India Diary – Part One
A native knows the scene, right? Wrong. I was born in India and have been a fairly regular visitor for the last thirty years. Earlier this year, when my university [...]
Book Review
Perth – David Whish-WilsonI have called Perth home for the last 30 years and what a fabulous home it has been. I came to Perth as a young adult and [...]
Bookends
As I look at the pile of books I’ve read this year I can’t decide whether I should hoot triumphantly or slump dejectedly. Maybe I’ll do both. This has a [...]
Obscure Sorrows
The online Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows (dictionaryofobscuresorrows) compiled by John Koenig, aims to ‘harpoon, bag and tag wild sorrows, then release them gently back into the subconscious.’ John’s delicious list [...]
Deadly Beautiful
Book ReviewDeadly Beautiful – Liana Joy ChristensenIf Liana Joy Christensen had been my Science teacher when I was at school, (instead of the grim individual whose name I have mercifully [...]
Speaking English
A few weeks ago, an adult student in a class I was teaching at TAFE said that I didn’t speak English. She didn’t say my accent was hard for her [...]
Book Review – What Is Left Over, After
What Is Left Over, After by Natasha Lester Publisher: Fremantle Press, 2010. I always pack more books than I know I will read when I travel because you never know [...]
I write because
I write because I am afraid of the dark. I write because Erica Jong said, 'everyone has talent. What is rare is the courage to follow that talent to the [...]
Elemental – Amanda Curtin
Book Review – Elemental by Amanda CurtinThere are so many aspects of this book that snagged my heart that I would need to do several reviews to do justice to [...]
Reading, claustrophobia and Sir Bob
Essential reading: Two years into my PhD, my ‘essential reading list’ keeps getting longer. One reason for this could be that so many books have become ‘essential’ since I first [...]
Book Review: Whisky Charlie Foxtrot – Annabel Smith
Book Review - Whisky Charlie Foxtrot by Annabel Smith I loved everything about this novel. From its contents page that starts at ‘alpha’ and finishes at ‘zulu’, from its brief [...]
What About the Irish?
I realise that most people order their bookshelves in personally idiosyncratic ways. My husband places his books alphabetically in the first instance, then if they don’t fit, by size – [...]