Category Archives: Uncategorized

Graeme Simpsion, author of the best-selling romantic comedy The Rosie Project, came to Castlemaine Library last Thursday evening to give a talk. I was there to sell books for Stoneman’s Bookroom, and though I wasn’t unduly grumpy about getting home … Continue reading →

When you’re a very small child – say three or four – you can at last walk and talk and take part in the world, but you don’t have perspective. Everything is new. Almost anything is possible or at least … Continue reading →

Sometimes it’s hard to find the right book for your mood. This week I’ve tried a couple of crime thrillers and put them down after 30 or so pages. Next I started a literary novel translated from the Swedish and … Continue reading →

I’m just back from a family holiday in Canada. We were there for most of May – catching up with old friends and covering a lot of ground. We spent time in Vancouver, in Guelph (which is about an hour … Continue reading →

Last week, I read three sad books in a row. Why? Oh, I don’t know. They were there on the shelf and I didn’t realise that I was diving into a sea of tragedy and loss. They were all  non-fiction, … Continue reading →

Op Shops are great for books. There must be people who are forever refreshing their shelves because you can find not just new and new-ish novels but classics that you’d think would just keep their own permanent spot like perennial … Continue reading →

First, a rant. A rant that I shouldn’t be having, actually, since in the last couple of weeks of sprained-ankle-induced sloth, I have been reading all my Buddhist books and attempting to practice mindfulness. I have managed to make one … Continue reading →

I’ve just read Simmone Howell’s new Young Adult novel Girl Defective. It was an odd experience – kinda new, kinda not – because I was already acquainted with Sky and Gully and Bill in their flat above the record shop … Continue reading →

…and I went to an International Women’s Day breakfast at the Tea Rooms in the Botanical Gardens. I had to pass on the food – muffins, frittata and the most delicious-looking berry muesli provided and served by our local Secondary … Continue reading →

I was going to post a photo of my black, blue and yellow swollen ankle, just so you’d know I’m not making this up in a pathetic bid for sympathy, but my husband advised against it. Too revolting, he said. … Continue reading →