Starting on this one today. Went to see Bri speak about her debut novel last night. I have read two of her non-fiction books. Eggshell Skull is my favourite. #currentlyreading #ozfiction

I am #currentlyreading this little book that has sat on my TBR shelves for many years. I think I was loaned it (oops) by someone when I did my country school psychology placement in the 90s. Has anyone heard of the author or her short stories?

She wrote this memoir in her early 40s, which seems too young to be feeling so tired. Although it was 1939 and no doubt women‘s lives were very different then…🤔

This book. Once I started, I could not put it down. Anne Deveson writes about her son Jonathan‘s lived experience of schizophrenia, focusing on the impact it had on her and the family. Deeply moving, tragic and devastating. Absolutely outstanding and essential reading for anyone wanting to better understand chronic mental health issues. Vale Anne Deveson (and her daughter, writer Georgia Blain).

This month‘s Bookclub read was debut #YA #ozfiction & I loved it. Allegra lives with her grandma & her other grandma lives next door. They adore Allegra, but hate each other. Set in the 1970s, it explores the feminist movement of the time, particularly the emergence of ‘safe houses‘ for women & children escaping domestic violence.
It wasn‘t perfect and one character in particular felt like a caricature, but overall this was a very enjoyable read.

Had one of those blissful days with @Rissreads yesterday where we met up at the Elizabeth‘s second hand book warehouse, browsed and rummaged, then followed it up with a decadent lunch. This is my little haul 📚. I was so happy to find the tagged book & can‘t wait to read it.

What a jaunty little read that was. My first Georgette Heyer. Love discovering #newtomeauthors. An enjoyable #palatecleanser ❤️

#TLT @dabbe

It‘s well and truly Friday here in Western Australia, but I‘ll play anyway 😁. For the last 25 years or so I haven‘t re-read books because there are just too many new ones waiting, and I‘ll never get to them all 😱. So these are from my teens and early 20‘s.

1. Clan of the Cave Bear.
2. The Shell Seekers.
3. The Outsiders.

Wanna play @Jeg @Rissreads ?

Lucashenko is a Goorie (Aboriginal) author who has become a #mustreadauthor for me. Her #ozfiction is punchy, raw and very entertaining. Her novels explore the true history of Australia and I highly recommend them to anyone wanting to better understand what went on here in an accessible way. Having just read a non-fiction book about the Native Police in Queensland I appreciated reading a fictional account here. Bravo 👏
❤️💛🖤

Explain to me indeed. Another day in the colony.

I remember as a child being taught about the “settlement” of Australia in the 1800s, stories of Aboriginal people stealing sheep and cows from the white farmers. At the time it did not occur to me that Aboriginal people may have felt they had a right to take, when everything was being taken from them 😞.

Traditionally, Australian Aboriginal people were given a totem plant or animal at birth, that they were expected to nurture & could not eat. My son, whose middle name is Kulbardi (magpie) after his dad‘s totem, was talking about this the other day, asking me to imagine if your totem was the kangaroo (yonga), because that would mean that you couldn‘t eat it. To this day his dad‘s family hunt & eat yongas, an abundantly available food source.

Just look what my lovely colleague, who first alerted me to Georgette Heyer, gifted me today. She bought this 1965 edition online. It had no dust cover and has some slight damage (a name cut out of the title page). She photocopied the dust cover from her own rare edition and put it on this one! So thoughtful 🥰. Book people are the best. 📚🙏❤️

Ok, stop the press everyone! I got my hands on my first Georgette Heyer. A little after dinner wander lead me into an Elizabeth‘s 2nd hand bookshop, and here she is. Let‘s see how I go. #newtomeauthor #currentlyreading

#currentlyreading #ozfiction ❤️🖤💛

“…eating the decisions of his ancestors…”

Sustainability in its purest form. We can learn so much…

I‘m kind of sad to give it a ‘so-so‘. Bought this copy many years ago for my mum, then borrowed it to read because she liked it. I also bought a copy for my sister, who loved it. It has sat patiently on my #tbr shelves for about 10 years. I‘ve moved it on & off my bedside table, never getting into it.
A buddy read popped up on Insta & I decided to commit. And now I just feel underwhelmed. It wasn‘t for me I guess. Glad I finally read it 💪.

Oh my. So beautiful. So sad. What an incredibly special book. Read it if you dare. Thank you and vale Georgia Blain. 😍💔

“The best way to pay tribute to the Australian author, who died in the same week as her mother Anne Deveson, is to read her work” Sophie Cunningham, The Guardian, Dec 2016.

“Life is an amorphous mess, a huge soup of details we wade our way through, and in order to make sense of what is happening to us, we impose structure or narrative. It is inescapable.”

Writing about sharing news with her mother who has dementia Georgia says,
“Sometimes…she momentarily surfaces out of the goldfish bowl of Alzheimer‘s where she spends most of her time, swimming round, trapped, bumping up against her own reflection.
‘So what do I do now?‘ She asks.”
My mum has Alzheimer‘s and often asks that same question. It‘s a tough one to answer. I sometimes say, “surrender” or “it‘s your turn to be looked after now.” 🤷🏻‍♀️

I wasn‘t planning to start this right away, but couldn‘t help myself.
Georgia is reflecting on her daughter‘s reading here.
Having recently read Grapes of Wrath, this resonated. 😍💯🙌

As some of you may know, I have a bit of an obsession going on with Australian author Georgia Blain who died prematurely in 2016 😔. This book was one of two published that year. It is YA, specfic about teenager Fern and her Lotto Girl friends. I‘m not a big fan of the genre, so perhaps not the best judge, but I found it to be just an OK read. #ozfiction

@Rissreads @Jeg Look what I got my hands on today 😍.

Well that was a treat (in a weird, gloomy kind of way 😆). Thanks for putting the book in my hand @Rissreads . The inner lives of women of a certain age. Very relatable even though the book was set in a time and place where not getting married was considered sad and unfortunate. Some may say this is still the case 🤷🏻‍♀️. I loved Brookner‘s writing. She capture ideas, life‘s moments and “truths” so simply and effectively. I‘m keen to read more…

Absolute perfection. These short stories were written between 2012 - 2015. Georgia died from a brain tumor in 2016. The stories didn‘t get published before her death because Georgia put her energy into a getting a book she had just finished published, Between A Wolf & A Dog (a masterpiece).
I am so grateful that they have now been published & I got to read them. Thank you Georgia 🥹❤️🙏
#ozfiction

@Rissreads This is the book of hers I don‘t have, but very much want if you happen to see it on your travels. 🙏 I‘ll let you know if I manage to find it first.

@Rissreads is such a bad influence, in the best possible way. We were at the same show last night, sitting on opposite sides of the theatre. Nerissa comes over at interval to give me a random bag of books that she has ‘saved‘ for me. How lucky am I? 🥰👏📚🙏

WTAF was that? I acknowledge Tsiolkas‘ contribution to #ozfiction. I loved The Slap and found it ground-breaking. And I haven‘t minded a couple of his other books: Seven and a Half & Barracuda. But this was something else. Hist fic where Tsiolkas embodies St Paul. I was disoriented & revolted & read much of it with a scowl on my face. The abundance of “rutting”, “stench” & brutality were A LOT. Was it amazing or terrible 🤔🤷🏻‍♀️? Or was it both?

Valentines Day post.
I saw this book of short stories was being published posthumously & might‘ve hinted to my husband that I‘d very much like to read it 😉.
The card is locally made & will make sense to Perth people. There‘s this strange divide in Perth about north & south of the river (Derbarl Yerrigan or ‘Swan‘ river that runs through the centre). And never the twain shall meet. I moved from the north to the south when I met my husband 😱.

I am making a start on this, a favourite of my husband & a good friend, both of whom have a high tolerance for violence and gore. Mine‘s not quite as high, so let‘s see how I go… #ozfiction #currentlyreading #signedcopy

Today after getting my nails done I popped in to the op shop next-door to see whether I could find myself a Georgette Heyer @LeahBergen . I did not find a Heyer, but I did find these two 😍. For $2 each! #bookhaul #winning

This was a Christmas present from my husband, who also bought me the Paul Kelly version which I‘ve yet to read. I like the concept, a book of short stories, each loosely inspired by a Cave song. As always with short stories, some were better than others. I found a new author to look into for my husband & I liked that there‘s a Spotify playlist I could listen to as I read.
Aside: my husband and I walked down the aisle to a Cave song ❤️.

I am reading this book of short stories inspired by Nick Cave‘s songs. I knew he was invited to attended the coronation of King Charles, but I didn‘t know it was because Albo (Australia‘s Prime Minister) had chosen him! #currentlyreading #ozfiction

#Januarywrapup 5 books. 4 fiction and 1 non.
Australian books dominated my January 2024 reading, with the exception of Tomorrow.
All of them most definitely picks.

Marr meticulously researched early settler accounts of Australia‘s invasion, with a focus on the Native Police. He tells the story of his own ancestors, & if their behaviour is representative, it was a blood bath. It almost became monotonous, reading injustice after injustice. Attitudes, events & circumstances conspired to insure the decimation of Aboriginal people. There were people who stood up for what was right, but not nearly enough 😔.

I am coming to the end of this illuminating, horrifying book about Australia‘s frontier wars. This passage is in response to the suggestion that colonisation & a guerrilla war were inevitable.
My reading in this area confirms that there absolutely were people who objected to the brutal colonisation of Australia & treatment of its inhabitants. Unfortunately there were not enough stop it from happening & there remain not enough to set it right 😔.

Darwin‘s visit to Sydney in 1836

Appreciating this thoroughly researched book about the “settlement” (invasion) of Australia a mere 200 years ago.
😠 #truthtelling #knowyourhistory

Going to make a start on this non-fiction read by Australian journalist David Marr. I love the concept here: a deep dive into his own family colonialist history.

I try to read a book about the true history of Australia in the lead-up to ‘Australia Day‘ on 26 Jan each year. I‘m strapping myself in for this one. #currentlyreading

Great Australian crime fiction. Not a genre I often read these days, but this was an enjoyable summer holiday #palatecleanser. I am back at work next week.
#ozfiction

#upnext #ozfiction Time for a comfort read. Younger me read a lot of crime fiction. Older me tends to seek more diversity and complexity. From time to time I like to dip my toe back into quality crime fic.
I am recovering from Covid, have one more week of summer holidays before I return to work, and the weather is heating up, so this should be just the ticket.

☀️We are expecting 37C today and 41C tomorrow 🥵

What a freaky little number. I loved it. Not my usual genre (sci-fi historical fic?), but I went along for the ride. For some reason it reminded me of Playing Beattie Bow by Ruth Park, which is a childhood favourite 🤔. Thanks again for enabling me @LeeRHarry 🙏🙌. #ozfiction

Just started to read this lovely little number sent to me by @LeeRHarry for our #aussiesecretsanta. I thought Lee had miraculously picked an #unknowntomeauthor and Australian at that! Then I scroll back through the Litsy posts on it and see that I have had numerous encounters with this book & had added it to my stack 🤪. Now I‘m even more excited to read it 😁. #currentlyreading

I was reminded of A Little Life when I was reading this (nowhere near as heart-wrenching or good IMO). I did like it though.
I knew nothing about it before I started and chose to read it because I received it in my book club‘s Secret Santa, and I have promised to loan it to another member of my club who is keen to read it.
I should add that I read the second half with a Covid brain, and that may have impacted on my experience of it.

My first read of 2024. I bought this because the author lives locally and I saw a couple of positive reviews.
Ness is a nurse working in an aged-care facility in Perth. She runs a retreat business ‘down south‘ on the side. There are lots of stories in this novel, from Ness, the residents of the nursing home she calls ‘lovelies‘, and the people who attend her retreats.
I really enjoyed it. A great holiday read. #ozfiction

This was my final read for 2023. I really enjoyed it. Totally different to Power, which is the only other book of hers that I‘ve read. I don‘t understand the low Litsy rating 🤔.

When your nails match your book 💅🏻. This book was excellent. Rich, nuanced and dark. I needed to be in the right headspace given the subject matter.
I‘m really sorry to have to tell you all that men are the worst. Revelatory I know 🤣. But we keep on loving our biggest predator 🤷🏻‍♀️.
My only criticism is that it could‘ve done with an edit, particularly the last third. Such a good book though 👏👏👏👏.

What an incredible, beautiful human 🥹💔🥰🥲. Talk about resilience and overcoming adversity. Loved this so much.

Well that was quick! The latest short story offering from Claire Keegan. Funny story: my husband got this for me for Christmas. It‘s about an Irishman named Cathal, set in Wicklow. Many years ago I had a long term boyfriend called Cathal who I once went to Wicklow with. It would be a spoiler if I were to tell you how my life with Cathal mirrored some of the events in this book. #artimitatinglife

Thank you @LeeRHarry for my beautiful #aussiesecretsanta goodies 🙏🎄. Delicious teas to try, an Aussie Christmas tree decoration, 🤤 dehydrated 🍓 dark chocolate and an #unknowntomeauthor, & she‘s Australian! #ozfiction ❤️💕

@thegirlwiththelibrarybag @Rissreads @CarolynM @LapReader @kathy88 @Freespirit @Teresereading @Jhullie @Lizpixie

My husband bought me this for Christmas in 2019 when it first came out. I haven‘t managed to get to it before now, and how the world has changed since then!#lifemirroringart
I enjoyed this ride, although found the different perspectives a little confusing at first. It read a bit like a YA novel 🤔.
I‘m pleased to have finally gotten to it.