The Girl Aquarium by Jen Campbell is an enchanting collection of poetry exploring bodies and disfigurement, girlhood/womanhood/motherhood, the male gaze, and relationships. If you're familiar with Jen Campbell from booktube, you won't be surprised that The Girl Aquarium is quintessentially "Jen": the style is whimsical and eerie and dreamlike, with motifs of the sea, the … Continue reading Book Review: The Girl Aquarium by Jen Campbell
How could I resist a contemporary romance with multiple narratives based around astrology? (Heart-eyes emoji forever!) Star-Crossed follows Justine (Sagittarius); a sometimes-shy but driven, hopeless romantic working at the local magazine. Justine randomly runs into her childhood best friend (and fleeting teenage sweetheart), Nick; an Aquarian actor between jobs, bereft in his love life. Justine … Continue reading Book Review: Star-Crossed by Minnie Darke
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness follows a 12-year-old boy named Conor, who is visited nightly by a monster who tells him stories. The monster terrorises him at first, but Conor listens to the stories under the pretence that he'll tell the monster "the truth". There's a lot of upset in Conor's life, from his … Continue reading Book Review: A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
Jennifer Egan is an auto-buy author for me and when Manhattan Beach came out, I was very excited to read the first book released by Egan in 6 years! I didn't really know what to expect from the historical fiction novel set in the 1930's and 40's, largely around the Brooklyn Naval Yard, following gangsters … Continue reading Book Review: Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan
The Power by Naomi Alderman is a thought-provoking portrayal of what the world would be like if women were the dominant sex in society. I listened to The Power on audiobook and it limited my enjoyment of the book for a number of reasons. You can hear my thoughts on character casting and the multi-faceted … Continue reading Book Review: The Power by Naomi Alderman
I love supporting local talent. There are some inspirational Aussies out there! So I thought I would run through just a few creative Australian individuals, businesses and bookish groups that I think you should know about. Check out their websites, subscribe to their mailing lists, follow them on social media, browse through their stores, add … Continue reading 6 Amazingly Creative Aussies To Check Out This Year
We all know how special it feels to unwrap a book on Christmas, or on your birthday (or any day, really!). Giving any present to a loved one is a rewarding experience. Giving books is even better. Inspiring others with new stories is a pretty special thing. But buying books for others isn't easy. You … Continue reading The Secret To Giving The Best Books At Christmas
I've always loved books that challenge me; books that make me re-think the ordinary; books that teach me something about writing. Usually those are the books with strange narrative structure. By 'strange', I mean non-linear. Or maybe just told in an unexpected way. Books with time jumps, or multiple perspectives, or cross-mediums. Here are 7 … Continue reading 7 Books With Strange Narrative Structures
Good luck finding a bookworm who hasn't: given up on a book because it was boring or badly written given up on a book because it was good but they 'just weren't into it right now' forgotten about a book they thought was average and just never finished it It's common. And life is too … Continue reading 4 Books I Did Not Finish Reading (And Why I Want To DNF More Often)
Let's cut right to the chase. February was a disappointing month. I had a lot of big plans and I was probably too ambitious and now the fall-out has hit me hard. But it's time to get out of this hole! Dwelling on the disappointments only leads to dark places. And there's no potential for … Continue reading Writing Life Recap: February 2017
