I'm reading Northanger Abbey and while looking up pictures of the Pump Room (trying to remember if we visited it in Bath) I came across this great blog for Austen and history enthusiasts. It has an enormous amount of info, links and pictures. Just mind the Downton Abbey spoilers.
Guest review: Andrew Wrathall on 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami
Harvill Secker, 2011 9781846555497 (hardcover, ebook: books 1 & 2, book 3) by Andrew Wrathall Aomame is warned: ‘Things are not what they seem,’ before she leaves a taxi on a backed-up freeway in Japan and walks down an emergency stairway, which causes her to slip out of 1984 and into the alternate reality of 1Q84. … Continue reading Guest review: Andrew Wrathall on 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami
Two literary TV shows I’m excited about in 2012
Parade's End Ford Madox Ford has not yet made it from the to-read list to my eyeballs, but from what I've heard, he's magnificent. That's one reason I'm excited about the BBC/HBO co-production of Parade's End, based on Ford's 1920s four-part novel about a complex relationship and the madness of war (and undoubtedly much more). The … Continue reading Two literary TV shows I’m excited about in 2012
Bellingen Readers and Writers Festival 2012 special: The Sea Bed by Marele Day
In the lead-up to the Bellingen Readers and Writers Festival, I'll be putting up a series of (short) reviews of books I'm reading in preparation. The Sea Bed, Marele Day Allen & Unwin, 2009 9781741758412 (paperback, ebook) The Sea Bed is set around an island with a tradition of ‘sea women’, who, for generations, have dived, … Continue reading Bellingen Readers and Writers Festival 2012 special: The Sea Bed by Marele Day
Up in the air: an interview with Carrie Tiffany on Mateship with Birds
Picador, February 2012 9781742610764 (paperback, ebook) A version of this article was published in The Big Issue No. 399 Carrie Tiffany’s debut novel Everyman’s Rules for Scientific Living was published in 2005 to high praise. Now, her second novel Mateship with Birds—a compelling and elegant meditation on family, desire and country life—confirms the author’s attraction … Continue reading Up in the air: an interview with Carrie Tiffany on Mateship with Birds
‘Sh*t Book Reviewer’s Say’ by Ron Charles
'Hilarious and bold' - LiteraryMinded
Seduced by an island of sea-wives: Sea Hearts by Margo Lanagan
Allen & Unwin February 2012 (paperback, ebook) 9781742375052 I picked up this novel one morning from somewhere in the pile and was instantly drawn into its strange, contained world. The story is about the island of Rollrock, and the sea witch Misskaella who can draw forth human beings from seals. The novel is divided into … Continue reading Seduced by an island of sea-wives: Sea Hearts by Margo Lanagan
Happy 200th birthday Charles Dickens
What better way to celebrate than by downloading all of his books (via The University of Adelaide)? You might also like to read 'A Letter to Charles Dickens on his 200th Birthday' by Dickens biographer Claire Tomalin. I've also loved pottering about lately on Dickens Journals Online which I was introduced to by Whispering Gums, who reviewed Margaret … Continue reading Happy 200th birthday Charles Dickens
Varuna’s writer-a-day project: a short extract from my work
My contribution to Varuna's writer-a-day project is now up on the Varuna blog. It's an extract from my novel-in-progress Not Like Sensation (working title). You can listen to me reading it (only 2.5 mins) or just read the text, here. I was at Varuna Writers House in 2008, as a recipient of Peter Bishop's Pathways … Continue reading Varuna’s writer-a-day project: a short extract from my work
The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst
Picador, 2004 9780330483216 (paperback, ebook) I was going to refer to Nick, the protagonist of The Line of Beauty, as unambitious. But when I think about it, it’s just that his ambitions are not professional. They are romantic, aesthetic, and social. Another skill he has is taking in the pleasure of the moment, and even … Continue reading The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst
LiteraryMinded 