The Pocket Bookclub celebrates the year's end with the usual wine, cheese and food, and each member votes for their favourite and less favourite read of the year. The year is bookended with joint-favourite reads in January and November (blue dots). There was a reluctance to place the (orange) less favourite dots, indicating a good … Continue reading Pocket Bookclub 2022
Tag: Australian Books
Rewriting history: The Commandant
The victors write history. This is why the day we 'celebrate' Australia is the anniversary of the day Captian Philip of the First Fleet planted the British flag at Sydney Cove. The day is also Invasion Day. As a white person of German (and other) heritage, I have to acknowledge my family's role in taking … Continue reading Rewriting history: The Commandant
Devotion/Obession
This one time, I got addicted to ancestory.com. It would get dark and I would begin to think, I'm tired. Then I would realise it was 2 in the morning. I had to find sleep before 9 to 5 of my workday! Devotion by Hannah Kent retriggered my addiction. On my first read of Devotion, … Continue reading Devotion/Obession
Once There Were Wolves: The Human Predator
I was hopeful, Charlotte McConaghy's Once There Were Wolves starts with a quote from Angela Carter on wolves. It was not immediately downhill from there but there was a turning point that destroyed the book for me. I literally shouted at a character. At the author. I said no, don't. Please no! I have to … Continue reading Once There Were Wolves: The Human Predator
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
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
Two Books, One Story
There have been tears at my desk. The apparently easy migration from wordpress.com to self hosted wordpress.org has been fraught. Every step has been a drama. I don't know why. As the result, I have two Pocket Bookclub events to write about. Tim Winton's, The Shepherd's Hut and Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton. Lucky … Continue reading Two Books, One Story
I am not disorganised…
Don't dare say I am disorganised. It will rile me. I am a juggler. A juggler of many fragile glass balls. Sometimes I have to put a couple down in order to cope with what is struggling in the air. To an outsider, this may appear disorganised. The truth is this a futile attempt to … Continue reading I am not disorganised…
Hungry and lost: Terra Nullius
The Pocket Bookclub does not have many rules. It is however customary for the month's chooser of the book to bring supper. Of late these suppers have in part been inspired by the book. Some members have been quite imaginative and set a high bar. Notably, our civil war inspired supper when discussing Lincoln in … Continue reading Hungry and lost: Terra Nullius