Tag: books
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Slaughterhouse-Five
—Kurt Vonnegut When I first read this novel, back when I didn’t have grey hair, it was marketed as ‘a classic of Science Fiction’. I read it because I liked science fiction, without really understanding the context of the novella, and was bitterly disappointed. Stephen King, I will point out, was also marketed as ‘Science…
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THE WHITE GIRL By Tony Birch
The story revolves around Aboriginal Odette Brown, a resident of the fictitious town of Deane since childhood. Deane could be in western NSW or Queensland or maybe Victoria. The only clue readers get is that it has a river which has dried up because of the activity of white people.
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More Thoughts on Writing
I write lots of different things, but I write books for the same reason we read them—to find out what happens next. As carefully as I plan it, I never know, going into a story, exactly how it will end, nor even what twists the plot may take away from what I’ve planned. This makes…
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Why I’ve included sex scenes in my writing
Sex is part of the common human experience, and we should write about those, shouldn’t we? I’m always struck by how authors are blithely happy to write shocking scenes of violence or murder (which rarely happens to most of us), yet tell me I’m brave when it comes to writing about sex. Sex can reveal…
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THE VENICE HOTEL by Tess Woods
I was excited about reading this book, because I was actually in Venice at the time in which it is set, in the Christmas-New Year period in 2019, just before the World locked down. The stress about cruise ships damaging the delicate city was palpable. I bought the book at Brisbane Airport to read on…
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SORROW AND BLISS By Meg Mason.
New Zealand wtiter, Meg Mason, strikes a chord in my heart, because she captures brilliantly that feeling of sticking out like a sore thumb. The main character, Martha Friel is 40, the writer of a “funny food column” that, once her editor has cut out all the jokes, is – as she sardonically acknowledges –…
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Reflections from the Writing Journey
We live in an era where it’s possible to receive instant gratification in many fields of endeavour, but except for a few notable individuals, it isn’t possible to decide to be a writer and find your inexperienced self on a dais having a Nobel Prize for Literature pinned to your instantly famous chest. Moreover, you…
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BOOK JUST READ: THE MINISTRY OF TIME ; Kaliane Bradley
Billed as “speculative fiction”, it is perhaps more cheering to think of this novel, as 50% sci-fi thriller, and 50% romcom. Ok, I don’t normally read romcom—it’s trite and formulaic— but this is sort of along the lines of ‘The Time Traveller’s Wife’ which was devourable, crossed with the ‘Hunger Games’. It does bog down…
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SKIPPY DIES: PAUL MURRAY
GENRE: CONTEMPORARY FICTION/SATIRE Paul Murray is a master of tragic-comedic satire. You laugh heartily, but a dark heart beats beneath the humour. I love this book at the same time as I am absolutely revolted by some of the characters. ‘Skippy’ is Daniel “Skippy” Juster, so nicknamed because of his unfortunate resemblance to a certain TV…
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THE CRIMSON THREAD: KATE FORSYTH
GENRE: HISTORICAL FICTION About a quarter to midnight on New Year’s Eve, I finished reading this tapestry of myth, mystery, fantasy and historical events by Kate Forsyth. Other books of Forsyth’s, such as Bitter Greens, are also based on fairytales Her superpowers include meticulous research (adds authenticity), attention to detail and what editors call ‘head-hopping’. I…
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THE BURNT COUNTRY: JOY RHOADES
GENRE: HISTORICAL FICTION My friend, Margie, gave me this fabulous book when I was leaving Ivanhoe. It is the story of Kate, a grazier somewhere in the New England, after World War II. The poor bitch has to deal with every bloody prejudice you can imagine: Her husband wants a divorce so he can marry…
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THE LOST FLOWERS OF ALICE HART: MOLLY RINGLAND
GENRE: FAMILY SAGA/AUSTRALIAN CONTEMPORARY FICTION They shouldn’t sell this book at airports! It was a mistake to read this book on back-to-back long-haul flights and in airports because I ugly-cried and I said things like, ‘Oh No!’ out loud, attracting concerned looks from the physically perfect young Danish man sitting next to me. And I…
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TERRY PRATCHETT — A LIFE WITH FOOTNOTES: ROB WILKINS
GENRE: BIOGRAPHY I was devastated to read that Book Face, an amazing bookshop at Springfield (A suburb of Ipswich, Qld just down the road aways) had closed —- almost as devastated as I was in 2015 to hear of the final ’embuggerance’ of the irrepressible mind of Terry Pratchett OBE. Having read this artfully written…
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THE BEE STING: PAUL MURRAY
GENRE: CONTEMPORARY LITERARY FICTION The Bee Sting would have to be one of my all-time favourite novels. It’s a poignant and unflinching portrayal of a family—the Barneses— in turmoil. They reside in a small town in Ireland during a time of financial chaos and against a background of climate change and environmental stress. It delves into…
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BURIAL RITES: HANNAH KENT
GENRE : HISTORICAL FICTION In 1829, the last public execution in Iceland took place (you can still see the specially commissioned axe in the National Museum in Reykjavik). A man and a woman were beheaded for a murder committed on a remote farm. There being no prisons in Iceland, the condemned woman, Agnes Magnusdottir (great…
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THE LOVED ONE: EVELYN WAUGH
GENRE: SATIRICAL COMEDY It was through reading this book published in 1948 that I learned of the existence of and sheer power of satire to engage the brain in a tug-o-war between laughing and observing conventions. Double entendre entered my naive farmgirl world, as did euphemisms, the concept of a love triangle and juxtaposition. Thanks…
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RETURN OF THE NATIVE: THOMAS HARDY
GENRE: CLASSIC TRAGIC BRITISH LITERATURE This book was a so-called classic— one of the books they ‘make you read’ at school that everybody loves to hate. I, however, loved it. I recently reread it because I couldn’t remember why and became lost in the description of the bleakness of Egdon Heath, which was in itself…
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ON WRITING: A MEMOIR OF THE CRAFT: STEPHEN KING
Welcome to my first book review. I have two confessions to make up front. The first is that my greatest introversion-driven two-pronged aspiration has been, for over sixty years, to be a writer and to live in a ‘chambre de bonne’—a garret room with a view over Paris. There’s a picture of me somewhere on…
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AN INTRODUCTION TO MY FUNNY AVATAR’S LIFE OF WRITING
Meg Blomfield was the person I was before I married The Sexy-Hot Kelly Nerd. She had a social media presence under her maiden name so students wouldn’t find her to send her friend requests on Faceflop, or Twittillations on Tweetie-pie or follow her on Instaspam. She is not a born writer, just an entertainer with…
Margaret R Kelly 