Whispering Gums

Books, reading and more … with an Australian focus … written on Ngunnawal Country

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JM Coetzee

Bill curates: JM Coetzee’s Diary of a bad year

July 10, 2020July 9, 2020 / Whispering Gums / 14 Comments

Bill curates is an occasional series where I delve into Sue's vast archive, stretching back to May 2009, and choose a post for us to revisit. When Sue wrote this review in July 2009 - yes I am progressing only slowly, but there is so much to choose from!  - Diary of a Bad Year … Continue reading Bill curates: JM Coetzee’s Diary of a bad year

J.M. Coetzee, Diary of a bad year

July 5, 2009June 6, 2026 / Whispering Gums / 9 Comments

J.M. Coetzee is one of those rare novelists who pushes the boundaries of what a novel is. The progression from his mid-career novel, the spare but terrifying Disgrace (1999), through Elizabeth Costello (2003) to Diary of a bad year (2007) is so dramatic that there are those who question whether these last two are even … Continue reading J.M. Coetzee, Diary of a bad year

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Latest comments

  1. Whispering Gums's avatar
    Whispering Gums on Shaun Micallef, De’Ath takes a holiday (#BookReview)July 31, 2026

    Comedy is the hardest form I think Pam. Most people get tragedy, but comedy is far more individual. So I…

  2. TravellinPenguin's avatar
    TravellinPenguin on Shaun Micallef, De’Ath takes a holiday (#BookReview)July 31, 2026

    I can't read this as I don't care for old Shaun at all. His program annoys me. It's too in…

  3. wadholloway's avatar
    wadholloway on Shaun Micallef, De’Ath takes a holiday (#BookReview)July 31, 2026

    I've read (the original) Dracula, though a very long time ago. I won't read this, not out of respect for…

  4. Whispering Gums's avatar
    Whispering Gums on Monday musings on Australia literature: Audiobook reading in AustraliaJuly 31, 2026

    Thanks Rach … I love your examples of who, why and/or when audiobooks might work for others or for you.

  5. George's avatar
    George on Monday musings on Australia literature: Audiobook reading in AustraliaJuly 31, 2026

    One can do things in text meant to be read that one cannot do in text meant to be heard.…

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Australian Literary Awards for (mostly) Fiction, 2026


The Age Book of the Year: Moreno Giovannoni, The immigrants
ALS Gold Medal:
Australian Book Industry Award (Literary Fiction): Charlotte McConaghy, Wild dark shore
Barbara Jefferis Award:
Indie Book Awards (Fiction): Charlotte McConaghy, Wild dark shore
Miles Franklin Award:
NSW Premier's Literary Award (Christina Stead Prize): Moreno Giovannoni, The immigrants
Patrick White Award:
Prime Minister's Literary Award:
Queensland Literary (Fiction) Award:
South Australian Literary Awards:
Stella Prize: Lee Lai, Cannon
Victorian Premier's Literary (Fiction) Award: Omar Musa, Fierceland
Western Australian Premier's Book of the Year Award:

Acknowledgement of Country

I acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the traditional custodians of the nation in which I live, of land that was never ceded. I honour and respect their cultural heritage, customs and beliefs, and am truly thankful for their ongoing care of this country.

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This work by Whispering Gums is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 DEED Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareALike 4.0 International

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I am careful about the images I use in this blog. Some of them are my own, some I've specifically obtained permission to use from an owner, and some book cover thumbnails are used under fair use provisions. However, I have used others under Creative Commons (and similar licences) when the owners have indicated on their sites/pages that they release their material under such licences. Where possible, I have tried to properly attribute the owners/creators of uploaded images. If you think I have breached your copyright in any way please let me know. Any photos not attributed to others or to public domain are mine. Unless otherwise specified, you are welcome to use them under the Creative Commons license described under Copyright on my content above.

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