I do love the sound of 2020. It has a lovely ring to it. It's also the year that Father Gums will turn 100. However, that will be May. Right now, it's time to kick off the first Six Degrees of Separation meme of the year. This meme for those of you who don't know it is … Continue reading Six degrees of separation, FROM Daisy Jones and the Six TO …
Blogging highlights for 2019
Here is the last of my traditional year-end trifecta (the others being my Australian Women Writers' Challenge wrap-up and Reading highlights posts). This is very self-indulgent, I know, but it interests me! Top posts for 2019 There hasn't been a huge change in my top posts - several posts have remained in the list for several years now, … Continue reading Blogging highlights for 2019
Reading highlights for 2019
Regular readers will know that my Reading Highlights post is my answer to other bloggers' Top Reads posts. It does not contain a ranked list of the books I considered my "best" of the year, because I prefer to talk about "highlights", which I define as those books and events that made my reading year … Continue reading Reading highlights for 2019
Monday musings on Australian literature: Australian Women Writers Challenge 2019
For some years now, I have devoted my last Monday Musings of the year to the Australian Women Writers Challenge* - and this year I am continuing that tradition! Sorry, if you hoped for something else. With the New Year - I love the sound of 2020 - just two days away, I wish all you … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Australian Women Writers Challenge 2019
Melanie Myers, Meet me at Lennon’s (#BookReview)
I was keen to read Melanie Myers' debut novel, Meet me at Lennon's, because it is set during the Brisbane of my mother's early teens, that is, wartime Brisbane when her school, Somerville House, was commandeered in 1942 by the Australian Military Forces and served as a US Army Headquarters for the rest of the … Continue reading Melanie Myers, Meet me at Lennon’s (#BookReview)
Books given and received for Christmas, in 2019 – sorta
Regular readers here will know that on my Boxing Day I usually publish a post on the books I gave and received for Christmas. However, this year I'm doing something different. I've just read a link that Paula (Book Jotter) posted in her latest Wind-up Post. It's from The Guardian and is about the challenges of book gift … Continue reading Books given and received for Christmas, in 2019 – sorta
Monday musings on Australian literature: Author blogs on the publishing journey
Most readers, not to mention aspiring authors, love hearing about the writing and publishing process authors go through. What inspired their book? How did they go about writing it and were there any hiccoughs along the way? How hard was it to get an agent and/or publisher? What role did the publisher/editor have in shaping … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Author blogs on the publishing journey
My reading group’s top picks for 2019
In what is becoming a tradition, my reading group once again voted for our top picks from our 2019 schedule. Given many of us like hearing about what other reading groups do, I'm sharing the results as I did last year. First, though, here is what we read in the order we read them (with … Continue reading My reading group’s top picks for 2019
Amanda O’Callaghan, This taste for silence (#BookReview)
Short story collections are rarely recognised in literary fiction awards, but Amanda O'Callaghan's debut collection, This taste for silence, was shortlisted for this year's Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction. The judges described it as "inventive in its themes and by an author unafraid to enfold her readers into unsettling reading experiences". I would agree. This … Continue reading Amanda O’Callaghan, This taste for silence (#BookReview)
Monday musings on Australian literature: ABC Bookshelf’s top Aussie reads 2019
The usual end of year listmania has begun, and I also like to join in, but with a focus on Aussie book lists. This year, I'm starting with the Aussie books subset of the books recommended on ABC's Bookshelf program. Recommenders, in addition to the show's presenters, Kate Evans and Cassie McCullough, were Stephen Romei, … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: ABC Bookshelf’s top Aussie reads 2019
Whispering Gums 