It has been four years since the Pocket Bookclub lost our lovely thoughtful clever Ann. Her last gift to us was The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. I wrote this blog post back then and it has sat in my drafts because I couldn't bring myself to post it. Now is the time. Thank you, Ann, … Continue reading The Goldfinch and Ann
Category: Book Fix
Flyaway and heart-shaped lemon cake
The Pocket Bookclub is not a fan of 'fantasy' but I keep trying. My favourite Jonathon Strange and Mr Norell fell flat but I had some success with books that err closer to magical realism. The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht was warmly embraced. Flyaway by Kathleen Jennings was a risky choice. Would I like … Continue reading Flyaway and heart-shaped lemon cake
The decade we read a book about Tomorrow When the War Began
Do you remember the books you read to your children? The Cat in the Hat, Slinky Malinki rapscallion cat, and Timid Tim and the Cuggy Theif were part of our end-of-the-day ritual. As a parent, I did not expect the shared reading experiences would continue into adolescence and adulthood. This is why I read the … Continue reading The decade we read a book about Tomorrow When the War Began
The Silence of Water
The Pocket Book club kicked off 2023 with The Silence of Water by Sharron Booth. We like to theme our food with a book's contents but there is not much food in this book. Lots of alcohol. Not much food. The best we could do was marmalade sandwiches (minus the beach sand). The Silence of … Continue reading The Silence of Water
Rebecca: Misrepresented Romance
During last month's obsession with Bluebeard, I discovered Bronte's Jane Eyre and du Maurier's Rebecca are considered 'romanticised' Bluebeard tales. I love Bluebeard (particularly Anglea Carter's retelling, the Bloody Chamber) because it calls out violence (both within and external to us) as a warning to check behind locked doors and develop our intuitive insight. I … Continue reading Rebecca: Misrepresented Romance
Bloody Fairy Tales: Bluebeard
When I mention fairy tales, most people’s eyes glaze over, and I imagine they are thinking ‘Disney Princess’ and Happily Ever After. Perhaps if people knew Bluebeard they would not jump to the fairy tale = Disney conclusion. Disney will never be able to Disneyfy Bluebeard. The most well-known version was written by Charles Perrault … Continue reading Bloody Fairy Tales: Bluebeard
This book could break you
Adjectives that come to mind when I think of Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart: devastating, heartbreaking, ruthless, brutal, distressing. And yet, in the last sentence of the book, I glimpsed hope. The last sentence made me cry, the only time I shed tears despite all the shocking events of the previous 430 pages. All those … Continue reading This book could break you
Fear for Words
Pocket Book Club's first book for 2021 was The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams. I am very pleased to say there is madeira Cake in this book. One of our best hopes for any book is for it to include some delicious food and I got to bake the madeira cake twice due … Continue reading Fear for Words
2020 Wins
2020 was a Cracker! Ok, sure there was a pandemic and general mayhem but on the bright side, Pocket Book Club read some mighty fine books. This is how the votes came in! A yellow or blue dot is a yes vote and a red dot is a 'I like it less' vote. We rarely … Continue reading 2020 Wins
Serious Readers Only
It's difficult to write about Pocket Bookclub's recent read, The Plains by Gerald Murnane. This book requires some patience to read and interrogate. It generated considerable discussion at our meeting, a lot of it about magic mushrooms. I will begin with the man. Murnane was born in 1939 in Victoria and has never flown anywhere. … Continue reading Serious Readers Only