I can’t really explain why I love post-apocalyptic novels and dystopian fiction so much. Maybe it’s because, deep down, I fear we humans won’t be able to pull it together in time to beat climate change. Rising sea levels, record-breaking weather events and increased toxicity are quickly becoming reality. It’s nice to think that fiction […]
book lists
The Other 4 Best Novels of 2018
I’ve read 55 books this year, smashing my goal of 50 in 2018. They’ve been a mixture of novels (mostly), memoir, kids books and non-fiction. It was pretty tough to pick a ‘best of’ list but I’m a sucker for tradition (when it suits me). I paused at the halfway mark to write up my […]
Book gifts for the lovely intellectual snob in your life
We all know one. They refuse to watch anything not on the ABC or SBS, they roll their eyes at the very mention of Netflix and the word ‘popular’ is synonymous with ‘cultural desert’. They are the intellectual snob we know and love (to tease gently when their attention is elsewhere – probably on the […]
The 7 Best New Books of 2018 (So Far)
I’ve been privileged to be able to read an amazing selection of new books so far in 2018. I’ve finished and reviewed (or plan to review closer to their release date in July) 27 fabulous books. I’ve picked up a further 19 but put them down after about 50 pages or so because I wasn’t […]
Reading aloud to children: 4 books for theatrically-inclined parents
I’ve read out loud to my kids since they were in utero. Starting with the Time magazine and moving up to… well, The Very Hungry Caterpillar mostly. Reading aloud has many amazing benefits for kids (literacy, vocabulary, imagination) but, given we have to do it every single day, it helps if you’re reading a book […]
3 incredible new novels about World War 2 by Australian women
There’s something in the water in the Australian literary scene this year. I don’t know if it’s coincidence or a sneaky trick by the muse. But THREE amazing new novels about World War 2 have hit the bookshop shelves and flown off them again in vast quantities over the past few months. They’re all brilliantly […]