Vintage (New Zealand, 2010/Kindle) 9781869792886 Rosemary, a vintage-dress-wearing tattooed taxidermist, decides to spend some time in her family’s run-down old manor Magpie Hall – to work on her gothic literature thesis and simultaneously escape an affair with her supervisor. But there are plenty of distractions at Magpie Hall: memories of her recently deceased grandfather, her … Continue reading Ink, dust & darkness: Magpie Hall by Rachael King
20 classics in 2011: blog project
I am going to read 20 classic, modern-classic or cult books in 2011. All book-lovers have gaps in their reading - how could you possibly read everything? In recent years I've been fairly up-to-speed with newer books and Australian literature, but I'll often find myself in conversation, saying 'oh, I haven't read such-and-such yet'. People often assume I … Continue reading 20 classics in 2011: blog project
Bookish ways to help out the flood victims
The recent floods throughout Queensland and other parts of Australia have had a massive impact on many lives. But there are some literary-minded ways you can help out: 1. Bid for some of the signed or limited edition books and other literary goods like manuscript assessments in the Authors for Queensland auctions. 2. The Writers on Rafts … Continue reading Bookish ways to help out the flood victims
Win James Franco’s Palo Alto with Faber Academy
Beginning the blogging year with a giveaway is always a good idea! This week you can win a copy of actor James Franco's upcoming short story collection Palo Alto, courtesy of Faber Academy and Allen & Unwin. What is Faber Academy? The Academy began in London when Faber offered creative writing courses out of their … Continue reading Win James Franco’s Palo Alto with Faber Academy
Cut, print, that’s a wrap: 2010
In 2010 I... fell madly in love presented/chaired at Perth Writers Festival, Format Festival, the Australian Booksellers Association conference, Byron Bay Writers Festival, Write Around the Murray; and locally here in Melbourne for the Melbourne Writers Festival, Williamstown Literary Festival, Emerging Writers Festival, and some events for Express Media. I also attended other writerly events, such as Writers at … Continue reading Cut, print, that’s a wrap: 2010
Cult carny lit: Katherine Dunn's Geek Love
Vintage, 1989 9780375713347 (2002 edn) (Also Aus, US, UK) Miss Olympia is an emotional, hunchbacked albino dwarf, and the complex narrator of this wonderful novel. In the present, Oly secretly watches over the remaining members of her carnival-of-freaks family: her daughter, Miranda, and her mother, Crystal Lil. Why her observance and care is secretive is revealed through … Continue reading Cult carny lit: Katherine Dunn's Geek Love
Happy holidays
Two gorgeous 1930s cartoons that my sister and I used to watch every festive season. You might remember them too: Warm wishes to all my readers!
Guest review: Greg Westenberg on John Mateer’s The West: Australian Poems 1989–2009
Fremantle Press, 2010 (Aus, US, UK) 9781921361869 Remember that Renaissance sculpture you admired, briefly, in a Roman or Florentine church, cool and hard and chiselled and, perhaps a little too dramatically posed? Reading John Mateer’s collection of poems The West, gives an analogous sensation. The sculptors worked in marble that kept its material nature, the hardness … Continue reading Guest review: Greg Westenberg on John Mateer’s The West: Australian Poems 1989–2009
Sending out your books for review: a few tips
I'm a very lucky person. I receive several books in the mail each week and several more offers via email. There are a lot of books being published every day, and many that interest me or that I think would interest the readers of this blog. Literary editors, freelance reviewers, magazine and journal editors, and other … Continue reading Sending out your books for review: a few tips
Guest review: Gerard Elson on Tim Burton’s The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy and Other Stories
Faber/Allen & Unwin (Aus, US, UK) November 2010 (orig. 1997) 9780571270248 Reviewed by Gerard Elson It’s been a big twelve months for Tim Burton. Tim Burton: The Exhibition drew record crowds during seasons at both New York’s MoMA and Melbourne’s ACMI, and his visually brillig (though otherwise rote) Alice in Wonderland became just the sixth film … Continue reading Guest review: Gerard Elson on Tim Burton’s The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy and Other Stories
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