Book review: Caleb’s Crossing by Geraldine Brooks
Geraldine Brooks’ Caleb’s Crossing tells the story of Caleb Cheeshateaumauk, the first native American to graduate from Harvard College in 1665 through the eyes of his friend Bethia, the daughter…
Book review: A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult
As Jodi Picoult’s modus operandi, A Spark of Light provides a fictional and engaging way of discussion a controversial topic. This time, it she tackles abortion by setting the story…
Book review: Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler
I swear this will be the last time a choose a book because of its title. I was seduced by the sound of Farewell, My Lovely and ended up with…
Book review: Beauty by Bri Lee
Bri Lee has followed up her brilliant Eggshell Skull with an eassy titled Beauty. While the two books are quite different, they are linked as they draw heavily on Lee’s experiences. Eggshell…
Book review: Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout
Despite her failings, there is something solid and reliable about Olive. I read the second of Elizabeth Strout's Olive books during one of Melbourne's lockdowns and it was comforting to…
Book review: Stone Sky Gold Mountain by Mirandi Riwoe
After reading Mirandi Riwoe’s haunting Fish Girl novella, I had high expectations of Stone Sky Gold Mountain. Set on the Queensland goldfields, this was a very different story, but did not disappoint. The story…
Book review: The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth
I’m not sure if you can call an audiobook a page-turner, but that is how I would describe The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth. The Good Sister starts out as…
Book review: Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell
Gosh, I loved this book. Maggie O’Farrell’s Hamnet imagines the home life of Shakespeare and the impact of the death of his son, Hamnet - a name that was interchangeable…
To read, or not to read – perhaps I’ll give Shakespeare a go
I have a confession to make. I've never really understood Shakespeare. I’ve been to quite a few plays written by the bard and most of the time, I’ve got no…
Bookstagram is the book club I didn’t know I needed
Social media has a bad name and has been criticised for everything from damaging users’ confidence to influencing US elections. The use of Instagram, in particular, is considered to be…
Cilka is a real-life hero who is too good to be true
In Cilka’s Journey, we are introduced to Cilka Klein, who first appeared in the bestselling The Tattooist of Auschwitz. Cilka survived the Nazi death camp after senior officers took a…
20 years later, Monkey Grip is not what it seemed
Sometimes, re-reading a beloved book can be a mean shock. That was the case when I picked up Monkey Grip, 20 years after first read and adored it while I…
Book review: The Lying Lives of Adults by Elena Ferrante
It has been too long between Ferrantes ... and beach holidays but this week I’ve been lucky enough to indulge in both. After reading The Brothers Karamazov over what seemed…
My literary hits and misses of 2020
Best read of 2020: Too Much Lip by Melissa Lucashenko This book was hilarious, moving and important, and I’m sure it will be one that sticks with me. I can’t…
My year of audiobooks
There’s no doubt about it, 2021 hasn’t been the best of years. But there have been positives – some have learnt to make sourdough, others have worked in trackies and…
Olive’s ordinariness is just the tonic for extraordinary times
I’ve been reading Elisabeth Strout's Olive, Again and in doing so have been reminded of how endearing the often grumpy, straight-talking, occasionally insensitive, Olive can be. The follow up to…
Book review: Akin by Emma Donoghue
Akin is a heart warming meditation about family, age and history. The story centres on a retired professor who is suddenly thrust into the position of guardian of a young…
Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo
I was initially worried that the audiobook format wouldn’t suit Bernadine Evaristo’s award winning Girl, Woman, Other, but how wrong I was. I loved walking along and listening to the…
Book review: Therese Raquin by Emile Zola
I was used to reading dark and grim books by Emile Zola set in poverty-stricken mining towns, and while Therese Raquin took place in beautiful Paris, it was just as…
Book review: Redhead by the Side of the Road by Anne Tyler
It might have been the timing – I listened to Redhead by the Side of the Road when I was holidaying in country Victoria – but I found this book…
The true monsters of literature
When COVID-19 restrictions were removed and regional Victorians were allowed to leave their towns to travel, my family packed our bags and headed towards the sunshine. We rented a bnb…
Why children’s books are a great way to inspire kids to dream big
This guest post from Ethicool Books co-founder, Teigan Margetts. Teigan and her publishing company have a wonderful ethos, creating picture books about the world's big issues and inspiring children to…
I wonder what my favourite literary introverts would think of lockdown
Like no other disaster before it, the coronavirus lockdown has separated the introverts from the extroverts. As news of the pandemic broke, any self-respecting introvert shut to door of their…
Forget COVID, it might be Dostoyevsky that pushes me over the edge
I’ve got to admit that I’m struggling. I know, I know – as Victoria enters its gazillionth week of lockdown I’m not the only one to feel overwhelmed. But my…
Book Review: Too Much Lip by Melissa Lucashenko
Too Much Lip has been on of my books of the year. From the first page, I was pulled into the life of wise-cracking Kerry, as she encounters a magpie…
Book Review: The Gustav Sonata by Rose Tremain
The Gustav Sonata tells the story of a young boy who is rejected by his mother, but who finds love elsewhere. Gustav is growing up in Switzerland, which prides itself…
Book Review: The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid
It’s always great to read a book that challenges your assumptions and The Reluctant Fundamentalist definitely did that for me. The book is set in Lahore, where a man, who…
My favourites … updated
As Victoria looks ahead to months of lockdown, and readers rely on great books for consolation, distraction and entertainment, here is an updated list of my favourites. Some are new…
The more you read, the more you know … how much you don’t know
“The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don't know.” Albert Einstein There are many things I don’t know, and probably never will. I don’t really understand…
Book review: Educated by Tara Westover
Tara Westover’s Educated was such a fascinating read. This bestselling book is the memoir of a woman who was brought up a devout Mormon in the US by a mentally…
Book review: See What You Made Me Do by Jess Hill
Firstly, I have to say that See What You Made Me Do is an intelligent, thorough and necessary book about domestic abuse in Australia ... BUT if you’re Victorian, maybe…
Book review: The Eye in the Door by Pat Barker
The Eye in the Door is the second book in Pat Barker’s World War I trilogy that explores life at home for soldiers. The first of the trilogy, Regeneration, was…
Shame is not so bad in the company of nine perfect strangers
I can always tell when I am getting tired or sick – that is when I start to feel gloomy and my past embarrassments or regrets, however minor, bubble to…
How to Find the Best Age-Appropriate Books for Kids
Every parent I know wants their child to love reading, but it can be difficult to find the right books to give children at the right time. They think that…
Book review: From the Wreck by Jane Rawson
As promised, this is one mind and genre bending read. Into the Wreck is the story of a man who survived a historical shipwreck. However, it is not his story…
Book review: The Children Act by Ian McEwan
If there is one reliably enjoyable writer, for me it is Ian McEwan. I hadn’t read one of his books for quite some time and found The Children Act audiobook.…
Book review: The Color Purple by Alice Walker
The Color Purple is Pulitzer Prize-winning author Alice Walker’s beautiful story of pain and hope. It follows Celie, and African American woman growing up in rural Georgia in the early…
My travel bug is feeding off armchair travel in the age of coronavirus
In recent months I have visited New York’s nightclubs, wondered at the expanse of Canada’s wilderness, journeyed through English countryside by rail and spent time on a Queensland cattle station.…
Book review: City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert
Gosh, I had a great time listening to City of Girls on audiobook. Elizabeth Gilbert’s novel follows the story of Vivian Morris as she discovers a glittering, exciting post-World War…
Book review: My Absolute Darling by Gabriel Tallent
I had been warned that My Absolute Darling was a harrowing read, but I’m still not sure that I was ready for the violence and abuse that was part of…
My favourite books from the first half of 2020
What a year it has been so far. In my memory there has never been a stranger time, from the panic buying of toilet paper to an Australia-wide lock down.…
Book review: The Yield by Tara June Winch
The Yield is a book that requires concentration, and so I feel like I didn’t do justice to it by listening to it on audiobook, rather than reading the print…
Book review: Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
Such a Fun Age is one of those books that are easy to read and entertaining, while delivering a big message that can change minds and attitudes. The story is…
Book review: One Hundred Years of Dirt by Rick Morton
It might be no Angela’s Ashes, either in misery or in degree of poverty, but One Hundred Years of Dirt is an eye-opening reflection on inequality in Australia. Rick Morton…
I’ve got a soft spot for Lydia Bennet
A character that we all love to hate can make a book. There’s Dolores Umbridge from Harry Potter, Tom Buchanan from The Great Gatsby and Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights, whose…
Ain’t no cure for the post-Potter blues
I’ve developed quite an attachment … to Harry Potter. I started reading JK Rowling’s blockbuster series with my son and didn’t expect to enjoy it every bit as much as…
The best books I have read on race
One of the great roles of literature is to introduce us to worlds and experiences that differ from our own. In recent years, I have been drawn to books on…
Book review: Mothering Sunday by Graham Swift
Novellas might be small, but they can certainly make a big impact. I haven’t read many of this form of novel, but the ones that I have read have been…
Move over Kindle, I’ve got a new obsession: the audiobook
Multitasking has lost its appeal since I became a mother. As a child, it had meant the ability to hold an icecream and ride my bike at the same time;…
Book review: The Erratics by Vicki Laveau Harvie
The Erratics is the story of the rescue of Vicki Laveau Harvie’s father from the clutches of his cruel wife. Travelling from her home in Australia to the prairie landscape…
Book review: The Trauma Cleaner by Sarah Krasnostein
What a story! While reading The Trauma Cleaner, I couldn’t help myself from marvelling at what an extraordinary story Sarah Krasnostein had stumbled on when she met Sandra of the…
From Pride and Prejudice to Normal People – love stories in literature
Normal People is in the news, but this time the fuss is not about the book, but about the television adaptation. It has broken records with 16.2 million requests for…
Book review: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Could Pride and Prejudice be the perfect isolation read during the coronavirus pandemic? Funny, escapist and romantic, it just might be. After having watched the series starring Colin Firth a…
Book review: Everywhere I Look by Helen Garner
It is easy to lose sight of Helen Garner’s way with words as she writes about everyday objects and happenings. In Everywhere I Look, she writes with such apparent ease…
Book review: The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
I loved reading Ann Patchett's Commonwealth, so I was looking forward to reading her most recent novel about families, and all of the complication and complexity of those relationships. At…
(I hope) we don’t need another hero
Before coronavirus, and even in the first few weeks of social isolation, we all had visions of the way we would tackle the coming apocalypse. We would be brave and…
What’s the big deal about Helen Garner?
Helen Garner had just been inducted into the Australian Book Industry Awards Hall of Fame and I was listening to the audiobook of Everywhere I Look, which I had borrowed…
Wuthering Heights and the joy of divisive books
Few books divide readers the way that Wuthering Heights does. I had no idea of the passionate love, and equally passionate dislike, that readers felt towards this book before reading…
Book review: The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
The Nickel Boys was the first audiobook that I have read, and it did nothing to discourage me from enjoying books in this form in the future. Read by author…
Book review: Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Remind me to do my research before picking up what I think will be a relaxing romance – Wuthering Heights is a long, long, LONG way from being relaxing or…