Author Archives: susan

Walking around my dry garden this morning, I found some parrot feathers. Mine were blue, but they reminded me of Lorraine Marwood’s poem, ‘A Gift”. It’s from Guinea Pig Town and Other Animal Poems (Walker Books Australia 2013). I found … Continue reading →

I woke early this morning – just before 5 – and couldn’t get back to sleep. So after a while I got up, made myself a cup of tea and went back to bed, where I sat up and read … Continue reading →

The site of an old gold mine near the main road into town. Mining equipment turned into rusty old junk turned into oddly beautiful objects.  The closer you look, the more you see (isn’t that the way of things?). All … Continue reading →

It’s the time of year for reptiles of all kinds to be out and about, and so I’m being very mindful that the creature rustling in the bushes may be a harmless lizard – or a brown snake. So far … Continue reading →

After I finished Little Women, I read one of the many YA new releases that are stacked in piles in our bookshop. There’s a lot of dystopia around, but since I’m feeling fairly depressed at the state of the world … Continue reading →

More reading about reading. Last week I finished How to be  a Heroine;(Or, What I’ve Learned from Reading Too Much) by Samantha Ellis and it got me thinking about the heroines of my childhood. A reader, a bookworm, living much … Continue reading →

Who would have thought there were so many books about reading? It’s a whole genre. Reading a particular author – you could probably have a sizeable shelf devoted to reading the works of Jane Austen. Or reading just one book, … Continue reading →

I’ve spent all morning in the garden. Perhaps I’ve done a bit too much for someone with a dodgy back, but I’ve had a wonderful play with rocks, dirt and plants. I’ve wheel-barrowed and planted; I’ve lugged pots and loads … Continue reading →

                  As you can see from the pictures, Stonemans Bookroom in Castlemaine – the place where I work – is not your standard bookshop. That’s what customers seem to love about it. … Continue reading →