Pocket Bookclub 2023

The Pocket Bookclub celebrates the year's end with the usual wine, cheese, food, and swimming. Each member votes for their favourite and less favourite read of the year. January: Some people liked this, it has green dots, though I was somewhat ambivalent. The Silence of Water, Sharron Booth Cunttail: The Bloody Silence March: remembering when … Continue reading Pocket Bookclub 2023

Short and Careful

 You can read Cold Enough for Snow by Jessica Au in one sitting. Then you might have to read it again. It is short, carefully worded, and elusive. A daughter and her mother are meeting in Japan for a short holiday, the daughter hopes to build their relationship, but as the title suggests there is … Continue reading Short and Careful

Pocket Bookclub 2022

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

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

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

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