Inverell Times … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Trove treasures (6), Why waste time reading novels?
Whispering Gums 