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
Tag: Australian Books
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
Keeping the Faith – Writing Life
Today is a good day. I found out Cassandra is on the shortlist for the Best Fantasy Novel in the Aurealis Awards. This is a big deal for me. Equal in excitement to the first time I was published and when Odysessy Books agreed to publish Cassandra. I will celebrate this moderate success because it … Continue reading Keeping the Faith – Writing Life
Pretty Tsundoku
I have been to the Brisbane Writers Festival and created pretty new tsundoku. This one lives at my house. Here's why bought each one (starting from the bottom). Jesse Ball, How to Set a Fire and Why: Let's start with the title. Wow. I saw Jesse Ball a session entitled Lost between the Lines which was about the … Continue reading Pretty Tsundoku
Pocket Bookclub Unlearning
This month the Pocket Bookclub read Dark Emu Black Seeds: agriculture or accident by Bruce Pascoe. Bruce Pascoe was at the Byron Writers Festival and I heard him speak about his sense of obligation to write this book about Aboriginal agriculture because even did not initially believe the stories people told him. It seems we … Continue reading Pocket Bookclub Unlearning
Pocket Bookclub talk about brunch coats and Miles Franklin winner
It says something of the age of Pocket Book club members that we all know what a brunch coat is and remember our mothers' wearing one. Perhaps we wore one too but we were not willing to admit it. A bit like duchess for a dresser, brunch coat has fallen out of favour. I have … Continue reading Pocket Bookclub talk about brunch coats and Miles Franklin winner
I’m going for Stella
Back when I was in boarding school, we were treated differently to the boys. For example, while the boys seemed to have the run of the small town we had to jump through several hoops on Sunday to be allowed downtown on Tuesday afternoon. Somehow, we needed to be protected and had fewer rights as a … Continue reading I’m going for Stella
Pocket Book club is either depressed or feeling thankful
Ruth Park's book The Harp in the South has never been out of print. Yep, that is 68 years of being in bookstores. The Harp in the South is the second book, or the first book, in Park's trilogy. She wrote it first but 40 years later she wrote a prequel, Missus. She was a … Continue reading Pocket Book club is either depressed or feeling thankful