Raising Readers, by Megan Daley, is the book I wish I’d been able to read before I had kids. Not because I need tips on how to interest my boys in books – they’re both voracious readers and my youngest takes books to bed as though they’re teddies – but because it would have helped […]
australian writers
Review: The Aunts’ House, by Elizabeth Stead
The Aunts’ House is a delightful coming of age story set in 1942 Sydney. Author Elizabeth Stead has conjured an ensemble of quirky, lovable characters that would make Charles Dickens envious. Angel Martin is an orphaned child foisted upon long-suffering boarding house mistress, Missus Potts. Enraged upon discovering Angel hasn’t brought the inheritance she’d counted on […]
Review: In the Blink of an Eye, by Jesse Blackadder
Toddlers can be as fast as lightning for such small packages. Taking your eyes off them for even a second can have catastrophic consequences. In The Blink of an Eye, by Jesse Blackadder, is a powerful and heart-shattering story about a family living with exactly those consequences. Teenaged Jarrah loves his little brother, Toby, to […]
5 intriguing memoirs by Australian women writers
There have been some really fabulous memoirs written by Australian women published in the past few years. They lay bare the experience of being a woman in all its many forms. From feminism to racism, battling with body image and cultural identity, the stories I’ve read have been rich with insight and humour. The following […]
Review: Apple Island Wife – Slow Living In Tasmania, by Fiona Stocker
Apple Island Wife is Fiona Stocker’s simply delightful memoir of trading city life in Brisbane for rural life in north-western Tasmania. Her descriptions of the cooler climate, slower lifestyle and simple living with young children made me want to pack up my own city life immediately. It all sounded so wonderful. Well, except for the […]
Review: The Last Days of the Romanov Dancers, by Kerri Turner
The Last Days of the Romanov Dancers, by Kerri Turner, is a wonderful and thoroughly enjoyable story to read. I’m a sucker for anything set in Russia. I devoured Paullina Simons’ The Bronze Horseman series, with Tatiana and Alexander and have read my way through plenty of Russian literature, including Anna Karenina and Crime and […]